The Relationship of Mental Health Continuum with Hedonic Hunger and Dietary Habits in Adults

Purpose: Research on mental health emphasizes that psychological state has an effect on eating behavior. These studies suggest that there may be a relationship between mental health continuum and hedonic hunger. This study aimed to examine the relationship between adults’ mental health continuity and hedonic hunger. Method: Participants were 387 adults (65 men and 322 women) without any mental illness. Data was collected by the researcher using the snowball sampling model, via Google Forms. A general questionnaire, food consumption frequency form, Mental Health Continuum Short-Form (MHC-SF) and Power of Food Scale (PFS) were administered. Results: 56.1% of the participants were in normal mental health and 36.4% in well-being. MHC-SF total and sub-factor scores of the participants who did regular physical activity were significantly higher (p<0.05). The PFS total score was higher in women than men. There was a negative, weak, and statistically significant correlation between participants' MHC-SF and PFS total scores (p<0.05). There was a positive, weak and statistically significant correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and PFS total scores. There was a positive, weak and statistically significant correlation between PFS score, body weight and BMI. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between all PSF total and sub-factor scores and the frequency of fast-food and chips consumption (p<0.05). Conclusion: Hedonic hunger increased as the mental health continuum decreased. It was determined that the continuity of mental health was higher in individuals who do regular physical activity and in men. As hedonic hunger increased, the frequency of consumption of chips and fast-food products increased.