Beyond emotion: online takeaway food consumption is associated with emotional overeating among Chinese college students.

Abstract

Online takeaway food has become very popular in China. However, the potential effects of online takeaway food consumption on eating behaviours among individuals during the transition stage from adolescence to young adulthood have not yet been assessed. This study aimed to examine the effects of takeaway food consumption on emotional overeating behaviour among college students. Data were collected from 1450 college students from six universities in Anhui, China. The frequency of emotional overeating during the past 4weeks was assessed by the emotional overeating questionnaire (EOQ). Data on the frequency of online takeaway food consumption and other potential risk factors at the individual, interpersonal, physical environment, and macro-system levels were assessed by questionnaire. Multilevel linear regression analyses were employed to explore the association between takeaway food consumption and emotional overeating behaviour. Compared to those who consumed online takeaway food less than 1day per week, participants who consumed this food 4-5days per week and participants who consumed this food 6-7days per week had significantly higher EOQ scores (β = 0.14, p < 0.05 and β = 0.67, p < 0.001, respectively). More frequent consumption was associated with higher EOQ scores (p for trend < 0.001). A higher frequency of takeaway food consumption was associated with an elevated risk of emotional overeating among college students independent of personal emotional status and other potential confounders at the interpersonal, physical environmental and macro-system levels. Level V; cross-sectional descriptive study.