The Relationship Between Meal Habits and Eating Behaviors of Adult Women

Abstract

Eating behavior is a condition that occurs as a result of the combination of many factors such as physiological, sensory and sociocultural characteristics. In the study, it was tried to determine how the eating behaviors of adult women affect their meal habits and food preferences. The sample of the cross-sectional descriptive study consisted of 205 adult women who applied a Healthy Living Center. Data were collected with a questionnaire including food preferences and eating habits and the Dutch Eating Behaviors Questionnaire. It was determined that the external eating scores of the women participating in the study who had more than 4 meals per day were significantly higher than the individuals who consumed 2 or 3 meals. Emotional and external eating mean scores of women who consume unhealthy foods such as sugary packaged products, soft drinks and pastries are higher than those who do not; restrictive eating mean scores were found to be lower (p