Background: Eating behaviors and psychological processes related to food consumption are increasingly recognized as key factors of successful adherence to a healthy dietary pattern. In this context, mindful eating and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet have emerged as models promoting beneficial health outcomes, whereas orthorexia nervosa, characterized by an obsessive focus on eating healthy foods, often leads to dietary inadequacies. Here, we investigated the association among mindful eating, adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, orthorexia nervosa and BMI in a cohort of university students. Methods: A sample of 518 Italian university students completed an online survey assessing general and sociodemographic characteristics, the adherence to the Mediterranean Diet pattern by MEDAS and MEDLIFE, the orthorexia tendency by ORTO-15 test and the degree of mindful eating by the Mind-Eat Scale. Students’ t-test, chi-square test, Pearson’s correlation, and K-means cluster analysis were used for analyses. Results: The participants had a mean BMI of 23.08 ± 3.51, with 69% normal-weight and 25% overweight/obese individuals, showing statistically significant sex differences. Mean Mind-Eat, MEDAS, MEDLIFE and ORTO-15 scores were 3.22 ± 0.46, 8.81 ± 2.35, 3.06 ± 1.14 and 38.31 ± 5.94, respectively. Men scored significantly higher than women in all categories, except for the MEDAS score, where no sex-related differences were observed. Interestingly, the Mind-Eat score was positively associated with ORTO-15 (r = 0.24, p < 0.0001), MEDAS (r = 0.23, p < 0.0001), and MEDLIFE (r = 0.11, p = 0.01) scores. Three clusters were derived, distinguishing optimal (cluster 2), intermediate (cluster 1) and poor (cluster 3) eating profiles, showing sex differences. BMI was significantly lower in cluster 2 than in cluster 3. Conclusions: Our results suggest that integrating psychological and dietary indicators of eating behavior may help identify young adults with less favorable weight-related profiles.
Mindful Eating, Orthorexic Tendency, and Mediterranean Diet Adherence Identify Weight-Related Eating Profiles in Young Adults
Augimeri G.;Gelsomino L.;Barone I.;Giordano C.;Catalano S.;Adornetto C.;Sinicropi M. S.;Bonofiglio D.
2026-01-01
Abstract
Background: Eating behaviors and psychological processes related to food consumption are increasingly recognized as key factors of successful adherence to a healthy dietary pattern. In this context, mindful eating and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet have emerged as models promoting beneficial health outcomes, whereas orthorexia nervosa, characterized by an obsessive focus on eating healthy foods, often leads to dietary inadequacies. Here, we investigated the association among mindful eating, adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, orthorexia nervosa and BMI in a cohort of university students. Methods: A sample of 518 Italian university students completed an online survey assessing general and sociodemographic characteristics, the adherence to the Mediterranean Diet pattern by MEDAS and MEDLIFE, the orthorexia tendency by ORTO-15 test and the degree of mindful eating by the Mind-Eat Scale. Students’ t-test, chi-square test, Pearson’s correlation, and K-means cluster analysis were used for analyses. Results: The participants had a mean BMI of 23.08 ± 3.51, with 69% normal-weight and 25% overweight/obese individuals, showing statistically significant sex differences. Mean Mind-Eat, MEDAS, MEDLIFE and ORTO-15 scores were 3.22 ± 0.46, 8.81 ± 2.35, 3.06 ± 1.14 and 38.31 ± 5.94, respectively. Men scored significantly higher than women in all categories, except for the MEDAS score, where no sex-related differences were observed. Interestingly, the Mind-Eat score was positively associated with ORTO-15 (r = 0.24, p < 0.0001), MEDAS (r = 0.23, p < 0.0001), and MEDLIFE (r = 0.11, p = 0.01) scores. Three clusters were derived, distinguishing optimal (cluster 2), intermediate (cluster 1) and poor (cluster 3) eating profiles, showing sex differences. BMI was significantly lower in cluster 2 than in cluster 3. Conclusions: Our results suggest that integrating psychological and dietary indicators of eating behavior may help identify young adults with less favorable weight-related profiles.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
