Relationship Among Obesity Awareness, Emotional Eating, and Obesity in Middle School Children

Aim:This study was carried out as a cross-sectional study to evaluate the relationships between obesity awareness, emotional eating, and obesity in middle school children.Materials and Methods:The sample of the study comprised a total of 421 children who were 10-14 years of age and attended the fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grades. The data were collected using a socio-demographic data collection form, the Obesity Awareness scale, and the Emotional Eating scale. The heights and weights of the children were measured by the researchers and their body mass index (BMI) percentiles were calculated. The data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation analyses.Results:Of the children, 14.7% were obese, and 13.8% were overweight according to the BMI percentile. There was no relationship between obesity, obesity awareness, and emotional eating (p>0.05).Conclusion:The study found that emotional eating and obesity awareness did not affect middle school children’s obesity.