The relationship between emotional eating disorders and problematic internet use in university students: the mediating role of mukbang behavior

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of watching mukbang on eating behavior and to emphasize its importance. METHODS: Students from various faculties at universities constitute the sample for this study. A total of 483 individuals participated in the study: 358 (74.1%) women and 125 (25.9%) men. The age range of the sample group varies between 18 and 50 years (Mage=21.62; SD=3.85). In our study, the Emotional Eating Disorder Scale, the Mukbang Addiction Scale, and the Problematic Internet Use Scale were used. Reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, and correlational analysis of the data were carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics 24. RESULTS: There appears to be a positive relationship between emotional eating, mukbang addiction, and problematic internet use. A positive relationship was also found between emotional eating and mukbang addiction. It was found that mukbang addiction had a partial mediator role in the effect of problematic internet use on emotional eating. CONCLUSION: In the relationship between problematic internet use and emotional eating, mukbang addiction has played a mediating role. Therefore, when conducting a study between emotional eating and problematic internet use, it may be useful to examine the frequency of mukbang watching behavior in individuals. It can be crucial to include these people in educational programs to control problematic internet use or the habit of watching mukbang.