New  predictive model of Healthy Eating behavior: think or feel?

Abstract: Eating behavior and its determinants are one of the pillars of obesity prevention, alongside physical activity. Understanding how people make decisions about their diet is essential for preventing this disease. This research aimed to construct a predictive model (SEM) of healthy eating behavior that measures cognitive and emotional psychological determinants. Theoretically, the intra-subjective variables that most influence eating behavior were identified, and based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, the model’s fit was evaluated using the obtained data. Six hundred adult participants were assessed regarding 1) healthy eating behavior, 2) cognitive predictors of behavior (Ajzen), and 3) emotional eating. An SEM was performed for the first two variables, incorporating the third as a moderating variable. The results indicated that the predictive model effectively predicts healthy eating behavior for this sample, and through moderation analysis, it was found that emotional eating moderates the relationship between cognitive predictors and healthy eating behavior. The importance of this research for clinical nutrition and obesity prevention is that emotional factors influence adherence to healthy eating behavior.