Stress and emotional eating: The mediating role of eating dysregulation

•Exposure to stress was associated with greater emotional eating.•Exposure to stress was associated with greater eating dysregulation.•Eating dysregulation was positively associated with emotional eating.•Eating dysregulation mediated the association between stress and emotional eating.•It may be useful to teach emotional eaters to be sensitive to their satiety cues.

This study examined whether the association between stress and emotional eating was mediated by eating dysregulation. Young adults (N = 345) reported their stress levels, eating dysregulation, and emotional eating. This study found that eating dysregulation mediated the association between stress and emotional eating. Experience of stress was related to individuals’ poorer capability of being responsive to their internal signals of hunger and satiety, which in turn, was related to higher emotional eating. These findings suggest that practitioners could consider training individuals who eat in response to stress to be sensitive to their hunger and satiety cues.