O comer intuitivo medeia a relação entre a apreciação corporal e a diminuição do comer transtornado

Abstract

Intuitive eating is an approach that promotes a more conscious and connected relationship between the body and food, comprising the factors unconditional permission to eat, eating for physical rather than emotional reasons, reliance on hunger and satiety cues, and body-food choice congruence. Alongside body appreciation, which refers to maintaining a positive attitude toward one’s own body, involving self- care behaviors and valuing its functionality beyond physical appearance, this approach has been associated with a reduction in dysfunctional eating behaviors, known as disordered eating. The present study aimed to evaluate the mediating role of intuitive eating factors in the relationship between body appreciation and the reduction of disordered eating among Brazilian adults. This was a quantitative cross-sectional study conducted between June and November 2025, involving 523 individuals aged 18 years or older. Questionnaires and scales were administered to assess body appreciation, intuitive eating factors, and disordered eating. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used for correlation analyses, performed using the JASP software, with the magnitude of associations interpreted according to established cutoff points for correlation strength. Mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro version 4.2 implemented in IBM SPSS Statistics version 21, applying Model 4, corresponding to simple mediation. The results demonstrated partial mediation by all intuitive eating factors in the relationship between body appreciation and cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating. The strongest mediating effect regarding cognitive restraint occurred through unconditional permission to eat (52.84%), whereas uncontrolled eating (33.95%) and emotional eating (46.74%) were primarily mediated by eating for physical rather than emotional reasons. Correlation analyses indicated a positive association of moderate to strong magnitude between body appreciation and intuitive eating factors, as well as a negative association of weak to moderate magnitude between intuitive eating and disordered eating and between body appreciation and disordered eating. Therefore, the findings reinforce the understanding that body appreciation acts as a protective factor against disordered eating, with this relationship being partially mediated by intuitive eating and its factors.