Emotional and Uncontrolled Eating Mediate the Well-Being–Adiposity Relationship in Women but Not in Men

Background/Objectives: Sex and gender influence dietary habits, eating behaviors, mental health, and obesity risk. Women exhibit a higher prevalence of emotional eating and mental health problems, which may contribute to sex-specific differences in adiposity. This study aimed to explore the associations between adiposity, diet quality, eating behaviors, mental health, and well-being, and to examine whether eating behaviors mediate the relationship between mental health and adiposity, stratified by sex. Methods: One hundred twenty-three adults (35.6 ± 7.9 years; 63.4% women) with overweight and obesity participated in this cross-sectional study. Adiposity parameters (BMI, body fat, waist and hip circumferences), biochemical parameters, eating behaviors (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21), well-being (WHO-5), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), diet quality (17-item MedDiet questionnaire), and physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) were evaluated. Linear regression and path analyses were used to examine associations and mediation effects. Results: Women reported higher emotional eating and cognitive restraint scores (p = 0.017 and p = 0.034, respectively) and greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p Conclusions: Our results underscore the importance of incorporating sex- and gender-sensitive approaches in obesity prevention and treatment. For women, interventions should focus on emotional regulation and coping strategies, whereas for men, improving diet quality may be more effective.