The association between physical exercise and emotional eating among college students: the mediating roles of coping style and emotion regulation

Background: Emotional eating is a nutrition-related behavior closely linked to stress and emotion regulation. This study examined the association between physical exercise and emotional eating among college students and tested whether coping style and emotion regulation mediated this relationship. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,871 college students in Southwest China. Validated questionnaires were used to assess physical exercise, coping style, emotion regulation, and emotional eating. Correlation, regression, and serial mediation analyses were conducted using SPSS and PROCESS Model 6, with demographic variables controlled. Results: Physical exercise was negatively associated with emotional eating. It was related to more positive coping style and cognitive reappraisal, and to less negative coping style and expressive suppression. Both coping style and emotion regulation were statistically associated with the relationship between physical exercise and emotional eating through independent and sequential mediation pathways. Conclusions: Physical exercise may be associated with lower emotional eating among college students. The findings suggest that coping style and emotion regulation may represent important psychological correlates of the association between physical exercise and emotional eating.