Diet quality, emotional regulation, and gut health are interconnected; however, their relationships and differences between men and women are not well understood. Through the gut-brain axis, the microbiome ecosystem can affect emotional processes and dietary choices. Analyzing these factors through a gender-based approach allows more precise distinctions between biological and behavioral relations and provides more information on nutritious, gut-conscious nutritional habits. Research reveals that females display greater emotional sensitivity and gastrointestinal dysregulation, whereas males tend to differ in their gastrointestinal and emotional responses to diet. The relationship between these behaviors and gender has yet to be comprehensively explored. To address this knowledge gap, an anonymous online survey was distributed to adults aged 18 and older, consisting of demographic questions and four validated measures: the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale - Short Form (DERS-SF), the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants, Shortened Version, v.2 (REAP-S v.2), the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), and the Dysbiosis Risk Questionnaire (Dys-R). There were a total of 1,313 participants (female n = 848; male n = 435), and data were analyzed with the Pearson Correlation Coefficient in SPSS 28. Across both genders, results demonstrated that participants’ total eating assessment scores (higher scores indicating diets with more nutrient-dense foods and fewer processed, nutrient-poor foods) were negatively associated with higher emotional dysregulation scores and positively associated with overall mindful attention (p < 0.01). Among both genders, gut dysregulation scores revealed ongoing negative associations with unhealthy dietary patterns. Notably, greater Dysbiosis Risk scores were associated with more frequent consumption of processed and pre-packaged foods and snacks (p < 0.01), increased alcohol intake (p < 0.01), and fewer than two meals per day (p < 0.01). Both genders also showed increased daily vegetable consumption, which was strongly associated with reduced emotional difficulty (p < 0.01). However, greater emotional awareness was associated with reduced saturated fat intake in females (p < 0.01), but did not reach significance in males. Mindfulness scores also displayed opposing patterns across the genders. Higher mindfulness scores were linked with greater legume consumption in females (p < 0.01), but not in males. In contrast, higher mindfulness scores were associated with lower levels of emotional dysregulation in males (p < 0.01), but not in females. Despite there being a few similar patterns shared within the groups, several associations diverged by gender, suggesting that the gut-brain axis has varying pathways in males and females, necessitating further experimental research to determine possible contributing physiological factors. This novel study highlights the importance of integrating a gender-based perspective when investigating how nutrition and gut health influence emotional well-being, while emphasizing the mental health benefits of limiting processed food intake for all adults. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
Al-Aubaidy et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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