Understanding the prevalence and influencing factors of negative emotional eating among mainland Chinese undergraduates in the Education University of Hong Kong: An executive management perspective

This study aims to generate some initial insights into the prevalence and influencing factors of negative emotional eating among undergraduates from mainland China at the Education University of Hong Kong. A quantitative study was conducted on 100 mainland Chinese undergraduates from the Education University of Hong Kong aged from 18 to 23. Participants completed an online questionnaire that included (1) basic background information questions, (2) Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21), and (3) an emotional eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ). The descriptive analysis and Pearson Correlation Analysis were conducted to examine the negative emotional eating prevalence and its influence factors. The prevalence of negative emotional eating among mainland Chinese undergraduates was 26%, showing positive correlations with depression (r = 0.503), anxiety (r = 0.524), and stress (r = 0.575). This study revealed that negative emotional eating is prevalent among mainland Chinese undergraduates at the Education University of Hong Kong, and executive managers should be aware of negative emotional eating and facilitate prevention and intervention plans for coping with these symptoms.