Analysis of Influence of Experienced Stress and Emotional Eating on Body Mass in a Population of Polish Female Adolescents: PLACE-19 Study

Background/Objectives: Emotional eating is defined as a coping mechanism characterized by food consumption in response to negative emotions, and it typically involves overconsumption and a preference for energy-dense and highly palatable foods. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of experienced stress and emotional eating on body mass in a population of Polish female adolescents. Methods: This study included 816 participants (aged 15–20 years) recruited within the nationwide PLACE-19 Study using random quota sampling of Polish secondary schools, and data were collected by the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI). Perceived stress was measured with the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ), emotional eating was measured with the Emotional Eating Subscale (EE-3) of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), and self-reported body mass was also recorded. Body mass was interpreted either using standard BMI values for adults or growth reference values for minors. Results: Adolescents with excessive body weight reported higher levels of stress on the peer pressure (p = 0.0011 for continuous variables; p = 0.0016 for categories) and financial pressure component scales (p = 0.0319 for continuous variables) than their normal-weight and underweight counterparts. They also displayed higher emotional eating scores across all subscales and for the total emotional eating score (p < 0.05 for continuous variables), particularly for anxiety (p = 0.0345 for categories). The association was confirmed within mediation analysis, as the direct influence explained 79% of the influence of stress on body mass, and the indirect influence, mediated by emotional eating, explained 21% of the influence of stress on body mass. Conclusions: Adolescents with excessive body weight are more prone to stress and emotional eating. The stress itself affects body weight not only directly, but also by affecting emotional eating; therefore, adolescent girls should be taught how to cope with negative emotions using strategies other than increasing food consumption in response to negative emotions. Further studies should assess the mediating role of emotional eating among adolescent girls and evaluate the impact of stress management interventions on body weight.