Exploring the associations between food insecurity, eco-anxiety, sustainable and healthy eating behaviors, and life satisfaction among nutrition and dietetics students in Türkiye

Abstract

BACKGROUND Food insecurity may intersect with sustainable eating, eco-anxiety, and subjective well-being, but evidence among dietitians is limited. This cross-sectional study examined these associations among 2027 nutrition and dietetics students recruited through multicenter departmental networks in Türkiye. Participants completed the Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviors Scale, Adult Food Security Survey Module, Ecological Anxiety Scale, and Contentment with Life Assessment Scale. Group comparisons, Spearman correlations, and sequential multivariable linear regression were used. RESULTS Overall, 1381 students (68.1%) were food secure and 646 (31.9%) were food insecure. Compared with food-secure students, food-insecure students had lower sustainable and healthy eating behavior scores [3.93 (3.11–4.53) vs. 4.09 (3.48–4.74); |rrb| = 0.132], higher ecological anxiety [16.50 (13.00–22.00) vs. 13.00 (8.00–17.00); |rrb| = 0.321], and lower life contentment [19.00 (16.00–22.00) vs. 22.00 (19.00–26.00); |rrb| = 0.422] (all P < 0.001). In fully adjusted models, higher food insecurity scores were associated with lower sustainable and healthy eating scores (beta = −0.073, P = 0.002), higher ecological anxiety (beta = 0.279, P < 0.001), and lower life contentment (beta = −0.305, P < 0.001); adjusted R-squared values were 0.040, 0.093, and 0.128, respectively. CONCLUSION Food insecurity was associated with less favorable sustainable and healthy eating behaviors, greater eco-anxiety, and lower life contentment among nutrition and dietetics students. Effect sizes ranged from small to moderate, and the cross-sectional design does not permit causal inference.