The Mediating Role of Intuitive Eating on the Association Between Self-control and Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Among Chinese College Students: a Cross-sectional Study

Abstract Background: In China, people pay more and more attention to their body image, and most people have a negative attitude towards their appearance. This study aimed to explore the relationship of self-control, intuitive eating, and sociocultural attitudes towards appearance among Chinese college students. We further aimed to assess whether intuitive eating mediates the association between research self-control and sociocultural attitudes towards appearance.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1510 college students in a medical university during September–December 2020. Self-administered questionnaires including Self-control Scale (SCS), Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2), and Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) were completed by students. Correlation, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modeling were used in data analyses.Results：The mean sociocultural attitude towards appearance score was 43.91±7.74 among the participants. After adjusting for the demographic factors, self-control accounted for 17.4% of the variance in sociocultural attitudes towards appearance, while intuitive eating explained an additional 2.6% of the variance. Self-control had a direct effect(λ=-0.57,P<0.01)and an indirect effect(λ=-0.11,P<0.01) on sociocultural attitudes towards appearance. Intuitive eating functioned as a partial mediator in the relationship between self-control and sociocultural attitudes towards appearance among Chinese students. The mediation role accounted for 16.41% of the total effect. Conclusions：Improving self-control is good for adjusting appearance attitudes, and one way to do this is to suppress intuitive eating. College students should improve their self-control and use it in ways other than suppressing intuitive eating.