Abstract:

Purpose: This cutting study was done with the aim of examining the relationship between premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and food addiction. Tool and Method: The research data was collected between March 2020 and June 2020. The sample of the study consisted of 155 women aged 20-45 years, living in Izmir, not pregnant and not in postmenopausal period. The data was collected with a survey form with questions about socio-demographic characteristics, the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale and the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Results: The average age of participants was 23.32±5.13 years, 89.7 percent were single and 65.2 percent were high school graduates. Premenstrual syndrome scale total score was 121.68±37.96 and PMS was found in 61.3% of women. According to the Body Mass Index (BMI), 16.1% were weak, 71.6% in normal body weight, 9.7% overweight and 2.6% obese. The relationship between the BMI classifications and PMS was statistically important (p<0,05). 56.8 percent of participants were food addicts. 64.2 percent of women with premenstrual syndrome had food addiction (p=0,019). In women with food addiction, the PMS subdimensions were higher than depressive emotions (p=0,010), fatigue (p=0,002), nervousness (p=0,000), depressive thoughts (p=0,035), appetite changes (p=0,005), sleep changes (p=0,021) and swelling (p=0,003). The study found that more than half of women had PMS and that there was a meaningful relationship between PMS and food addiction. In addition, most of the PMS symptoms in people with food addiction have high scores. Because both situations can affect each other, deep research of this relationship is of great importance for women’s health. According to these findings, it is recommended that women in the presence of PMS carefully monitor and evaluate their eating behavior.

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Abstract:

Objective: This cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the relationship between premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and food addiction. Materials and Methods: The data of the study were collected between March 2020 and June 2020. The sample of the study consisted of 155 women who were 20-45 years old, living in Izmir, not pregnant/breastfeeding and not in postmenopausal period. The data were collected with a questionnaire form including questions about socio-demographic characteristics, Premenstrual Syndrome Scale, and Yale Food Addiction Scale. Results: Mean age of the participants was 23.32±5.13 years, 89.7% of them were single and 65.2% were graduated from secondary education (high school). Mean total score of Premenstrual Syndrome Scale was found to be 121.68±37.96 and 61.3% of the women had PMS. According to Body Mass Index (BMI), 16.1% were underweight, 71.6% were normal body weight, 9.7% were overweight, and 2.6% were obese. It was found that the relationship between BMI classifications and PMS was statistically significant (p<0.05). 56.8% of the participants had food addiction. Among women with PMS, 64.2% had food addiction (p=0.019). The PMS subdimensions; depressive affect (p=0.010), fatigue (p=0.002), irritability (p=0.000), depressive thoughts (p=0.035), changes in appetite (p=0.005), sleep changes (p=0.021), and swelling (p=0.003) scores were found to be higher in women with food addiction. Conclusion: In the present study, PMS was detected in more than half of the women and a significant relationship was determined between PMS and food addiction. Additionally, most of the PMS symptoms had high scores in those having food addiction. Since both situations may affect each other, investigating this relationship in depth has great importance for female health. Based on these results, it is recommended to carefully monitor and evaluate the eating behaviours of women in the presence of PMS.