Associations among hedonic hunger, digital obesity, and type 2 diabetes self-management.

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of digital obesity in the association between hedonic hunger and type 2 diabetes self-management among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Turkey between April 28 and August 1, 2025. Data were collected using an online questionnaire, and 400 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited through snowball sampling. The questionnaire included the Personal Information Form, the Power of Food Scale, the Digital Obesity Scale, and the Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management Scale. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the associations of hedonic hunger and digital obesity with type 2 diabetes self-management. The mediating role of digital obesity was assessed using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 4) with bootstrapping.

RESULTS

Hedonic hunger was positively associated with digital obesity and negatively associated with type 2 diabetes self-management. Digital obesity was also negatively associated with type 2 diabetes self-management. Mediation analysis indicated that digital obesity significantly mediated the association between hedonic hunger and type 2 diabetes self-management.

CONCLUSION

Hedonic hunger was negatively associated with type 2 diabetes self-management, and digital obesity partially mediated this relationship. These findings highlight the potential importance of addressing both psychological eating tendencies and digital lifestyle behaviors in strategies aimed at improving diabetes self-management.