The mediating effects of perceived stress and exercise addiction risk on the relationship between body image state and emotional eating among college students

Objective The association between body image state and eating behaviors among college students has garnered significant research attention. However, the processes through which body image state is associated with emotional eating via emotional and behavioral pathways remain unclear. This study examines the association between body image state and emotional eating among college students, as well as the serial mediating roles of perceived stress and exercise addiction risk in this association. Methods A cross-sectional design was employed, with 1,307 college students (age 20.00 ± 1.18 years, 52.03% female) recruited from 15 provinces in China using stratified cluster sampling. Participants completed the Body Image State Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Exercise Addiction Inventory, and Emotional Eating Scale. The Exercise Addiction Inventory assesses risk for exercise addiction rather than clinical diagnosis. Serial mediation effects were tested using the SPSS PROCESS macro, with 95% confidence intervals for indirect effects estimated via bootstrapping (5,000 resamples). Results Body image state showed a significant negative correlation with emotional eating ( β = −0.194, p 0.001). Perceived stress ( β = −0.036, 95% CI −0.055, −0.017) and exercise addiction risk ( β = −0.042, 95% CI −0.064, −0.022) had significant indirect effects in the association between body image state and emotional eating. Furthermore, perceived stress and exercise addiction risk demonstrated a serial indirect effect in this association ( β = −0.008, 95% CI −0.013, −0.004), accounting for 4.124% of the total effect. Conclusion Body image state is associated with emotional eating among college students with perceived stress and exercise addiction risk showing a serial mediating indirect effect. This finding is consistent with emotional and behavioral pathways linking body image to eating behaviors, providing a theoretical reference for mental health interventions in this population.