Dr. Axe Wire · Food, herbs & supplements · nutrition

Eating By Hunger Cues Links To Different Food Choices By Sex And Food Security

A survey of Turkish university students found that trusting hunger cues relates to healthier or less healthy eating depending on sex and food insecurity.

By Dr. Axe Editorial Team · October 16, 2026 · 1 source · Watch

A study published October 15, 2026 in the British Journal of Nutrition found that eating based on internal hunger and fullness cues was linked to different food choices depending on a person's sex and whether they experienced food insecurity.

Researchers surveyed 545 university students aged 19 to 24 in Türkiye in a cross-sectional study, meaning everyone was measured once rather than followed over time. Participants completed a web-based questionnaire measuring intuitive eating (an approach guided by internal hunger and fullness cues rather than food rules), food insecurity and usual food intake. Statistical modeling showed intuitive eating subdimensions predicted food intake in different and sometimes opposite directions depending on sex and food insecurity status. In men, intuitive eating patterns were linked to intake of dairy, meat, eggs, legumes, vegetables and fruit. In women, the same subdimensions were linked to those groups plus sugary foods and fast food. Among students with moderate or severe food insecurity, these patterns shifted further across food groups.

The authors reported that acting in line with your body's food choices was generally linked to healthier food groups, while eating for physical rather than emotional reasons was linked to lower intake of sugary foods and fast food. Giving yourself unconditional permission to eat was linked to higher intake of energy-dense foods. Relying on hunger and fullness cues alone showed inconsistent patterns depending on the group. Intuitive eating appears to work differently depending on which specific eating belief a person holds, their sex and their access to food.

Intuitive eating subdimensions predicted dietary intake in distinct and sometimes opposing directions, with these patterns varying across sex and food insecurity status

Study authorsBritish Journal of Nutrition, 2026

This cross-sectional design shows a link between intuitive eating patterns and food choices, not proof that one causes the other. The abstract did not report the size of any association, funding or conflicts of interest.

Dr. Axe’s Take

Intuitive eating isn't one-size-fits-all, and it's not a license to eat whatever you want and call it balance. The subdimension that mattered most for healthier choices was body-food choice congruence, basically eating in ways that match what your body runs well on. I'd build that skill deliberately: before each meal, ask whether this food gives steady energy or a crash, not just whether I'm hungry. For someone facing food insecurity, I'd focus first on affordable whole foods, legumes, eggs, seasonal produce, treating intuitive eating as a layer on food access, not a replacement for it.

— Dr. Axe

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Story summary

Who: 545 university students aged 19-24 in Türkiye
Design: Cross-sectional web-based survey study
Dose: Not applicable (observational survey, no intervention)
Primary result: Intuitive eating subdimensions predicted food group intake in different directions by sex and food insecurity status (size not reported)
Secondary: Body-food choice congruence linked to healthier food groups; eating for physical reasons linked to lower sugary/fast food intake; unconditional permission to eat linked to higher energy-dense food intake (sizes not reported)
Funding / conflicts: Funding and conflicts not reported in the abstract.
Date: Oct 15, 2026