Relationships Between Consumption of High-Saturated-Fat Foods, Sleep Duration, BMI, Depression, Age and Sex, and Emotional Eating in Peruvian Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Emotional eating, defined as the tendency to eat in response to emotions, has been associated with various biopsychosocial factors. However, in the Peruvian context, there is limited evidence regarding the specific predictors of this eating behavior in adolescents. Objective: To examine the associations between saturated fat intake, sleep duration, body mass index (BMI), depressive symptoms, age and sex, and emotional eating in Peruvian adolescents. Methods: This was a predictive cross-sectional study based on non-probabilistic sampling. A total of 722 adolescents from four schools located in East Lima were included. A multiple linear regression model was employed to examine the relationships between age, sex, saturated fat intake (SFI), sleep duration, BMI, and depressive symptoms and emotional eating. Results: The model was statistically significant (adjusted R² = 0.301; F = 45.276; p < 0.001), explaining 30.1% of the variance in emotional eating based on the explanatory variables. Being female (β = 0.208; p = 0.011), aged 15 to 18 versus 12 to 14 years (β = 0.083; p < 0.001), having a high SFI (β = 0.186; p < 0.001), sleeping ≥ 7 h (β = −0.126; p < 0.001), and a higher BMI (β = −0.082; p = 0.011) were significantly associated with emotional eating. Depressive symptoms (β = 0.365; p < 0.001) emerged as the strongest predictor in the model. Conclusions: Emotional eating among Peruvian adolescents is associated with psychological, behavioral, and sociodemographic factors. Depressive symptoms showed the strongest association, while longer sleep duration was linked to lower emotional eating scores. These findings highlight the need for integrated interventions targeting mental health, sleep hygiene, and healthy dietary behaviors in adolescents.