Literature has consistently reported that stringent COVID-19 lockdown measures have had profound adverse effects on mental health and have also led to changes in the dietary behavior of young adults. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between psychological distress and the eating behavior of Malaysian young adults in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Young adults aged 18–30 were recruited into this study using a combination of convenience and snowball sampling approaches. Socio-demographics, including gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, educational attainment, and employment status were self-reported by the young adults. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was used to assess the psychological distress in young adults, whereas the eating behavior of young adults was evaluated using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 (TFEQ-R18).

The findings revealed that young adults who experienced moderate to extremely severe psychological distress were 45.6% (anxiety), 38.3% (depression), and 16.2% (stress). The standardized mean scores of eating behavior were in the ascending order of emotional eating (36.41±28.89)<uncontrolled eating (39.75±22.60)<cognitive restraint (43.24±20.04). Interestingly, young adults who experienced moderate to extremely severe depression attained significantly higher mean scores in emotional eating (F=9.595, P=0.002) and cognitive restraint (F=5.380, P=0.021) than their respective counterparts. Likewise, young adults who experienced moderate to extremely severe anxiety had a significantly higher mean score in emotional eating (F=4.967, P=0.027) compared to those in the normal to mild anxiety category.

Providing timely mental health support to individuals experiencing moderate to extremely severe psychological distress is crucial to prevent disordered eating behavior. Longitudinal studies may be carried out in the future to provide better insights into the relationship between psychological distress and eating behavior among young adults.