Table 4.
Direct and indirect effects of IES-2 and MEQ sub-dimensions and FMQ components on mental distress among all individuals using SEM.
| Relationship | Mediators | Direct effect of X on Mental distress | Association between X and mediators | Mediation or Indirect effect | Coefficient of explanation | Mediation effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C path (SE) | A path (SE) | C ¶ path (95% CI) | R 2 | |||
EPR 
Mental Distress |
Exercise | −0.388 (0.027) | 0.275 (0.031) | −0.053 [−0.077– (−0.035)] | 0.230 | Partial |
| Breakfast | −0.345 (0.028) | 0.340 (0.029) | −0.096 [−0.123– (−0.073)] | 0.266 | Partial | |
| Dairy | −0.317 (0.032) | 0.419 (0.029) | −0.125[−0.158– (−0.098)] | 0.282 | Partial | |
| Fruit | −0.322 (0.019) | 0.325 (0.021) | −0.120[−0.148– (−0.095)] | 0.338 | Partial | |
| DGLV | −0.310 (0.025) | 0.357 (0.029) | −0.131[−0.160– (−0.105)] | 0.313 | Partial | |
| UPE
Mental distress |
Dairy | −0.191 (0.029) | 0.263 (0.027) | −0.100[−0.128– (−0.076)] | 0.220 | Full |
| RHSC
Mental distress |
Exercise | −0.378 (0.032) | 0.318 (0.030) | −0.058[−0.083– (−0.037)] | 0.219 | Partial |
| Breakfast | −0.339 (0.030) | −0.339 (0.031) | −0.097[−0.124– (−0.075)] | 0.263 | Partial | |
| Dairy | −0.316 (0.032) | 0.387 (0.027) | −0.119[−0.150– (−0.094)] | 0.271 | Partial | |
| Fruit | −0.310 (0.031) | 0.340 (0.028) | −0.126[−0.154– (−0.100)] | 0.310 | Partial | |
| DGLV | −0.298 (0.031) | 0.375 (0.027) | −0.137[−0.112– (−0.166)] | 0.305 | Partial | |
| B-FCC
Mental distress |
Dairy | −0.229 (0.030) | 0.338 (0.029) | −0.119[−0.093– (−0.149)] | 0.232 | Full |
| Fruits | −0.224 (0.029) | 0.307 (0.028) | −0.125[−0.099 (−0.154)] | 0.272 | Full | |
| Disinhibition.
Mental distress |
Breakfast | −0.315 (0.026) | 0.316 (0.031) | −0.095[−0.072– (−0.122)] | 0.249 | Partial |
| DGLV | −0.289 (0.027) | 0.311 (0.029) | −0.121[−0.093– (−0.149)] | 0.304 | Partial |
B-FCC, Body-food choice congruence; DGLV, Dark green leafy vegetables; EPR, Eating for physical rather than emotional reasons; RHSC, Reliance on hunger and satiety cues; UPE, Unconditional permission to eat. Detailed direct and indirect associations between intuitive eating scale (IES-2) sub-dimensions (Eating for Physical rather than Emotional Reasons [EPR], Unconditional Permission to Eat [UPE], Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues [RHSC], Body-Food Choice Congruence [B-FCC]) and mental distress, mediated by specific dietary and lifestyle components. Standardized regression coefficients (C path, A path, C' path), 95% confidence intervals, explained variance (R2), and mediation type (partial/full) are reported. Partial mediation means that the mediating variable explains part of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, while full mediation means that the mediating variable fully explains this relationship and eliminates the direct effect. All standardized path coefficients and standardized residual covariance shown were significant except for the direct effect between UPE and B-FCC to mental stress.