Abstract
This study aimed to compare hedonic hunger and intuitive eating status between pregnant and non-pregnant individuals. The research was conducted with 722 participants (357 pregnant and 365 non-pregnant) in different units of Kars Harakani State Hospital. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form prepared by the researcher, the Power of Food Scale, and the Intuitive Eating Scale. Data were obtained through face-to-face interviews and analyzed using appropriate statistical methods in the SPSS software. No significant difference was found between pregnant and non-pregnant women in terms of socio-demographic characteristics. The total Power of Food Scale score was 3.01 ± 0.89 for pregnant women and 3.28 ± 0.88 for non-pregnant women, and this difference was statistically significant (p 0.05), suggesting that intuitive eating behavior alone does not account for hedonic hunger during pregnancy and that other physiological or psychosocial factors may play a more prominent role in this population. Among non-pregnant women, however, the total Intuitive Eating Scale score was a significant negative predictor of the hedonic hunger score (R = 0.132, R²=0.018, p < 0.05), indicating that higher levels of intuitive eating were associated with lower hedonic hunger. This finding suggests that women who are more attuned to their internal hunger and satiety cues may be better protected against food environment-driven, pleasure-based eating beyond metabolic need - a clinically relevant insight for nutrition counseling and weight management interventions targeting non-pregnant women. Hedonic hunger was higher in the non-pregnant group compared to the pregnant group, while intuitive eating behavior was similar between the two groups.