Circadian rhythm, eating attitudes, and stress responses are important determinants of well-being among university students. This study hypothesized that circadian rhythm characteristics would be associated with emotional eating, healthy nutrition attitudes, and salivary cortisol levels. Therefore, this cross-sectional study investigated the associations between chronotype, sleep patterns, eating behaviors, and cortisol concentrations among 213 university students (131 nursing; 82 nutrition and dietetics). Data were collected using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, the Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EEQ-TR), and the Attitude Scale for Healthy Nutrition (ASHN). Anthropometric measurements were obtained, and salivary cortisol concentrations were analyzed using ELISA. Statistical analyses included Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and one-way ANOVA tests. The mean salivary cortisol concentration among students was 69.713 ± 3.408 ng/mL. Students reporting lower stress levels exhibited lower cortisol concentrations (p = 0.025), while cortisol did not differ significantly by gender, department, chronotype, BMI, or exercise status (p > 0.05). Emotional eating scores were significantly higher among students with intermediate chronotypes and those with irregular or occasionally regular sleep patterns (p < 0.05), whereas nutrition and dietetics students demonstrated more positive healthy nutrition attitudes than nursing students (75.52 ± 10.80 vs. 70.65± 10.08; p = 0.001). These findings reflect associations rather than causal relationships, and they highlight the relevance of circadian rhythm characteristics and perceived stress in understanding emotional eating tendencies and health-related attitudes among university students. Promoting sleep regularity, stress management, and nutrition education may support healthier behavioral patterns in this population.
