The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the direction of conversation and students' food cravings, which made use of descriptive correlation type. The statistical population of the present study was all the male students of the first and second secondary schools in Mashhad in the academic year 2021-2022. In the present study, in order to increase the accuracy of the research and for the initial diagnosis of obese students, 1150 students were selected by cluster sampling. In this regard, research questionnaires were designed and distributed online. After examining the questions related to the subjects' height and weight, students in the 95th percentile with a BMI higher than 28 were considered obesity criteria. Finally, the data of 320 questionnaires were analyzed. Cepeda-Benito et al.'s food craving questionnaire (2000) and Fitzpatrick and Ritchie's family communication patterns questionnaire (1997) were utilized to collect data. Data analysis was done using Pearson's statistical test and SPSS23 software. The findings depicted that the orientation of conversation and listening had a negative and significant relationship with the tendency of students’ food cravings. Moreover, a negative and significant relationship was obtained between social distress and craving for consumption. The results of the concurrent regression revealed that these two variables, simultaneously, explain 49% of the variance of food cravings in students. It is concluded that attention to social factors and family communication patterns can play an important role in reducing food cravings. Therefore, it is suggested that the Education and Health Organization implement family skills training by counselors and psychologists in planning and life skills classes for students.
