Emotional eating

Symptoms Of Emotional eating 

People who indulge in emotional eating usually try to soothe their emotions with food. 

Emotional eaters tend to connect every feeling with food. This habit of suppressing or replacing feelings has opposite effects on happiness and overall health in the long run. 

Before understanding the signs and symptoms, it is necessary to differentiate true hunger with emotional eating. 

True hunger

The signs of true hunger are as follows: 

• It builds slowly 

• It develops as a result of an empty stomach

• It can be satisfied by any food
  
  

Emotional eating

The signs of emotional eating are opposite to those of true hunger. It includes: 

• Immediate hunger with a feeling of urgency to eat food

• Hunger is often triggered by a specific event or mood

• Hunger is also satisfied by a specific type of food
  
  

The signs and symptoms of emotional eating can be summarized as: 

• Feeling an urgency to eat food or snacks

• Abrupt feeling of hunger

• Craving for specific comfort foods

• Eating at unusual time

• Eating more frequently 

• Eating despite feeling full

• Feeling of guilt after eating

• Hiding empty containers of food

• Eating while feeling stressed /sad /annoyed/disappointed/angry/lonely/ anxious/tired/bored

Types Of Emotional eating 

There can be several types of emotional eating based on the emotions behind eating.

Reward eating

It involves eating while feeling stressed, overwhelmed, overloaded or overdriven. Most of the women over 40 having a busy schedule fall into this category. Stress increases the risk of entering the vicious cycle of sadness and reward. 

Harmony eating

Individuals who cannot deny eating in front of others are called “harmony eaters”. Such people love socializing. 

Bored eating

As the name suggests, this type of emotional eating involves eating while feeling boredom. The bored eater can eat anywhere at their desk, in front of TV, or in the car. The bored eaters treat eating as a pastime. 

Lonely eating

Loneliness also serves as a trigger for emotional eating. Studies suggest that isolated living individuals consume more fat and have irregular meal patterns. 

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Anxiety eating

Anxiety eaters eat when they feel anxious, worried, tense, agitated, panic or nervous. 

Tired eating

Individuals who eat while feeling tired to energize themselves fall under this category.

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Binge eating (compulsive overeating or compulsive eating)

It is a severe form of emotional eating where the quantity of food consumed is relatively high. It is developed by either untreated emotional eating issues or aggravated triggers.

Causes Of Emotional eating 

The exact cause behind eating in stressful situations is not known completely.

But there are several theories for the same. Studies suggest that a hormone called cortisol (stress hormone) often increases during times of physical and psychological stress.

This disruption of cortisol levels results in cravings for so-called comfort foods. Individuals who are exposed to chronic stress are at high risk of developing emotional eating.

Did you know?

Emotional eating was originally known to be triggered by negative emotions such as anger, sadness, and anxiety. However, newer research has shown that a positive mood can also increase food intake. 

Risk Factors For Emotional eating 

There are various factors that are known to affect eating from childhood to adulthood. Emotions, the environment in which the child is growing, medical conditions, and stringent dieting play a key role. 

The risk factors involved in emotional eating are:

Gender

Females are more prone to emotional eating due to hormonal fluctuations. 

Obesity/being overweight

Individuals who are either overweight or suffering from obesity are more prone to emotional eating. 

Adolescence

The chances of emotional eating is more between childhood and adulthood i.e the period of adolescence. This is due to the estrogen activation at puberty. 

Genetics

Some individuals have risk genes that are formed by increased sensitivity to the environment. Risk genes predisposes the person to emotional eating. 

Emotional fluctuations

Some common situations associated with emotional eating include:

• anger

• boredom

• change

• confusion

• frustration

• loneliness

• loss

• resentment

• stress

Individuals with depressive feelings are found to have lower levels of serotonin – happy hormone. It is associated with an increase in appetite which triggers emotional eating. 

Diet control

It is seen that stress or negative emotions impact the self control of people on dieting. They tend to have a higher food intake when put under stress. This can be due to the loss of the feeling of hunger and satiety. 

Inappropriate parenting practice

Neglecting, overly protective, manipulative or hostile behavior of parents can impact the psychological and emotional health of the child. This can lead: 

• Poor interoceptive awareness of feelings like hunger and satiety

• Difficulty in identifying and describing feelings

• Difficulties with adequate regulation of emotions
  
  

These are associated with self-reported emotional eating. 

Emotional Trauma

Individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, adulthood trauma and childhood emotional abuse are shown to have more chances of emotional eating. 

Adverse experiences

Individuals who are exposed to adverse experiences early in life are more likely to become emotional eaters later on. 

Studies have also found that mothers of chronically ill children suffer from emotional eating due to long-term stress.

Avoiding stress

Individuals who try to avoid stress by distraction are also prone to emotional eating. 

Lack of sleep

Individuals who do not get enough sleep are directly linked to emotional eating.

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Diagnosis Of Emotional eating 

There is no technique or lab test that can confirm this condition due to its behavioral nature. It is diagnosed by the examination of symptoms through a set of questions. 

Self-reported questionnaires

It involves a series of questions that are somewhat similar in design. The questions are related to desire or frequency of food intake in response to emotions.

Film clips

In this technique, individuals are instructed to watch a film to induce emotions, especially sadness. The amount and pattern of food intake is recorded. 

Memory recall

During memory recall, participants are asked to recall any personally relevant emotional event. Memory recall can also be done by personally chosen mood inducing music. Emotional eaters consume more food after recalling personal emotional events.

Social stress task

It involves inducing stress by telling individuals that they will have to give a speech to an audience while being judged and videotaped. Studies suggest that emotional eaters tend to consume more sweet high-fat foods in these conditions.

Natural method (recording in the diary)

It involves analyzing the eating patterns in a more natural environment. Individuals are asked to fill out a diary. The following points should be mentioned in the diary:

• Daily hassles (situations that produce negative feelings)

• Mood states

• Frequency of food intake

• Type of food taken

• Food cravings, if any

Newer methods 

There are several limitations of self-reported emotional eating that is based on questionnaires. It is because of conscious responses to the relationship between mood and eating. To out rule this, newer methods are discovered:

• Single target implicit association test (ST-IAT): It involves an indirect approach to assess emotional eating. In this, individuals are asked to evaluate a particular object on a computer screen. The target object can be food or some other thing. Emotional eaters tend to identify items related to food faster than non-emotional eaters. 

• Ecological momentary assessments (EMA): These involve repeatedly sampling a participant's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in real-time. It helps to analyze the co-occurrence of specific feelings and food intake.

Occasional overeating, like having an extra plate of your favorite dish at a restaurant, can be a normal tendency for most people. But, where is the line drawn between overeating and binge eating?
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Specialist To Visit 

Most people with emotional eating think that they are normal and don’t accept that they are behaving abnormally. Individuals should consult the doctors in case of:

• Eating out of control, especially in response to particular emotions

• Feeling guilty after eating
  
  

Specialists that can help manage this condition include:

• Primary care physician

• Psychiatrist

• Therapist

• Nutritionist

• Gastroenterologist

Primary care physicians help in diagnosing the condition and refer to other specialists as per the cause and symptoms. 

Psychiatrists help in dealing with the causes responsible for emotional eating such as stress, anxiety, or any emotion that is triggering it.

Therapists guide emotional eaters on how to manage their feelings, thoughts, choices, and actions affecting their eating patterns.  

Nutritionists can help in optimizing the diet which gets disturbed when we eat emotionally. 

The unhealthy consumption of food may lead to gastrointestinal disorders which are diagnosed and treated by a gastroenterologist. 

To get the right diagnosis, it is important to consult the right doctor. Consult India’s best doctors online.
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Prevention Of Emotional eating 

Emotional eating is preventable. The following measures might help in preventing the same:

Seek support in times of emotional need

Emotional eating can be prevented by seeking support during tough times. Withdrawing from others in times of emotional need increases the chances of mindless eating. 

Practice stress-relieving activities

Majority of individuals indulge in emotional eating due to focusing only on eating as an option to feel good. Engaging in stress-relieving activities such as exercise, meditation, and journaling helps to refrain from emotional eating.

Avoid negative self-talk

The negative self-talk during the time of stress further lowers self-esteem. This serves as an intense trigger to eat. It also makes it difficult to differentiate between physical hunger and emotional hunger. 

Avoid food as a reward

It is very important to model healthy eating habits in children. Parents should avoid food to celebrate occasions or to reward their children as this can trigger emotional eating later on. Instead of this, use verbal praise and give other types of rewards such as stickers, fun activities, swings, etc. 

Ensure adequate sleep

The inadequate amount of sleep also contributes to emotional eating. Too little sleep makes the individual more prone to obesity as a result of overeating.  

How much sleep does an individual need?

• Infant 4-12 months: 12-16 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
• Toddler (1-2 years): 11-14 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
• Pre-school (3-5 years): 10-13 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
• School (6-12 years): 9-12 hours per 24 hours
• Teen (13-18 years): 8-10 hours per 24 hours
• Adult (18-60 years): 7 or more hours per night

Reduce sedentary time

Lack of physical activity also increases the risk of emotional eating. Indulging in physical activity and exercise helps prevent emotional eating. Involvement in daily household chores also helps to avoid unnecessary eating.  

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Treatment Of Emotional eating 

The treatment approach of emotional eating includes controlling emotions. The treatment also addresses any other mental health issues such as depression. The main aim of the treatment is to achieve healthy eating habits. 

Psychotherapy

It is the first line therapy for emotional eating. In this, individuals are taught to eat healthy and reduce binging episodes. It includes three major types: 

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that helps in managing problems by changing the way of thinking.  It helps the individuals to cope better with the factors that trigger eating episodes. It also improves a sense of control over behavior. 

2. Interpersonal psychotherapy: This therapy aims at relieving symptoms by improving interpersonal relationships. The therapy involves solving current problems instead of focusing on childhood traumas.

 Focus areas include:

• Conflicts in relationships 

• Major changes in life such as job loss, birth of a child, and loss of someone

• Difficulties in initiating or maintaining relationships

It involves several sessions with psychotherapists. Individuals often acquire effective strategies that might improve their symptoms. 

3. Dialectical behavioral psychotherapy: It involves weekly individual sessions (1 hour), a weekly group skills training session (1.5 - 2.5 hours), and a therapy consultation team meeting (1-2 hours). The sessions are aimed at: 

A. Enhancing the skills: In this following skills are taught

• Regulating emotions

• Mindfulness (paying attention to the present moment)

• Improving interpersonal communication

• Surviving in the crises without making situations worse

This therapy is also found to be an effective intervention for reducing body weight.

B. Applying the skills: Individuals are provided with assignments to practice skills. Therapists help patients to apply new skills in their daily lives. 

C. Improving motivation and reducing dysfunctional behaviors: It aims to keep the patients motivated. This helps the individuals to maintain their behavior consistency. 

Medications

Medications are considered less effective than psychotherapy. Some of the medications  used in severe cases of emotional eating include: 

• Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate

• Topiramate

• Antidepressants (fluoxetine and sertraline)

Treatment of obesity

Emotional eating often leads to obesity. The treatment of obesity should be individualized for each person as the reason for overeating is different for everyone. Along with diet management, the emotions behind eating should be identified and managed.

Home-care For Emotional eating 

Most of the emotional eating starts from our own kitchen. The following tips prove to be beneficial in reducing the eating episodes along with an improvement in quality of food. 

Junk food - Out of sight out of mind

During episodes of emotional eating, most people tend to incline towards packaged  junk food items like cookies, chips, cakes etc. If one stops buying and hoarding these food items in the kitchen, half the battle of emotional eating is won.

Nutritional planning

The effective management of emotional eating also requires conscious eating through understanding the calorie intake and dietary needs of the body. Keep a record of what you are eating. A well balanced nutritional planning helps in overcoming the impulsive binge eating and purging.

It is utmost important to make the right and informed food choices and develop sound eating.
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Emotional self care

Low self-esteem is one of the major risk factors of emotional eating. Self care includes constantly reminding yourself that you are a good person, indulging in activities that you love, thinking about the moments of your success. This can actually help in the treatment of mood swings and depression.

Being happy and healthy starts with small, everyday habits and trying some of these can make a huge difference to your life.
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Complications Of Emotional eating 

Excessive eating due to negative emotions leads to overweight and obesity.

Obesity can be a risk factor for many conditions like

• Tiredness

• Type 2 diabetes

• High blood pressure

• Heart diseases

• Stroke

• Sleep apnea

• Fatty liver disease

• Gallbladder diseases

• Joint pain

• Back pain

• Osteoarthritis

• Dementia

• Infertility

• Certain cancers (breast, colon, and endometrial)

Alternative Therapies For Emotional eating 

The following options are easy and helps in controlling stress that serves as a major trigger for emotional eating: 

Yoga 

Individuals have a lack of physical and mental control over their actions and thoughts of self-image respectively. 

Yoga is an excellent tool to relieve mental stress and in controlling behavioral symptoms. It acquaints the individual about the body and its needs along with the following:

• Build confidence 

• Adopt a flexible mindset

• Deviates the mind from eating

• Focuses the mind on the present

• Build healthy relationship with food

Yoga emphasizes the holistic improvement of mind, body and the soul. Here are some of the health benefits of yoga!
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Meditation

It aids in calming the mind and focusing on inner self. It has shown to improve the thought of self image and impulsive behavior such as emotional eating.

Read more about the amazing benefits of meditation.
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Self massage

Rubbing your own neck, scalp, and skin behind the ear is a wonderful method to feel relaxed. It makes an individual feel pampered and reduces negative thoughts. Practicing this after a stressful day is found to be associated with lesser chances of emotional eating.

Living With Emotional eating

Emotional eating impacts the body both emotionally and physically. The extra calories taken as a medium to soothe the mood leads to weight gain. Individuals feel better for a short period of time after eating but it has a long term negative impact on the overall health. 

The following measures can help the individuals to tackle the situation wisely:

Observe your eating patterns

Emotional eaters eat mindlessly without paying attention to the triggers. The following questions might help an individual to identify their conditions:

• Do you eat when you feel angry, depressed, hurt, or otherwise upset?
• Do you eat in response to certain people or situations?
• Do certain places or times of day trigger food cravings?

Write your emotions

Writing serves as a tool for healing emotions. Some individuals find it's hard to share their emotions because of a feeling of judgment. In such cases, write about the things you care deeply about and why they matter to you. 

Develop healthy responses

Individuals should develop healthy responses in response to emotions instead of eating mindlessly. During the emotional storm person should:

• Talk with a friend, family member, family doctor, or counselor about the emotions that trigger your eating

• Take a walk while feeling stressed

• Read a book 

• Take a class for managing stress

• Brainstorm other ways to tackle the emotions such as sports, painting, or writing  

Parents should talk to their children if they are observing signs of emotional eating in them. 

Eat slowly 

The habit of eating slowly helps in paying attention to the amount of food an individual is taking. The following habits can help in the same:

• Put down the fork and spoon between bites

• Take a moment to taste the food before swallowing

• Avoid distractions such as TV, computer, talking to someone while eating. 

Avoid staying hungry

Staying hungry for a long time increases the chances of emotional eating. Stress along with hunger makes the junk food more tempting.This can be avoided by keeping healthier snacks and having them between the meals. 

Plan meals beforehand

Plan healthy meals well in advance. Chop vegetables for salad or make a pot of broth-based soup ahead of time to have hassle-free, filling meals.

Stock the kitchen with healthy snacks

Stocking healthy snacks in the kitchen minimizes the chances of eating junk during the time of emotional breakdown.

Seek help from professionals

In some cases, emotional eating can not be treated on its own. It becomes difficult to avoid food in the presence of triggers such as stress. Hence, it is important to seek help from medical professionals.