Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsContributing FactorsCurbing Emotional EatingRisksRealistic Distractions and TipsTracking Patterns
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Contributing Factors
Curbing Emotional Eating
Risks
Realistic Distractions and Tips
Tracking Patterns
Common triggers include stress, boredom, sadness, and anger. Many individuals turn to food for comfort, which can lead to a cycle of unhealthy eating habits. Understanding these triggers and finding alternative coping mechanisms is crucial for managing emotional eating.
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4 Factors Contributing to Emotional Eating
Across various demographics, boredom is the emotion most commonly and strongly identified as prompting an urge to eat. Research shows that feeling bored profoundly impacts eating behaviors for both men and women. This may be because boredom often arises from a lack of stimulation or engagement, leading individuals to seek comfort or distraction.
Emotional eating often stems from various other psychological and environmental factors. These include:
A Word From VerywellIf you find yourself changing your eating habits during times of stress, such as eating mostly “comfort foods” or eating significantly more, you be emotionally eating.—KATHLEEN DALY, MD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
A Word From Verywell
If you find yourself changing your eating habits during times of stress, such as eating mostly “comfort foods” or eating significantly more, you be emotionally eating.—KATHLEEN DALY, MD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
If you find yourself changing your eating habits during times of stress, such as eating mostly “comfort foods” or eating significantly more, you be emotionally eating.
—KATHLEEN DALY, MD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
1. Stress
High levels of stress can increase cortisol levels, leading to cravings for high-fat, high-sugar foods. The temporary pleasure derived from eating can momentarily reduce stress, reinforcing the behavior.
2. Loneliness and Sadness
Food may provide comfort and a sense of fullness, temporarily alleviating feelings of loneliness and sadness.
Loneliness, which is a feeling of being alone and not having your social needs met, has become more common in the 21st century and is often linked to emotional eating. Research on women age 18 to 25 has found that those who felt lonelier also had more negative feelings about their bodies and were more likely to eat emotionally.
3. Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, and household substance use disorder, can lead to emotional eating later in life. For women, childhood physical neglect is strongly linked to anxiety about food and eating.
Men who experienced ACEs often struggle with overeating, concerns about weight, and chronic dieting. Overall, these difficult early-life experiences are associated with disordered eating behaviors in middle-aged adults, highlighting the long-term impact of childhood trauma on eating habits.
4. Mental Health Disorders
Conditions like depression and anxiety can exacerbate emotional eating. Individuals may use food to cope with negative emotions or to distract themselves from their feelings.
Other feelings and emotions that have the potential to lead to emotional eating include:
4 Ways to Curb Emotional Eating
Curbing emotional eating involves developing healthier coping mechanisms and strategies to address emotional triggers. Emotional eating can be a complex issue, and exploring why you are eating emotionally is essential to finding an effective solution. Because emotional eating is often a defense mechanism or response to negative emotions, it is important to determine what emotions you are feeling in order to tackle them head-on.
1. Identify the Cause Find an Alternative Activity
Take a moment to assess why you are reaching for food. Are you genuinely hungry, or is there another reason? For instance:
2. Keep a Journal of Your Emotions and Eating Triggers
Determine whether you were actually hungry or eating for comfort. This practice can help you recognize patterns between your emotions and eating habits, enabling you to make healthier choices, such as going for a walk instead of eating a snack.
3. Engage in Mindful Eating
Mindful eating involves fully paying attention to your hunger and what you’re eating. Focus on what you’re eating and be aware of when you feel full. This can help prevent overeating and encourage healthier eating habits.
4. Seek Professional Help
A therapist or counselor can help you address underlying emotional issues and develop healthier eating habits. Breaking the cycle of emotional eating can be very difficult, and you don’t have to do it alone.
Risks of Uncontrolled Emotional Eating
Uncontrolled emotional eating can lead to a range of negative consequences, both emotionally and physically. People often feel guilty and disgusted with themselves after overeating, which can impact their social interactions.
Since meals are typically a time for socializing, discomfort with eating can lead to feelings of isolation and even depression. This cycle of emotional eating and social withdrawal can create a vicious loop, exacerbating feelings of loneliness and unhappiness.
Beyond the emotional and social implications, emotional eating frequently leads to weight gain and obesity, which can further complicate psychological issues. People may feel rejected and insecure after gaining weight, intensifying their emotional distress.
Physically, emotional eating poses significant health risks. Comfort foods, usually high in fat, salt, and calories, can contribute to several serious health conditions. Overconsuming these foods can result in:
Understanding these risks is crucial in recognizing the importance of addressing and managing emotional eating effectively.
To manage emotional eating effectively, it’s important to recognize your eating patterns and identify the triggers that lead to overeating. Ask yourself:
Once you have identified these triggers, develop healthier coping strategies. The next time you feel the urge to use food as comfort, consider these alternatives:
Valuing yourself can also help you manage emotional eating. Reflect on what matters to you and what you’re proud of:
Tracking Emotions and Eating Patterns
Tracking your emotions and eating patterns can provide valuable insights into your behavior and help you develop strategies to manage emotional eating. Here’s how to get started:
Summary
Emotional eating is a common response to various emotional triggers such as stress, boredom, and sadness. It can lead to unhealthy eating habits, weight gain, and increased risk of chronic diseases. Understanding the factors contributing to emotional eating and developing healthier coping mechanisms is essential.
By practicing mindful eating, identifying triggers, and finding alternative ways to cope with emotions, individuals can manage emotional eating more effectively. Tracking emotions and eating patterns can provide valuable insights and help develop sustainable strategies for better health.
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Break to bonds of emotional eating.Guerrero-Hreins E, Stammers L, Wong L, Brown RM, Sumithran P.A comparison of emotional triggers for eating in men and women with obesity.Nutrients. 2022; 14(19):4144. https://doi:10.3390/nu14194144.Harvard Health Publishing.Stress eating can ruin your weight loss goals – the key is to find ways to relieve stress without overeating.International Journal of Interdisciplinary Approaches in Psychology (IJIAP).Relationship between loneliness, emotional eating and body image in females.Yoon CY, Mason SM, Loth K, Jacobs DR.Adverse childhood experiences and disordered eating among middle-aged adults: Findings from the coronary artery risk development in young adults study.Preventive Medicine. 2022;162:107124. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107124Nemours Teens Health.Emotional eating.Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.How to curb emotional eating.Mississippi State University Extension.Stress and emotional eating.Counseling Directory.Binge-eating: Tips for writing an emotional food diary.Ferrara G, Kim J, Lin S, Hua J, Seto E.A focused review of smartphone diet-tracking apps: usability, functionality, coherence with behavior change theory, and comparative validity of nutrient intake and energy estimates.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019;7(5):e9232. doi:10.2196/mhealth.9232
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Break to bonds of emotional eating.Guerrero-Hreins E, Stammers L, Wong L, Brown RM, Sumithran P.A comparison of emotional triggers for eating in men and women with obesity.Nutrients. 2022; 14(19):4144. https://doi:10.3390/nu14194144.Harvard Health Publishing.Stress eating can ruin your weight loss goals – the key is to find ways to relieve stress without overeating.International Journal of Interdisciplinary Approaches in Psychology (IJIAP).Relationship between loneliness, emotional eating and body image in females.Yoon CY, Mason SM, Loth K, Jacobs DR.Adverse childhood experiences and disordered eating among middle-aged adults: Findings from the coronary artery risk development in young adults study.Preventive Medicine. 2022;162:107124. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107124Nemours Teens Health.Emotional eating.Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.How to curb emotional eating.Mississippi State University Extension.Stress and emotional eating.Counseling Directory.Binge-eating: Tips for writing an emotional food diary.Ferrara G, Kim J, Lin S, Hua J, Seto E.A focused review of smartphone diet-tracking apps: usability, functionality, coherence with behavior change theory, and comparative validity of nutrient intake and energy estimates.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019;7(5):e9232. doi:10.2196/mhealth.9232
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
MedlinePlus.Break to bonds of emotional eating.Guerrero-Hreins E, Stammers L, Wong L, Brown RM, Sumithran P.A comparison of emotional triggers for eating in men and women with obesity.Nutrients. 2022; 14(19):4144. https://doi:10.3390/nu14194144.Harvard Health Publishing.Stress eating can ruin your weight loss goals – the key is to find ways to relieve stress without overeating.International Journal of Interdisciplinary Approaches in Psychology (IJIAP).Relationship between loneliness, emotional eating and body image in females.Yoon CY, Mason SM, Loth K, Jacobs DR.Adverse childhood experiences and disordered eating among middle-aged adults: Findings from the coronary artery risk development in young adults study.Preventive Medicine. 2022;162:107124. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107124Nemours Teens Health.Emotional eating.Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.How to curb emotional eating.Mississippi State University Extension.Stress and emotional eating.Counseling Directory.Binge-eating: Tips for writing an emotional food diary.Ferrara G, Kim J, Lin S, Hua J, Seto E.A focused review of smartphone diet-tracking apps: usability, functionality, coherence with behavior change theory, and comparative validity of nutrient intake and energy estimates.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019;7(5):e9232. doi:10.2196/mhealth.9232
MedlinePlus.Break to bonds of emotional eating.
Guerrero-Hreins E, Stammers L, Wong L, Brown RM, Sumithran P.A comparison of emotional triggers for eating in men and women with obesity.Nutrients. 2022; 14(19):4144. https://doi:10.3390/nu14194144.
Harvard Health Publishing.Stress eating can ruin your weight loss goals – the key is to find ways to relieve stress without overeating.
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Approaches in Psychology (IJIAP).Relationship between loneliness, emotional eating and body image in females.
Yoon CY, Mason SM, Loth K, Jacobs DR.Adverse childhood experiences and disordered eating among middle-aged adults: Findings from the coronary artery risk development in young adults study.Preventive Medicine. 2022;162:107124. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107124
Nemours Teens Health.Emotional eating.
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.How to curb emotional eating.
Mississippi State University Extension.Stress and emotional eating.
Counseling Directory.Binge-eating: Tips for writing an emotional food diary.
Ferrara G, Kim J, Lin S, Hua J, Seto E.A focused review of smartphone diet-tracking apps: usability, functionality, coherence with behavior change theory, and comparative validity of nutrient intake and energy estimates.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019;7(5):e9232. doi:10.2196/mhealth.9232
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