Research: Emotional eating a serious problem

HIDALGO — Hidalgo resident Cynthia Barajas used to snack on candy, cake or bread whenever she felt anxious.After meeting with a dietician a few months ago, the 37-year-old became more aware of what she was putting in her mouth, though.

Now, instead of eating sweets, she opts for fruit when she needs a quick bite to soothe her nerves.

While Barajas was able to alter her eating habits, a new study shows others might not be so fortunate. Now that the holidays are here — a time when people are surrounded by food and are also prone to feeling stressed, anxious or lonely — experts say people trying to lose weight should pay particular attention to the role their emotions play in their eating habits.

Findings

Last month, researchers from the Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I. published a paper in the journal Obesity that shows people who eat in response to internal factors such as anxiety are more susceptible to weight gain than previously thought.

The researchers examined what affected weight more: eating in response to outside factors, such as being around food at the holidays, or eating as a response to internal factors, such as feelings of depression, loneliness or boredom.

They found that the more a person reported eating in response to thoughts and feelings, the less likely that person was to lose weight on a diet program. Also, among those who had successfully lost weight, people who reported emotional eating were more likely to regain weight.

The connection was small but definite, said Heather Niemeier, a staff psychologist with Miriam Hospital and a professor at Brown Medical School, also in Providence. Miriam serves as a teaching hospital for Brown medical students.

The results were surprising, she said, because they expected weight gain would be tied to external factors.

“We need to pay a little more attention to people who are emotional eaters,” Niemeier said.

Learned behavior

It’s unclear why, exactly, people tend to eat as response to their emotions, but it is a difficult habit to break.

Edinburg dietician Patricia Lopez said the majority of her clients deal with eating based on emotions.

“I’ve noticed and they’ve noticed that when they get bored or depressed, they seem to go toward the food,” Lopez said. “They seem to start craving more munchies and convenient types of foods, a lot of times sweets.”

Eating is inherently a comforting action, Niemeier said, possibly due to behaviors learned during childhood.

Growing up, people are often given food to satisfy emotions. For example, children get a lollipop after a shot, and parents give children a snack if they’re feeling blue or are crying, Lopez said. That association between feelings and food continues later in life.

“It’s like a cycle,” Lopez said. “You get depressed because you’re overweight … and you look for comfort. You eat more, and you get bigger. We need to find a spot where we stop that cycle.”

Food may also serve as a distraction from upcoming or previous conflicts that may be heavily weighing on dieters’ minds, according to the Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic, an internationally renowned medical center.

Lopez said there may be a chemical link to the habit as well. When levels of serotonin, a compound in the body, start to drop, people start craving sweets. But instead of just eating foods high in sugar, people eat foods with sugar and lots of fat.

“It only takes a little bit to satisfy the serotonin level, but a lot of times we don’t stop at a little bit.”

Breaking the habit

Next up for the researchers, Niemeier said, is to find out what sort of programs best address emotional eating.

Lopez said it’s important people with weight problems acknowledge the issue. She instructs her clients to keep journals and record not only what they are eating, but what’s going on in their lives and how they feel at that time.

Eventually, the link between food and feelings becomes obvious.

Instead of snacking when feeling depressed, a better habit would be to participate in a hobby or exercise, Lopez said.

“It takes a lot of work,” she said. “It’s not something they can