Emotional hunger has a close connection with anxiety.
Why do we really eat without hunger? Understand the relationship between the need to consume food, brain and emotions
In the middle of the afternoon, for what you are doing to taste a slice of cake. The taste likes and get another slice. Or opens a box of chocolates to try only two units, only two! But get distracted and devours half a box. After consumption, immediate feeling is of pleasure or relief, but regret does not require time to hit. After all, why do we eat when we are not exactly hungry? And what to do to modify this habit?
The answer can be emotional hunger. Emotional eaters represent a dietary profile already identified by science (others are hyperphagic, parasites and slow burners). However, there is a peculiarity of emotional eaters: this profile, according to researchers, reaches more women.
Another revealing feature is that emotional hunger concerns mental health. This is because the study in question applied a questionnaire to patients studied for tabularity their levels of anxiety and depression. Known as Hads (hospital in anxiety and depression scale)This questionnaire underlines these two stairs disorders. Result: emotional eaters are more anxious than patients framed in other profiles.
“This suggests that emotional hunger is strongly associated with negative emotional states, such as anxiety, which can influence the food behavior of these individuals,” says endocrinologist Fabian Mandel Cyrulnik.
Comforting food
Emotional eaters are influenced by emotional hunger, not by physiological hunger. Physiologal is the hunger we feel after a period of food deprivation: the body requires the replacement of food because it needs nutrients to continue working.
Emotional hunger is different: the need to eat is an answer to one’s emotions, both stress and sadness. It is common for emotional eaters to prefer known foods as “comforting food”. Rich in sugar, carbohydrates and fats, these foods can vary from pizza, snacks, pasta, desserts, biscuits, ice cream and chips, among others.
But why this preference? In general, in addition to being more appetizing or having a more stimulating appearance in the eyes, comforting food can alleviate negative emotions. This is because sugar, carbohydrates and fats are food groups that release substances into the brain capable of improving mood. Of course, this choice is totally intuitive, although its effects can be perceived in practice. When a friend undergoes a disappointment, our first reaction is to rejoice with a chocolate, not with a plate of boiled cabbage, right?
Reward system
The fact is that the control of hunger and satiety is a complex process in the brain. The reward system has a decisive performance in this process and, therefore, directly influences the choices we make about food and urgency that the feelings, at certain times, to find gratifying options for taste.
“These same reward paths also control more primitive pleasure behaviors such as sexual activity, emotional memory and addictions such as cigarettes and alcohol,” says Fabiana Cyrulnik. Therefore, it is not uncommon to find patients obesity who also depend on nicotine or alcohol. “This illustrates how the impulsion reward and control systems are interconnected and how the interruption of behavior can affect other aspects of health,” says the doctor.
The reward system and impulses control are so related that it is common to observe the following situation: deciding to quit smoking, the person begins to fatterate. If it is obese, you can increase even more weight by eliminating the cigarette.
Do you have a solution?
Yes, he has. Anyone who is emotional hunger can break this habit if a change in lifestyle is adopted. This change covers different fronts. The first step is to look for a specialized doctor to receive individualized diagnosis and therapy, involving a food plan, medicines and/or complementary procedures, as well as physical activities.
Within this combination, psychotherapy is very important because it will help the patient better manage their emotions. It is also recommended to adopt practices capable of slowing down and escaping stress such as meditation and yoga.
“It is essential to establish a tripod composed of food plan, physical activity and pharmacological treatment”, strengthens Fadiana Cyrulnik. According to her, only a new diet and the adoption of physical exercise are insufficient for weight loss. “Pharmacological treatment becomes a very useful and safe tool, because, in addition to providing greater weight loss power, it offers greater possibilities to maintain a lost weight,” he explains.
What is your profile?
Hyperfagic: this food profile collects people who eat large quantities of food for lunch and dinner and rarely for breakfast. It is more common among men.
Building: in this profile, people who do not consume significant quantities of food in meals are framed, but are always hungry and therefore get used to ingesting snacks (“pinch”) during the day.
Burner Slow: it includes people who have a slow or low expense. Some diseases can explain slow metabolism such as diabetes, heart failure and even polycystic ovary syndrome.
Emotional Eater: he brings together people who see food as a form of emotional reward. Even without hunger, they eat beyond what is necessary to better manage their emotions. It reaches multiple women.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
