What is emotional eating?
Emotional eating refers to the tendency of an individual to respond to stress by eating, even when not feeling hungry, usually high-carbohydrate or high-calorie foods that are less nutritious. Foods that emotional eater crave are usually termed as comfort foods, such as pizza, French fries, chips, chocolate, cookies, ice cream, and other junk foods. Research indicates that approximately 40% of the population is emotional eaters.
Emotional eating can be a sign of atypical depression, though many people who are bot depressed engage in this behaviour in response to chronic or momentary stress. Emotional eating a common behaviour and is dangerous as it can contribute to obesity and interfere with maintaining a healthy diet.