The habit that almost half of adults have: when does it become a problem?

A study recently published in the journal "Appetite" examined the link between our ability to cope with emotions and emotional eating — a state in which we turn to food not because we are hungry, but due to stress, sadness, anxiety, or other feelings. The researchers found that difficulty in coping with emotions is linked to an increased tendency for emotional eating, a phenomenon that, according to data, affects about 40–45% of adults and about 30% of adolescents.

The phenomenon is familiar to almost everyone: a hard day at work ends with a search for something sweet, tension leads to snacking, and boredom causes us to open the fridge even shortly after we have eaten. This is, in fact, emotional eating — eating that stems from an emotion and not from the body's physical need for food.

In itself, it is not defined as a psychological disorder and does not necessarily indicate a problem. Food is part of the way humans experience emotions: we may eat when we are sad or stressed, but also celebrate happy events around a meal. The central question is not whether it happens, but how often and how much we need food to cope with what we are feeling.

Eating a snack after a stressful day or a dessert to cheer up is not in itself a cause for concern. The problem may begin when food becomes an almost automatic response to distress and the main tool through which a person copes with difficult emotions. The reason for this is simple: food may provide immediate comfort, but the relief can be short-lived. In some cases, it is even replaced afterwards by a feeling of guilt, and the emotion that led to the eating in the first place still remains.

When this pattern repeats itself regularly, and especially when the coping is based on foods high in sugar or fat, studies link it in the long term to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as an increased risk of developing eating disorders.

Researchers from the University of the Basque Country in Spain sought to better understand why some people tend to turn to food when they cope with emotions. To do this, they conducted a meta-analysis, combining and examining findings from several previous studies to get a broader picture. The findings pointed to a link between difficulty in emotional regulation and emotional eating.

Simply put, people who find it harder to identify their emotions, cope with them, or find a way to calm themselves may be more prone to using food as a way to cope with those emotions. This link was found in both men and women, although according to the studies, women tend to some extent more to eat in response to emotions.

Despite the findings, the researchers do not point to emotional eating itself as a problem to be avoided in every situation. Food can be one of the ways we cope with a hard day. Alongside food, there are other ways to cope with distress — talking to another person, physical activity, distraction, or other activity that helps reduce tension.

The difficulty begins when food remains the only or main option. This is also the reason why the study directs attention specifically to emotional regulation: the ability to identify what we are feeling and cope with the emotion in different ways may also affect our eating patterns.

One of the simple ways to understand what is behind the desire to eat is to stop before approaching food and try to identify what we are feeling at that moment. The material suggests two simple questions: "Can I name what I am feeling now?" and "Is there another way I can feel better right now?". The goal is not to determine that it is forbidden to eat if the answer is stress or sadness. It simply allows distinguishing between a situation where the body is asking for food and a situation where we are looking for comfort through it.

The findings do not turn eating following stress or sadness into a disorder. On the contrary — it is a very common behavior. The difference is in the pattern. If food is one of several ways to cope with emotions, there is not necessarily anything unusual about it. But if almost every situation of stress, anxiety, sadness, or boredom ends in eating, it may be worth examining what causes it.

The central meaning that emerges from the study is therefore simple: sometimes the important question is not what we eat, but what made us want to eat in the first place. When the relationship with food causes distress or a feeling of loss of control, the recommendation is to turn to a doctor, psychologist, or a certified dietitian for professional advice.