The US National Institute of Health Division of Nutrition Research Coordination (DNRC) reports that the average person makes over 200 decisions about food each day. If your New Year's resolution is to lose weight, it is important that you understand why you eat. Keeping a written food diary, or taking advantage of online tools like Livestrong's MyPlate food diary and calorie calculator (see Resources), can help you identify some of the common triggers that could be causing you to take in extra calories due to emotional eating.
Unemployment and Financial Pressures
A report by WJLA ABC 7 News revealed that unemployment and financial pressures caused by the recession have caused men and women affected to turn to food for comfort and start to overindulge. The article points out that having less money to eat healthy foods also caused people to gain weight.
Health Problems and Fatigue
The fear and anxiety associated with the diagnosis of serious health problems, such as cancer, debilitating diseases, chronic or terminal illness as well as other conditions, can trigger overeating. Those with medical conditions also may fear the pain, treatment, side effects from drugs and uncertainty they face.
Relationship Conflict
Conflict with spouses and other relatives can be another source of stress. According to a study conducted at Harvard in 2009, women reported strained family relationships and feeling limited by life's circumstances among the top reasons they overate. Relationship conflict did not have similar effects on men.
Stress at Work
The study identified stress at work as the leading trigger affecting men. When stressed, the body releases the hormones adrenalin, corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) and cortisol. Chronic stress (lasting months or years) can raise cortisol levels significantly and has potential links to overeating and weight gain.
A separate study conducted by the Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada, found that stress brought on from thinking caused overeating; heavy thinkers consumed the most calories after a session of intellectual work. Jean-Philippe Chaput, the study's main author, said, "This is a factor that should not be ignored, considering that more and more people hold jobs of an intellectual nature."
Bad Weather
A study published in the Archive of General Psychiatry identifies seasonal affective disorder (SAD) as a syndrome characterized by recurring depression that occurs at the same time each year, usually during the winter months. Most people affected by dark, cold weather showed signs of hypersomnia, overeating and carbohydrate craving and seemed to respond to changes in climate and latitude.
