Emotional eating refers to the idea that when you’re upset (or stressed, or angry), your way of dealing with it is to eat. We’re not talking about a healthy serving of vegetables for purposes of sustenance; we’re talking unhealthy food that we eat purely because it tastes good. This is where the trope of “breakup equals ice cream” finds its roots.
The idea of emotional eating comes from psychosomatic theory. It posits that emotional eaters cannot tell the difference between hunger and the physiological state that comes with negative emotions. According to researcher Vera Tsenkova, the physiological “fight or flight” response to stress should actually suppress appetite due to a release of glucose into the bloodstream. This idea would seem to stop emotional eating before it even begins – our bodies are physically set up to stop being hungry when we experience this kind of stress.
As results of a 2011 research study suggest, “People who are concerned about their eating behaviour attribute their (over)eating to the experience of negative emotions, although their eating behaviour may in fact be a reflection of the habit to consume unhealthy snacks.”
The study goes on to show that individuals who are in the habit of eating when they are emotional may simply be reinforcing their eating habit while thinking it’s an emotional coping strategy. The results found that “emotional eating was a significant predictor of increased concerns about eating behaviour.” Stress eating, then, becomes less about the stress and more about the eating.
Tsenkova’s research supports this concept: “Coping with stress by eating palatable foods may reduce anxiety and perceived stress, while further reinforcing the feeding habit.” The breakup ice cream, then, because it tastes good, may reduce perceived stress so you may actually feel better – but it’s more likely a reflection of eating habits that are already in place.
The weight gain that has been associated with the university experience has tie-ins to this kind of emotional eating. While other factors such as availability of food and cooking facilities undoubtedly play a role as well, many first-year students are placed in a situation where they need to form new habits and a new routine while coping with the emotions of leaving home and living up to the high standards and fast pace of university academics. This emotional strain and the availability of unhealthy foods combine to form a less-than-healthy relationship with food and can contribute to weight gain. Tsenkova suggests that the key to reducing stress-induced eating is to “identify alternative strategies that promote cognitive, goal-directed responses to stress.” These strategies may include physical activity, relaxing techniques such as yoga or meditation, or anything else that may work on an individual basis.
The connection between food and stress in this case is not a healthy one; emotional eating recognizes the stress prompting the response while coping with it in a way that does not eliminate or reduce the source of stress itself. While that breakup ice cream might really make you feel better, it’s important to go right to the source of your stress instead of to the freezer.
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The Ontarion publishes independent, student-produced news, opinion, and commentary for University of Guelph students so that they can make informed decisions in their lives. To do this, The Ontarion provides learning opportunities and training in journalism, media production, leadership, board governance, and other aspects of nonprofit news.
The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.