Unraveling the Psychology of Eating: Why We Eat What We Eat

April 28, 2024

by Cathe Friedrich

Food provides more than just the energy that quiets our appetite and keeps our muscles moving. Food has emotional and social connotations too. Think about it! What’s the focus at the parties and gatherings you go to? Food, of course! The meals and snacks you nibble on supply energy, yet they also calm our emotions, at least for the short term. Yet it’s not just physiological hunger, due to an energy shortfall, that makes you crave a snack.

Behind the curtains of emotional eating is a complex blend of physical, emotional, and psychological factors that influence what you eat and when you eat it. Due to the complexity of these factors, developing a healthy relationship with food is a tougher challenge than it seems. Let’s look at some of these factors.

Emotional Eating

If you’ve ever grabbed a doughnut when you’re feeling stressed, you’re not alone. Studies show that emotions are a bothersome problem for 38% of adults. Emotional eating is where we use food as a coping mechanism, a way to avoid confronting and dealing with deeper, more pressing emotions. It’s a way to temporarily deal with stress, boredom, anxiety, or sadness, although it’s not a long-term solution.

Indulging in a doughnut, a vat of ice cream, or other comfort foods may give your spirits a temporary lift, but it doesn’t resolve (or even address) the issues that drive you to snack in the first place. And there’s a price to pay for making high-hedonic foods, those high in sugar and fat, the bulk of your diet. When you eat to calm emotions, you create an environment that fosters weight gain, guilt, and further reinforces unhealthy eating patterns.

Research shows these emotions are strongly linked with emotional eating:

Sadness
Anger and Frustration
Anxiety and Stress
Boredom

How can you break this self-defeating cycle? Get in touch with what emotions and the triggers cause you to crave food. Know what you’re feeling and your emotional state when you eat something sugary. What were you thinking about? The best way to do this is to keep a food journal. In your journal, write down what you eat, your thoughts, and emotional state at the time. You’ll be surprised at the insights you’ll gain by doing this.

Doing this will help you recognize emotional eating triggers, so you can get them out in the open and deal with them. If you have deep seated emotional issues that you struggle with and cause you to overeat, you may also benefit from counseling.

Food Cues and Environmental Factors

Visual clues also affect how much you eat. Food is not only sustenance but a feast for our eyes. We unconsciously decide what to eat and how much based on subtle factors like the dishes they’re served on. For example, one way to use visual cues to your advantage is to use a smaller plate to control portion sizes. When you put food on a smaller plate, your eyes see a full plate of food and you feel like you’re eating more than you are.

Studies also show eating off brightly colored plates, like red or yellow, increases appetite and encourages overeating. That’s why fast-food restaurants tap into the psychological effects these colors have on appetite. Choose duller plates in shades of blue or green to tap down your hunger. Also, keep extra bowls of food off the table to make it harder to get seconds.

Food advertising and easy access to unhealthy food options make us crave less healthy food options too. When you browse the aisles at the grocery store, you see an array of products with appealing imagery and messaging. These days, 60% of what people buy is pre-packaged. The advertising on these items subtly influences your choices with their bright colors and clever buzzwords. So, limit your exposure. Skip the processed food aisles and shop the perimeters of your grocery store.

The Role Body Image Plays in Food Choices

Another factor that affects food choices and how much you eat is body image. If you’re unhappy with how your body looks, you may adjust your food intake and what you eat to control your weight. If you take it to the extreme, this approach can lead to unhealthy or even dangerous habits, like excessive calorie restriction or adopting fad diets that lead to nutrient deficiencies.

Don’t judge yourself by your weight or measurements. Know that you’re a whole being with many facets and much to offer the world. Celebrate your body’s unique strengths and capabilities and surround yourself with positive influences that promote self-acceptance and body positivity.

Build a Healthy Relationship with Food

If you struggle to build a healthier relationship with food, consider booking sessions with a counselor (if emotional eating is a big problem) or scheduling sessions with a registered dietitian to learn how to choose and create appetizing meals from healthier foods. Remember, building a healthy relationship with food is a journey, and progress takes time and patience. It doesn’t happen overnight.

Tips for building a healthier relationship with food include:

Recognize motional Triggers: Once you know your triggers, you can take proactive steps to manage them.
Mindfulness Practices: Adopting mindfulness approaches to eating, such as engaging with your food and noticing its textures, tastes, and aroma, can help you tame the emotions that cause you to overeat.
Stress Management Techniques: Stress management approaches, like deep breathing, yoga, or exercise can help you reduce factors that cause anxiety and stress eating
Engaging in Enjoyable Activities: Adopting hobbies or activities that relieve boredom and make you feel more positive can reduce overeating.
Cognitive Restructuring: Working with a counselor can change negative thought patterns and help you manage emotions that trigger overeating.
Behavioral Modifications: Adopting structured mealtimes and planning healthy snacks add structure that can reduce overeating.
Social Support: Talking with friends, family, or support groups can give emotional relief that makes it less likely you’ll turn to food to deal with emotional turmoil.
Dietary Education: Learning about healthy eating habits and the physiological effects of foods can help you make smarter dietary choices when you feel stressed and find healthier substitutions.

Conclusion

Understanding your food choices and building a healthier relationship with your diet is worth the effort! Wellness is a gift that keeps on giving and can enrich your life in many ways.

References:

Reichenberger J, Schnepper R, Arend AK, Blechert J. Emotional eating in healthy individuals and patients with an eating disorder: evidence from psychometric, experimental, and naturalistic studies. Proc Nutr Soc. 2020 Aug;79(3):290-299. doi: 10.1017/S0029665120007004. Epub 2020 May 13. PMID: 32398186; PMCID: PMC7663318.
“Depression, emotional eating and long-term weight changes: a population ….” 20 Mar. 2019, https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-019-0791-8.
“Why We Engage in Emotional Eating | Psychology Today.” 02 Jan. 2019, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-new-home/201901/why-we-engage-in-emotional-eating.