Obesity is an epidemic that continues to be a major problem in the United States and the world as well. Part of the increase in obesity could be related to emotional eating. Negative emotions have been shown to either increase or decrease the desire to consume food. Physiologically when negative emotions are experienced glucose is released into the blood that reduces the feeling of hunger. Other people, however, have an increased urge to eat when they experience negative emotions. This is referred to as emotional eating.
A person who eats emotionally may have a difficult time losing weight. Any increase in weight may lead to more negative emotions and a further desire to eat and it becomes a vicious cycle. The behavior of emotional eating tends to be more common in overweight people.Women have a greater tendency to exhibit emotional eating behavior than men.
The type of diet that a person consumes can contribute to the way they eat as well. In a Western-style diet, the food portions are energy-dense, filled with processed foods, and quantities are large. This type of diet encourages overeating. Processed foods contained more saturated fats or solid fats which can impact body mass. These foods also increase the rate of absorption leading one to remain hungry for a longer period of time. Unprocessed foods have a much more satiating effect.
It is important to break the addiction to carbohydrates and fatty foods. If you can eliminate carbs from the diet for six to eight weeks, you should have destroyed your body's addiction to them. During this elimination period it is important to stick to a diet very high in protein and in fiber to diminish the feelings of being hungry. After the period of six to eight weeks you can begin to introduce grains and wheat in limited quantities.
There have been common factors shown between cocaine and alcohol abuse and with addiction to food. In both conditions, the individual experiences a lowered response to rewards via the hormone dopamine in the brain. In a healthy person, the response to the rewarding material is normal which leads to a lower drive to consume the food or drug. In the person who suffers from addiction, the response is magnified leading to less control and a drive to consume the substance. It is suggested that a common brain condition is involved in addiction to drugs as well as in obesity.
Everyone will cheat with their diet every now and then. The important thing is to not get in the habit of divulging in sweet foods and food high in fat whenever you are put into a high stress situation.
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