People's moods and emotions can influence their taste buds. Recent research by Cornell University food scientists bared that emotional eating tends to occur more during moments when people are not feeling upbeat or perceive real-life events rather unpleasantly.
The takeaway message is that a negative emotional state may be the culprit for an ever-expanding waistline, as gleaned from close observations of college hockey players. The researchers, led by Food Science Assistant Professor Robin Dando, used as scenario competitive sports in assessing how individual palates change based on emotional states. When a team emerges victorious, it opts for regular foods, but when it loses, it reaches for "hedonically pleasing" foods like sweets, the Cornell University study noted.
Stressful or negative emotional states make people go for the wrong foods, or plunge into a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting. Yet as author and weight management specialist Dr. Rick Kausman said, there is a way out of the rut.
Self-compassion is the key strategy, Kausman wrote. At the end of the day, people just need to discover a way of self-nurturing or getting a positive body image. It will be a tremendous help if individuals manage stress and banish "hard-wired prejudices" and alter perceptions about food and dieting, The Guardian reported.
The inability to blast excess pounds is often met by huge amounts of snark, and even people leading a relatively stress-free lifestyle may be subjected to anxiety-causing body shaming. That, in itself, can trigger negative feelings that can lead to stress eating. Dealing with feelings head on rather than binging on snacks and sweets can stop emotional eating.
The finding also draws attention to the fact that there is no 'one size fits all' strategy in curbing emotional eating and shedding flab. Nonetheless, stopping a drab, stressful or bad mood from leading to unhealthy food choices can be a good start.