Stating that emotional hunger is not really a state of hunger, Expert Dietitian Gizem Bahadır said, “Emotional hunger is our desire to eat in cases of stress, sadness and anxiety. Although we know that we are not hungry, we turn to the act of eating to suppress our emotional states. Dozens of reasons such as negativities in childhood, turning to eat more with the attitude of the environment during adolescence, inability to cope with stress, wrong diets and insufficient calories can cause emotional hunger.”
Specialist Dietitian Gizem Bahadır from Medical Park Göztepe Hospital Complex Nutrition and Diet Department made explanations about emotional hunger. Making a brief definition of emotional hunger, Uzm. Dyt. Bahadır said, “Emotional hunger is a condition that causes a person to want to eat even when they are not physically hungry. This type of hunger is usually caused by the desire to fill emotional gaps or cope with stress. Unlike physical hunger, emotional hunger provides momentary relief but can be damaging to emotional and physical health in the long term. Dozens of reasons such as negativities experienced in childhood, tendency to eat more with the attitude of the environment during adolescence, inability to cope with stress, wrong diets and insufficient calories can cause emotional hunger.”
“The desire to eat quickly may occur”
Referring to the reasons that trigger emotional eating, Uzm. Dyt. Gizem Bahadır said, “If a person turns to eating in a short time after eating, even if there is satiety after eating, if he/she goes to eating when he/she is upset, stressed, anxious, and if there is a desire to eat food quickly, there may be emotional eating behavior. Emotional eating can often cause a person to ignore real hunger signals and therefore lead to overeating tendencies. In the long run, this behavior can lead to unhealthy weight gain, eating disorders and worsening of emotional health.”
“Differences between emotional hunger and physiological hunger”
Speaking about the differences between physiological hunger and emotional hunger, Uzm. Dyt. Bahadır shared the following information: “Physiological hunger occurs to meet the body's real needs. After eating, sugar balances return to normal and a feeling of satiety occurs. The person stops eating until hunger occurs. In emotional hunger, even though there is no real hunger, some situations push the person to continue eating, even though saturation is felt. In physiological hunger, the person consumes food slowly and feels good. In emotional hunger, on the other hand, there is a fast eating process and no matter how much is eaten, one wants to continue eating despite satiety. This is followed by a feeling of regret. It is easy to control weight in physiological hunger states, but in emotional eating, the person may lose weight control and weight gain may occur.”
“Common misconceptions”
Stating that the most common mistake is to make restrictive and compulsive diets and to try not to eat the food we crave for a long time, Uzm. Dyt. Bahadır said, “Emotional eating can be dealt with by regulating the diet. Since inadequate diet lists will trigger emotional eating, diets with appropriate calories should be created. We should take care to eat slowly at regular times. Holding on for a long time without eating the food we crave can push us into overeating behavior again afterwards. Trying to consume that food in small portions can also be a solution. Doing physical activities, creating your own time during the day, creating a sleep pattern, reviewing the situations that push you into stress, creating a diet list suitable for you and following it will be the most definitive solution.”
