Worldwide more than one billion people are overweight and more than eight-million people suffer from eating disorders (Adriaanse, Ridder, Evers 1; Smith 9). Most people aren’t extremely fit. Everyone has some problem with food, to an extent. For most people the problems are under control, but this is not the case for everyone. Unhealthy relationships with food can have serious consequences.
Unhealthy eating habits can contribute to these consequences. One common unhealthy mannerism that many people don’t realize they have is the tendency to eat emotionally. If you don’t know what emotional eating is Adriaanse, Ridder, and Evers define it as “the tendency to over eat in response to negative emotions such as anxiety or irritability” (1). The reason many people can’t tell that they are emotional eaters is because when they’re upset they can’t tell their emotions apart from their hunger, and once they’re calm they can’t recall what they were feeling while upset, because of this it’s hard to connect emotional eating to food consumption (Adriaanse, Ridder, Evers 1-2). Most evidence about this eating habit is not only scarce but also subjective. When asking people if they emotionally eat some people might say that they emotionally eat often, but they might emotionally eat less than someone who said they rarely do (Adriaanse, Ridder, Evers 14.) Research on this is so subjective it’s hard to cater to a group of emotional eaters. If someone has a problem with eating emotionally the best thing for them is probably to learn to recognize the difference between hunger and emotion. Once they can differentiate between the two they will have a better chance of keeping the habit under control. Although emotional eating is a bad habit, there are s...
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...heir best to live a healthy lifestyle.
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Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by severe restriction of food, an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image and a body mass index of less than 18.5 (Kring, Johnson, Davison, Neale, 2013). There are two subtypes of anorexia, Restricting and Binge Eating/Purging. An individual who falls under the Restricting subtype severely restricts food intake, while an individual who falls under the Bing Eating/Purging subtype regularly engages in binge eating and purging. Anorexia typically begins in adolescence and primarily affects women. The disorder is more common in women than in men mainly because of the cultural emphasis that is placed on women’s beauty. Individuals with anorexia generally have a low self-esteem, a very critical self-evaluation and a belief that they can never be too thin. Due to the seriousness of the disorder, the issue of whether or not an individual should have the right the refuse life-sustaining treatment is highly debated.
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
Shapiro, C. M. (2012). Eating disorders: Causes, diagnosis, and treatments [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10683384&ppg=3
In conclusion, different social conditions can significantly influence what and how much an individual consumes. Factors such as distraction, presentation of food and eating with unfamiliar others can stimulate behavioral conformity compared to when eating alone. Eating operates as a communicative function where individuals adjust their level of intake to appear likable and convey a positive presentation of themselves. In contrast, very low levels of trait empathy in Esma’s situation, she is more likely to consume greater amounts of food because she wouldn’t feel the need to empathies with what other people are experiencing or thinking about her. Thus, less importance would be placed on social pressures to gain acceptance or form a relationship through interacting with others.
Many efforts to address emotional eating have emphasized the importance of effective mood regulations skills to enhance one’s ability to tolerate stress or negative mood without using food to cope (Telch, Agras, & Linehan, 2001). Only within the past 20 years has research focused on applying more traditional learning processes to the development and maintenance of emotional eating. The primary difference between these perspectives, as exemplified by the Davidson model, is the de-emphasis of cognitions and motivations for eating (e.g., to escape negative mood) in the learning models, such as the classical conditioning model.
Such emotions that can cause harm to an individual is depression and sadness. When an individual overconsumes food, the individual may express such emotions that causes harm to their health. Becoming addicted to food can harm the life of an individual as the emotions that are express from overconsuming food can easily affect their daily life. Such experience is normally shown in the life of a teen who loves food but chooses to ignore the consequences that comes along with the
Eating as entertainment is often referred to as emotional eating, which means using food to fulfill some other emotional need like loneliness, boredom, or sadness. You might sit in front of the TV and eat a whole pack of cookies. Or, you might find yourself eating a gallon of ice cream that one weekend when all of your friends are too busy to hang out. Emotional eating can lead to problems losing weight or result in you gaining unwanted pounds. if you are having problems with eating to entertain yourself, you need to learn how to [[Eat Healthy | develop a healthier approach to eating]].