by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: August 25, 2009

Emotional eaters are particularly prone to weight gain, since it is their emotions that influence what they eat, and when they crave sugary treats or salt-laden goodies crammed full of fat they can find it impossible to resist these urges. It is easier to give in and satisfy that craving, to ease their tension and cheer them up for a moment or two, than to deal with the root cause of their negative feelings. Even though they know that eating food isn't really going to make them feel better it offers them temporary respite, keeping their mind occupied with something other than what is causing them to worry in the first place. If emotional eaters allow their eating to get out of control, though, they could soon find themselves gaining weight, which only adds to their problems.

It is easy to see why emotional eaters can find themselves gaining weight because a lot of people have stressful jobs, don't spend enough time with their kids or spouse, and are struggling to stay on top of things. If food provides them with comfort, then why not partake of a chocolate bar or cream cake? After all, it's not in the same league as drowning your sorrows or taking drugs, or at least that is what people can end up saying to themselves when they are feeling bad about engaging in emotional eating.

Indeed, most emotional eaters tend to feel guilty about eating to soothe their mind since they often eat more than normal and can end up consuming a huge number of calories within a short amount of time. They start to think that if anybody saw them they would be regarded as a greedy pig, even though they find they can't help but give into their urges. Emotional eating becomes their dirty little secret, so that when they are alone they can eat as much as they like without anyone passing judgement on them. They can easily replace the tub of ice cream they gorged on, as well as the various bars of chocolate and packets of cookies, before anyone else even notices.

It is the secretive nature of emotional eating which can fuel weight gain because if you don't feel you have to answer to anyone you can continue eating till your heart's content, which simply means you consume more calories. If you're not doing enough exercise to burn off these extra calories there is a good chance you will put on weight. Individuals can either let their emotions control their eating or try to establish some control over their emotions and their eating habits so that they break the link between the two.

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