Reducing emotional eating through mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioural training

Peer reviewed / Manuscript (original) submitted: 17 May 2022 / Revision accepted: 25 July2022

Introduction

The habit of eating to cope with emotional stress is often referred to as «emotional eating »: an eating pattern triggered by anxiety, anger, or depressive moods. Here, these and other negative emotions increase the motivation to eat, which is experienced as an appetite or craving, rather than a physically anchored hunger sensation. Mostly energy-dense food is eaten, often associated with a loss of control over eating behavior. As a consequence, the intensity of the stressful emotion decreases, reinforcing and sustaining the emotionally triggered eating.

This eating pattern was validated in laboratory experiments, where individuals with high emotional eating scores ate more in response to induced emotions than individuals with low scores. Emotional eating behavior develops in an interplay of learning processes, biological and sociocultural factors, which is not yet well understood. It contributes to the development of obesity and eating disorders and complicates changes in dietary behavior, such as those required for bariatric surgery or diabetes treatment [1–6]. ...

Abstract

The efficacy of a mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral training program to reduce emotional eating behavior was investigated in a randomized controlled trial. Patients of a rehabilitation clinic (mean age 51 years, 57 % women) showing high scores of emotional eating and a mean body mass index of 36 were randomly assigned to regular treatment (n = 262) or to an additional training program with six group sessions (n = 260). Characteristics of eating and emotion regulation were assessed with standardized questionnaires at the beginning of training, at the end of training, and one, three, and five months thereafter. The training reduced the expression of emotional eating up to three months after the end of the training, improved emotion regulation and promoted the ability to enjoy food. We conclude that emotional eating can be successfully treated with relatively little time through mindfulness-based behavioral therapy training.

Keywords: emotional eating, stress, mindfulness-based intervention, emotion regulation, psychology

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