Nowadays, more people experience the urge to eat a lot, this will result to weight gain and later on, obesity. When a person consumes extra calories than what their body needs to sustain basic bodily functions such as digesting food and for physical activities; is considered overeating. There is no distinct reason as to why exactly we overeat; as everyone has different reason to eat. To stop overeating, one must know the triggers of overeating.

The following are the common reasons why we overeat:

• Emotional Eating – when we feel extreme negative emotions such as anger, sadness, and stress; we tend to eat a lot to overpower the emotions that we have. When you are in emotional distress, you might turn to binge/impulsive eating; this may cause you to eat everything that’s available in a quick manner without enjoying the food. Turning to food when you’re feeling intense sensations can generate unhealthy eating cycles as your emotions will order you when and what to eat.
• Mindless Eating – Overeating arises when we are preoccupied with conversations, reading, phones, laptop screens, or other screens of any kind during meal time. Due to our lack of awareness of our hunger cues, we have the tendency to eat more than usual which then cause us to gain weight.
• Skipping Meals – The majority of people who want to lose weight tend to skip meals to reduce their daily caloric intake. People who have this behavior will likely avoid breakfast, lunch, or dinner; as a result the body may emit less leptin (satiety hormone), a hormone that helps to inhibit hunger and prevent trigger responses to hunger when the body does not need energy. Low leptin levels may cause hunger and overeating later in the day. On the other hand, the hormone ghrelin (hunger hormone) increases if meals are prolonged.
• Processed Foods – eating highly processed foods such as cookies, chips and even cereal, cured meats, corn syrup has been found to spark overeating and weight gain according to the study conducted by Cell Metabolism. It was found that volunteers overindulged in highly processed foods compared to unprocessed. This is linked to the dopamine production in the brain after eating extremely processed foods.

These are the only few reasons why we overeat; the next time you feel like overeating, take a moment to consider the issue and develop a plan on how to deal with it. To break the cycle of excessive eating, it is crucial to be aware of triggers and eating patterns.

//Rianne Mae C. Cabahug, CMU On-the-Job Trainee

References:

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Editorial Staff. (2020, August 20). Why do we overeat? Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.nutritionletter.tufts.edu/healthy-eating/why-do-we-overeat/

Galan, R. N. N. (2018, February 15). How do i stop stress eating? Medical News Today. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320935#takeaway

Harvard Health. (2019, August 1). Ultra-processed foods appear to cause overeating and weight gain. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/ultra-processed-foods-appear-to-cause-overeating-and-weight-gain

Servick, K. (2019, May 16). ‘Ultraprocessed’ foods may make you eat more, clinical trial suggests. Science. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.science.org/content/article/ultraprocessed-foods-may-make-you-eat-more-clinical-trial-suggests

Steven, E. (2020, August 26). 5 common causes of overeating and how to quit them. LIVESTRONG.COM. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.livestrong.com/article/13721939-causes-of-overeating/