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Emotional eating in healthy individuals and patients with an eating disorder: evidence from psychometric, experimental and naturalistic studies

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Reichenberger, Julia, Schnepper, Rebekka, Arend, Ann-Kathrin, Blechert, Jens·2020·Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
DOI 10.1017/s0029665120007004PMC PMC7663318
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Abstract

Emotional eating has traditionally been defined as (over)eating in response to negative emotions. Such overeating can impact general health because of excess energy intake and mental health, due to the risks of developing binge eating. Yet, there is still significant controversy on the validity of the emotional eating concept and several theories compete in explaining its mechanisms. The present paper examines the emotional eating construct by reviewing and integrating recent evidence from psychometric, experimental and naturalistic research. Several psychometric questionnaires are available and some suggest that emotions differ fundamentally in how they affect eating (i.e. overeating, undereating). However, the general validity of such questionnaires in predicting actual food intake in experimental studies is questioned and other eating styles such as restrained eating seem to be better predictors of increased food intake under negative emotions. Also, naturalistic studies, involving the repeated assessment of momentary emotions and eating behaviour in daily life, are split between studies supporting and studies contradicting emotional eating in healthy individuals. Individuals with clinical forms of overeating (i.e. binge eating) consistently show positive relationships between negative emotions and eating in daily life. We will conclude with a summary of the controversies around the emotional eating construct and provide recommendations for future research and treatment development.

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  • Individuals who engage in emotional eating may also be more prone to smoking, as both behaviors are utilized to cope with emotional distress.

    “Literature indicates that individuals who engage in emotional eating may also be more prone to smoking, as both behaviors are utilized to cope with emotional distress [23].”

    From Smoking and its impact on eating behavior: A review (2026) · cites this paper as [23]

    In “Different types of emotions and individual differences” (page unavailable), the paper describes smoking as a possible substitute for stress-related eating, not as a behavior emotional eaters are more prone to engage in. It reports increased food intake among non-smokers under high stress but decreased intake among smokers. The paper does suggest that smoking can be used to cope with stress, but its account runs counter to the claimed association. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Cited by

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Authors
Reichenberger, J., Schnepper, R., Arend, A.-K., & Blechert, J.
Affiliations
University of Salzburg (AT)
Corresponding author
Reichenberger, Julia
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2020-05-13
Volume
79
Issue
3
Pages
290-299
ISSN
  • 0029-6651 (ISSN-L)
  • 1475-2719
DOI
10.1017/s0029665120007004
PMC
PMC7663318
OpenAlex
W3025913633
Cited by
161
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 37 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 4
FWCI
1.17
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Proceedings of The Nutrition Society (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
European Commission (639445, HORIZON2020, ERC-StG-2014)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
Keywords
emotional eating, binge eating, eating disorders, negative emotions, dietary intake, dietary restraint, eating styles, construct validity, overeating, undereating
MeSH terms
Bulimia, Emotions, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Hyperphagia, Male, Psychometrics, Bulimia Nervosa

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