Link between diet, eating disorders and obesity
Source : Nutriactis/Rouen-Normandie hospital
Summary
- EMOTIONAL EATING
- SPECIAL DIETS
- FOOD ADDICTION
In certain situations, the relationship with food can be disturbed, leading to emotional eating, special diets or even addiction, which can ultimately lead to the development of EDS or obesity.
EMOTIONAL EATING
- When our body reacts to negative or positive emotions by modifying our eating behaviour, whether by increasing or decreasing our food intake, or by changing the type of food we eat, food intake is then associated with emotions. Each individual is subject, to varying degrees, to emotional eating, without this being systematically problematic.
- When these situations lead to suffering or pain, they become pathological and may be indicative of an eating disorder.
- The characteristics of emotional eating vary according to the type of EDs. In the case of compulsive eating disorders (bulimia nervosa, bulimia nervosa) and/or obesity, sadness, anger or anxiety will tend to induce binge eating frenzy, whereas a feeling of joy will limit food intake. On the opposite people suffering from restrictive EDs (anorexia nervosa) will tend to eat more when they’re happy, and restrict limit their food intake when experiencing negative emotions (sadness, anger, anxiety). Emotional eating is therefore a risk factor for EDs or obesity.
SPECIAL DIETS
Following restrictive and/or specific diets can contribute to the onset of EDs or obesity. Indeed, one study showed that people who reported having fasted in the past year had significantly higher BMIs. Fasting, for weight control purposes, is associated with a risk of future binge eating. In addition, several studies have shown that the majority of people suffering from binge eating disorder report having started restrictive dieting before developing pathological eating behaviours. Repeated restrictive dieting could also induce an alteration in the reward system associating food restriction with pleasure, thus increasing the risk of restrictive EDs.
FOOD ADDICTION
Finally, food can also be considered an addiction. Food addiction corresponds to a loss of control over food intake associated with an alteration in the reward system. Indeed, the repeated practice of high-calorie diets could lead to a reduction in reward signals, leading to an increase in food intake and the consumption of hedonic foods, thus favoring the onset of EDs or obesity. Nevertheless, the concept of food addiction remains controversial, and the role of certain types of food in these addictions remains to be clarified.
The assessment of the relationship with food is therefore essential, and must be integrated into every screening and management of EDs and obesity.
Hedonic nutrition: nutrition that brings pleasure to the consumer
