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	Study: Dieting Hardest for Emotional Eaters Reuters, via Yahoo News, 11-9-07

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The Web address of this article is https://sfhelp.org/gwc/news/emotional_eaters.htm

Updated April 11, 2015

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      This research supports the Lesson-1 premise that inner pain from inherited psychological wounds promotes xcessive weight and unhealthy eating habits. These symptoms are increasing relentlessly among U.S. kids and adults. See my comments after this reprint for more perspective. The highlites below are mine. - Peter Gerlach, MSW

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Emotional eaters -- people who eat when they are lonely or blue -- tend to lose the least amount of weight and have the hardest time keeping it off, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. They said the study may explain why so many people who lose weight gain it all back.

"We found that the more people report eating in response to thoughts and feelings, the less weight they lost," Heather Niemeier, an obesity researcher at The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said in a statement.

"Amongst successful weight losers, those who report emotional eating are more likely to regain," said Niemeier, whose study appears in the journal Obesity.

The study included 286 overweight men and women who were participating in a behavioral weight loss program. A second group consisted of more than 3,300 adults who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year.

Niemeier and her team analyzed responses to an eating inventory questionnaire.

They focused on people who ate because of external influences, such as people who eat too much at parties, and people who ate because of internal influences, such as feeling lonely or as a reward.

What they found is that the more a person ate for internal reasons, the less weight they lost over time.

"Our results suggest that we need to pay more attention to eating triggered by emotions or thoughts as they clearly play a significant role in weight loss," Niemeier said.

The study was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Comments

      These NIH-study findings support the premise that some people unconsciously use eating and food (e.g..sugar, fat, and carbohydrates) to mute uncomfortable "emotions." Implication: dieting doesn't work (keep excessive weight off permanently) for such people because it doesn't reduce their inner pain  

      The study's conclusion ("we need to pay more attention to eating triggered by emotions or thoughts") is too vague to have any practical meaning. At best, these findings invite further research on questions like these:

What factors promote significant inner pain?

What can people do to recognize, admit, and permanently reduce inner pain without chemicals - including food?

Why do typical overweight people neglect their physical and psychological health despite "knowing better"?

Will typical "emotional eaters" (Grown Wounded Children  - GWCs) want to consistently take better care of themselves if they know these findings? If not - why?

How do these findings compare to research on "eating disorders" like anorexia, bulimia, and "comfort-food" addiction? 

      Also,see these similar recent research summaries:

• (American) men's poor health

• Kids from "risky" (low nurturance) families have more health problems

• Binge eating is a major American problem

• Eating disorders are a guy thing too, study finds

• "Fat and Happy" - Why Americans Don't Diet

• "Mental illness" starts by age 14

• Americans are neglecting their health, and...

• Overweight adults and kids are increasing in the US

      Notice what you're thinking and feeling now. Recall why you read this - did you get what you needed? If so, what do you need to do now? If not, what do you need? Who's answering these questions - your wise resident true Self, or "someone else"?

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