What is emotional eating? It can be positive (eating to celebrate an engagement, cake to celebrate a birthday) or negative (eating for relief, distraction, numbness), and is most often referred to in a negative way. People tend to reach for foods that are nutrient poor (not containing a lot of nutrients) leading to food guilt after eating. Signs and symptoms include but are not limited to, eating without physical hunger, eating more than what’s comfortable, eating to feel better, rewarding self, eating to feel safe, feeling powerless/out of control around food.
What is overeating? Eating more than the body can utilize for energy, pushing past fullness. A few examples could include having a second helping at dinner when full or having dessert on a holiday when not hungry. Overeating tends to be normal and could be mindless or mindful.
What is binge eating? Binge episodes that occur at least once a week for three months, loss of control over amount of eating, marked distress over the episodes, usually consumption of 1,000 calories or more. Signs and symptoms include eating until uncomfortably full, eating more rapidly than usual, feeling depressed/guilty/disgusted with self, eating alone due to embarrassment, eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry.
The main difference between the three is that binge eating is a defined eating disorder. Emotional eating and overeating may be normal when not engaging regularly, but if engaging often may be a sign of disordered eating and could potentially lead to binge eating or other eating disorders down the road. It’s common for people to say “I binged” when they overeat, but upon analyzing what was eaten it is nowhere near a binge. Regardless, whether it was a binge, emotional eating or overeating it’s helpful not to identify the self as a “binger” as most people carry a negative connotation and self judgement with the identity.
If you feel there is something wrong with your eating habits it is important to speak with a nutrition and mental health professional to normalize eating patterns and manage emotions and stress.
Resources:
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
Eating Disorder Hope
Danielle Johnson MS, RDN, CDN, CPT is a registered dietitian who works in the Department of Bariatrics Center of Excellence at Mather Hospital, where she specializes in surgical weight loss and medical weight management. She has a Master of Science in Integrative Nutrition and is earning her doctorate in Exercise Science and Sports Nutrition.