There's No Solace in Sweets - Queendom Research Reveals Why Some Women Are More Prone to Emotional Eating
Queendom.com's latest study indicates that certain personality traits and behaviors are more likely to lead to emotional eating in women.
Montreal, Canada, November 23, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Queendom.com, a pioneer in online personality, IQ, and career tests, has released its newest study comparing women who are emotional eaters vs. those who are not. Queendom's research reveals that women who use food for comfort are more likely to have underdeveloped coping skills, deficient emotional control, and self-sabotaging beliefs that enable this destructive cycle.
Queendom's statistics reveal that women are more likely than men to turn to food as a coping mechanism. Focusing on women specifically, Queendom researchers uncovered major differences between emotional and non-emotional eaters. According to their statistics:
- Emotional eaters are more likely than non-emotional eaters to have low self-confidence and a low sense of self-efficacy (73 vs. 15, on a scale from 0 to 100).
- Emotional eaters are likely to be depressed (89 vs. 23) and to experience anxiety (90 vs. 31).
- Emotional eaters have more difficulty controlling anger (19 vs. 73).
- Emotional eaters have less developed coping skills (27 vs. 71).
- Emotional eaters are more likely to ruminate about issues in their life (91 vs. 35).
- Emotional eaters are more likely to believe that they are powerless to change their body and their health (45 vs. 79).
Queendom's research also reveals that emotional eaters are more likely to turn to comfort food as a way to:
- Deal with emotional pain
- Mask feelings of shame and guilt
- Avoid confrontation
- Cope with loneliness
- Cope with boredom
"Emotional eating is a self-sustaining habit, making it a difficult pattern to break," explains Dr. Ilona Jerabek, president of PsychTests. "When an emotional eater is stressed and turns to food for comfort, the euphoria is only temporary. Once the reality of the calorie binge hits them - whether they see it in the mirror or on the scale - the guilt and shame can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, for some emotional eaters, it won't be long before these feelings trigger another food binge. Unless these women find a healthier outlet to deal with difficult emotions, they will keep running through this vicious circle."
While experts at Queendom recommend seeking professional help for serious cases of emotional eating, they do have some tips to help emotional eaters gain a degree of control over this habit:
- Write down what you are feeling. Keep track of your emotions or feelings before, during, and after an emotional eating session. You will probably see a pattern emerge. In time, you will be able to take note of negative emotions, to identify them in an objective way ("Ah yes, I am worried about that presentation tomorrow"), to accept them and ultimately, to let them wash over you.
- Learn to identify when you are really hungry. One critical component to ending the cycle of emotional eating is to re-learn your body's signals for hunger and satiety. Some tips for recapturing a sense of appetite include eating on a schedule, moderating caffeine intake, and eating foods that are nutritionally satisfying.
- Delay giving in to the craving. Cravings, even strong ones, pass in approximately 20 minutes. Try to tough it out and take a moment to praise yourself for succeeding.
- Exercise. Exercise promotes good health and high self-esteem and helps battle anxiety and depression. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to hit the gym in order to exercise. Get into a habit of taking a walk in the evening or during your lunch break, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or play music at home just dance.
Those interested in assessing their emotional eating tendencies can take the Emotional Eating Test at http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=1565
About Queendom.com
Queendom.com is a subsidiary of PsychTests AIM Inc. Queendom.com is a site that creates an interactive venue for self-exploration with a healthy dose of fun. The site offers a full range of professional-quality, scientifically-validated psychological assessments that empower people to grow and reach their real potential through insightful feedback and detailed, custom-tailored analysis.
About PsychTests AIM Inc:
PsychTests AIM Inc. originally appeared on the internet scene in 1996. Since its inception, it has become a pre-eminent provider of psychological assessment products and services to human resource personnel, therapists, academics, researchers and a host of other professionals around the world. PsychTests AIM Inc. staff is comprised of a dedicated team of psychologists, test developers, researchers, statisticians, writers, and artificial intelligence experts. The company's research division, Plumeus Inc., is supported in part by the Research and Development Tax Credit awarded by Industry Canada.
Contact:
Ilona Jerabek, Ph.D., president
PsychTests AIM Inc.
http://testyourself.psychtests.com/
1-888-855-6975
ilona@psychtests.com
Queendom's statistics reveal that women are more likely than men to turn to food as a coping mechanism. Focusing on women specifically, Queendom researchers uncovered major differences between emotional and non-emotional eaters. According to their statistics:
- Emotional eaters are more likely than non-emotional eaters to have low self-confidence and a low sense of self-efficacy (73 vs. 15, on a scale from 0 to 100).
- Emotional eaters are likely to be depressed (89 vs. 23) and to experience anxiety (90 vs. 31).
- Emotional eaters have more difficulty controlling anger (19 vs. 73).
- Emotional eaters have less developed coping skills (27 vs. 71).
- Emotional eaters are more likely to ruminate about issues in their life (91 vs. 35).
- Emotional eaters are more likely to believe that they are powerless to change their body and their health (45 vs. 79).
Queendom's research also reveals that emotional eaters are more likely to turn to comfort food as a way to:
- Deal with emotional pain
- Mask feelings of shame and guilt
- Avoid confrontation
- Cope with loneliness
- Cope with boredom
"Emotional eating is a self-sustaining habit, making it a difficult pattern to break," explains Dr. Ilona Jerabek, president of PsychTests. "When an emotional eater is stressed and turns to food for comfort, the euphoria is only temporary. Once the reality of the calorie binge hits them - whether they see it in the mirror or on the scale - the guilt and shame can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, for some emotional eaters, it won't be long before these feelings trigger another food binge. Unless these women find a healthier outlet to deal with difficult emotions, they will keep running through this vicious circle."
While experts at Queendom recommend seeking professional help for serious cases of emotional eating, they do have some tips to help emotional eaters gain a degree of control over this habit:
- Write down what you are feeling. Keep track of your emotions or feelings before, during, and after an emotional eating session. You will probably see a pattern emerge. In time, you will be able to take note of negative emotions, to identify them in an objective way ("Ah yes, I am worried about that presentation tomorrow"), to accept them and ultimately, to let them wash over you.
- Learn to identify when you are really hungry. One critical component to ending the cycle of emotional eating is to re-learn your body's signals for hunger and satiety. Some tips for recapturing a sense of appetite include eating on a schedule, moderating caffeine intake, and eating foods that are nutritionally satisfying.
- Delay giving in to the craving. Cravings, even strong ones, pass in approximately 20 minutes. Try to tough it out and take a moment to praise yourself for succeeding.
- Exercise. Exercise promotes good health and high self-esteem and helps battle anxiety and depression. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to hit the gym in order to exercise. Get into a habit of taking a walk in the evening or during your lunch break, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or play music at home just dance.
Those interested in assessing their emotional eating tendencies can take the Emotional Eating Test at http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=1565
About Queendom.com
Queendom.com is a subsidiary of PsychTests AIM Inc. Queendom.com is a site that creates an interactive venue for self-exploration with a healthy dose of fun. The site offers a full range of professional-quality, scientifically-validated psychological assessments that empower people to grow and reach their real potential through insightful feedback and detailed, custom-tailored analysis.
About PsychTests AIM Inc:
PsychTests AIM Inc. originally appeared on the internet scene in 1996. Since its inception, it has become a pre-eminent provider of psychological assessment products and services to human resource personnel, therapists, academics, researchers and a host of other professionals around the world. PsychTests AIM Inc. staff is comprised of a dedicated team of psychologists, test developers, researchers, statisticians, writers, and artificial intelligence experts. The company's research division, Plumeus Inc., is supported in part by the Research and Development Tax Credit awarded by Industry Canada.
Contact:
Ilona Jerabek, Ph.D., president
PsychTests AIM Inc.
http://testyourself.psychtests.com/
1-888-855-6975
ilona@psychtests.com
Contact
PsychTests AIM Inc.
Ilona Jerabek, Ph.D.
514-745-3189
http://corporate.psychtests.com/
toll-free at 1-888-855-6975
Ilona Jerabek, Ph.D.
514-745-3189
http://corporate.psychtests.com/
toll-free at 1-888-855-6975
Contact
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