question: Why do people tend to eat more when sad or depressed? Is it just survival instinct to make sure that you are well fed and nourished in the face of crippling anxiety.
comment: Many foods produce serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. By eating pleasurable foods, you are literally prompting your body to produce happy chemicals to reward the brain.
passages: Geliebter and Aversa (2003) conducted a study comparing individuals of three weight groups: underweight, normal weight and overweight. Both positive and negative emotions were evaluated. When individuals were experiencing positive emotional states or situations, the underweight group reporting eating more than the other two groups. As an explanation, the typical nature of underweight individuals is to eat less and during times of stress to eat even less. However, when positive emotional states or situations arise, individuals are more likely to indulge themselves with food.
  
  Section::::Impact.
   These biological factors can interact with environmental elements to further trigger hyperphagia. Frequent intermittent stressors trigger repeated, sporadic releases of glucocorticoids in intervals too short to allow for a complete return to baseline levels, leading to sustained and elevated levels of appetite. Therefore, those whose lifestyles or careers entail frequent intermittent stressors over prolonged periods of time thus have greater biological incentive to develop patterns of emotional eating, which puts them at risk for long-term adverse health consequences such as weight gain or cardiovascular disease.
   The stress response is a highly-individualized reaction and personal differences in physiological reactivity may also contribute to the development of emotional eating habits. Women are more likely than men to resort to eating as a coping mechanism for stress, as are obese individuals and those with histories of dietary restraint. In one study, women were exposed to an hour-long social stressor task or a neutral control condition. The women were exposed to each condition on different days. After the tasks, the women were invited to a buffet with both healthy and unhealthy snacks. Those who had high chronic stress levels and a low cortisol reactivity to the acute stress task consumed significantly more calories from chocolate cake than women with low chronic stress levels after both control and stress conditions. High cortisol levels, in combination with high insulin levels, may be responsible for stress-induced eating, as research shows high cortisol reactivity is associated with hyperphagia, an abnormally increased appetite for food, during stress. Furthermore, since glucocorticoids trigger hunger and specifically increase one's appetite for high-fat and high-sugar foods, those whose adrenal glands naturally secrete larger quantities of glucocorticoids in response to a stressor are more inclined toward hyperphagia. Additionally, those whose bodies require more time to clear the bloodstream of excess glucocorticoids are similarly predisposed.
   For the compulsive overeater, ingesting trigger foods causes the release of the chemical messengers serotonin and dopamine in the brain. This could be another indicator that neurobiological factors contribute to the addictive process. Conversely, abstaining from addictive food and food eating processes causes withdrawal symptoms for those with eating disorders. The resulting decreased levels of serotonin in the individual may trigger higher levels of depression and anxiety.
   Stress affects food preferences. Numerous studies — granted, many of them in animals — have shown that physical or emotional distress increases the intake of food high in fat, sugar, or both, even in the absence of caloric deficits. Once ingested, fat- and sugar-filled foods seem to have a feedback effect that dampens stress related responses and emotions, as these foods trigger dopamine and opioid releases, which protect against the negative consequences of stress. These foods really are "comfort" foods in that they seem to counteract stress, but rat studies demonstrate that intermittent access to and consumption of these highly palatable foods creates symptoms that resemble opioid withdrawal, suggesting that high-fat and high-sugar foods can become neurologically addictive A few examples from the American diet would include: hamburgers, pizza, French fries, sausages and savory pasties. The most common food preferences are in decreasing order from: sweet energy-dense food, non-sweet energy-dense food then, fruits and vegetables. This may contribute to people's stress-induced craving for those foods.
   Motivation is interlinked with desire. I am hungry therefore I am motivated to eat food; I want to eat.
  
  In SVT studies of depressed persons they are asked whether they would like to receive favorable or unfavorable feedback on their personality. In concurrence with SVT and ROT predictions they chose the unfavorable feedback due to a negative self-view. These studies demonstrate that self-enhancement striving has been overridden by a separate cognitive process.
   One theory suggests that binging provides a short-term escape from feelings of sadness, anger, or boredom, although it may contribute to these negative emotions in the long-term. Another theory suggests that binge eating involves reward seeking, as evidenced by decreased serotonin binding receptors of binge-eating women compared to matched-weight controls and predictive value of heightened reward sensitivity/drive in dysfunctional eating.
   In a major depressive episode, appetite is most often decreased, although a small percentage of people experience an increase in appetite. A person experiencing a depressive episode may have a marked loss or gain of weight (5% of their body weight in one month). A decrease in appetite may result in weight loss that is unintentional or when a person is not dieting. Some people experience an increase in appetite and may gain significant amounts of weight. They may crave certain types of food, such as sweets or carbohydrates. In children, failure to make expected weight gains may be counted towards this criteria. Overeating is often associated with atypical depression.
   Macht (2008) described a five-way model to explain the reasoning behind stressful eating: (1) emotional control of food choice, (2) emotional suppression of food intake, (3) impairment of cognitive eating controls, (4) eating to regulate emotions, and (5) emotion-congruent modulation of eating. These break down into subgroups of: Coping, reward enhancement, social and conformity motive. Thus, providing an individual with are stronger understanding  of personal emotional eating.
  
  Section::::Contributing factors.:Positive Affect.
   Emotional hunger does not originate from the stomach, such as with a rumbling or growling stomach, but tends to start when a person thinks about a craving or wants something specific to eat. Emotional responses are also different. Giving in to a craving or eating because of stress can cause feelings of regret, shame, or guilt, and these responses tend to be associated with emotional hunger. On the other hand, satisfying a physical hunger is giving the body the nutrients or calories it needs to function and is not associated with negative feelings.
  
  Section::::Major theories Behind Eating to Cope.
   There is no single explanation for food cravings, and explanations range from low serotonin levels affecting the brain centers for appetite to production of endorphins as a result of consuming fats and carbohydrates.
   Online and print response to "Eat When You Feel Sad" was mixed. It has been reviewed in Bookslut, The Rumpus, Time Out Chicago, Publishers Weekly, Philadelphia City Paper, and Nylon.
  
  Dennis Cooper has said of the book: “Zachary German’s nimble, catwalking, archeological, surface dwelling, emotionally unpaved prose is a thing of total wonder and my favorite drug, language-based or otherwise. "Eat When You Feel Sad" is so bright and pleasurable and full of excellence, it’s positively serene.”
   A study conducted by Bennett et al. found that emotional eating sometimes does not reduce emotional distress but instead enhances emotional distress by sparking feelings of intense guilt after an emotional eating session. Those that eat as a coping strategy are at an especially high risk of developing binge-eating disorder, and those with eating disorders are at a higher risk to engage in emotional eating as a means to cope. In a clinical setting, emotional eating can be assessed by the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire which contains a scale for restrained, emotional and external eating. Other questionnaires such as the Palatable Eating Motives Scale can determine reasons why a person eats tasty foods when they are not hungry; sub-scales include eating for reward enhancement, coping, social, and conformity.  
   Section::::Contributing factors.:Biological and environmental factors.
   Dogs are one of the most common species to produce allelomimetic behavior and have it go noticed by humans. Studies have been conducted across several breeds of dog regarding eating habits and stress vocalization when alone or with litter-mates. Many results have shown that most dogs will eat more when they are in large groups compared to when they eat alone. This has been coined as the "social facilitation of eating" and is not specific to certain breeds. In a study conducted by Compton and Scott, 80% of the dogs studied ate more in groups on the majority of trials and the overall group consumption together was larger than the summation of food consumption between each dog eating individually. When pups were considered food-satiated (would not eat more food even with a dish in front of them), they would resume eating when a hungry litter-mate was introduced into the room with them. It was believed that since everything other than the addition of the hungry litter-mate was held constant, the increased appetite in the food-satiated pup was caused by the presence of the hungry pup and allelomimetic behavior. The allelomimetic behavior that occurs in dogs develops directly from experiences that occur during the critical period of development. Scott's proposed theory of social motivation and the theory of the social facilitation of eating rely heavily on the allelomimetic behavioral system that occurs in these animals.
   The rewardfulness of consumption associated with palatability is dissociable from desire or incentive value which is the motivation to seek out a specific commodity. Desire or incentive value is processed by opioid receptor-related processes in the basolateral amygdala. Unlike the liking palatability for food, the incentive salience wanting is not downregulated by the physiological consequences of food consumption and may be largely independent of homoeostatic processes influencing food intake.
   Goleman states that emotions "make us pay attention right now—this is urgent—and gives us an immediate action plan without having to think twice. The emotional component evolved very early: Do I eat it, or does it eat me?" The emotional response "can take over the rest of the brain in a millisecond if threatened."
  
  An amygdala hijack exhibits three signs: strong emotional reaction, sudden onset, and post-episode realization if the reaction was inappropriate.
   For some people, emotional eating is a learned behavior. During childhood, their parents give them treats to help them deal with a tough day or situation, or as a reward for something good. Over time, the child who reaches for a cookie after getting a bad grade on a test may become an adult who grabs a box of cookies after a rough day at work. In an example such as this, the roots of emotional eating are deep, which can make breaking the habit extremely challenging. In some cases, individuals may eat in order to conform; for example, individuals may be told "you have to finish your plate" and the individual may eat past the point in which they feel satisfied.
   Among those persons who have been bereaved within the previous three months of a given report, those who report many intrusive thoughts about the deceased show ventral amygdala and rostral anterior cingulate cortex hyperactivity to reminders of their loss. In the case of the amygdala, this links to their sadness intensity. In those individuals who avoid such thoughts, there is a related opposite type of pattern in which there is a decrease in the activation of the dorsal amgydala and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
   It has also been suggested that "hedonic hunger" can be driven both in regard to “wanting” and “liking” and that a palatability subtype of neuron may also exist in the basolateral amygdala.
  
  Section::::Satiety and palatability.
   Social media can also be a catalyst for prosocial behavior. One example occurred during the relief efforts in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan, when users turned to Facebook and Twitter to provide financial and emotional support via their social networks. Direct donations to Japanese relief were possible on The Red Cross fan page on Facebook, and via online discount sites like Groupon and LivingSocial.
  
  Section::::Relation to mood and emotion.
   There are numerous ways in which individuals can reduce emotional distress without engaging in emotional eating as a means to cope. The most salient choice is to minimize maladaptive coping strategies and to maximize adaptive strategies. A study conducted by Corstorphine et al. in 2007 investigated the relationship between distress tolerance and disordered eating. These researchers specifically focused on how different coping strategies impact distress tolerance and disordered eating. They found that individuals who engage in disordered eating often employ emotional avoidance strategies. If an individual is faced with strong negative emotions, they may choose to avoid the situation by distracting themselves through overeating. Discouraging emotional avoidance is thus an important facet to emotional eating treatment. The most obvious way to limit emotional avoidance is to confront the issue through techniques like problem solving. Corstorphine et al. showed that individuals who engaged in problem solving strategies enhance one's ability to tolerate emotional distress. Since emotional distress is correlated to emotional eating, the ability to better manage one's negative affect should allow an individual to cope with a situation without resorting to overeating.
   Studies have shown that learning and memory improve after consuming carbohydrates. There are two kinds of carbohydrates people consume: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are often found in processed foods and release sugar into the bloodstream quickly after consumption. Complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly and therefore cause sugar to be released into the bloodstream more slowly. Good sources of complex carbohydrates are whole-grain breads, pasta, brown rice, oatmeal, and potatoes. It is recommended that people consume more complex carbohydrates because consuming complex carbohydrates will cause the level of sugar in the bloodstream to be more stable, which will cause less stress hormones to be released. Consuming simple carbohydrates may cause the levels of sugar in the bloodstream to rise and fall, which can cause mood swings.
   Compulsive overeating, or emotional eating, is "the tendency to eat in response to negative emotions". Empirical studies have indicated that anxiety leads to decreased food consumption in people with normal weight and increased food consumption in the obese.
  
  Many laboratory studies showed that overweight individuals are more emotionally reactive and are more likely to overeat when distressed than people of normal weight. Furthermore, it was consistently found that obese individuals experience negative emotions more frequently and more intensively than do normal weight persons.
   Consuming energy-dense, high calorie, high fat, salt or sugar foods, such as ice cream, chocolate or french fries, may trigger the reward system in the human brain, which gives a distinctive pleasure or temporarily sense of emotional elevation and relaxation. When psychological conditions are present, people often use comfort food to treat themselves. Those with negative emotions tend to eat unhealthy food in an effort to experience the instant gratification that comes with it, even if only short-lived.
  