Overeating

Overeating

Overeating

Overeating normally refers to continuous over-consumption of food than the body can process, expel or excrete at a given time. It is also commonly known as bingeing. It can sometimes be for a specific period of time particularly during festivities and holidays. This is because people are in a festive mood which is usually characterized by celebrations which lead to over consumption of food. Individuals who exhibit overeating usually over consume food than their bodies can expel hence high calorie intake.

In my day to day life I meet many people who have an "addiction" to food which has become common and is turning out to be a problem especially to many teenagers. In my family we have several of these cases but closest to me is my friend. I have come to learn through my personal experiences and observations, that there are many factors that precede overeating. My friend for instance when she began bingeing she was going through difficult times which seemed to affect her emotionally. The following are the major conditions that lead to her problem. First she had stress and mostly when people are under stress they are usually anxious and tense. People's reaction to stress is very different as some would go for food while others would choose to meditate. The highest percentage of people go for their favorite food which leads to overeating as they are trying to look for a way to forget what they are going through (Bill).My friend reaction was not different as she choose food as her safe haven. She lost control of her eating habits which resulted to overeating.

Secondly she experienced lack of sleep due to stress which contributed to overeating. According to Bill when people are experiencing difficulty in sleep they tend to lose control and eat too much food to keep themselves busy hence overeating. Snacking and skipping meals also leads to overeating because the human body seems to work like a pendulum in that if you eat a good meal in right quantity it will store and hold until the next meal. The opposite is the case as the body will tend to overcompensate resulting to overeating.

Thirdly she resulted to watching a lot of television due to lack of sleep and stress. Television watching is documented to be a major contributor of overeating because when one is watching television and a commercial on food is on, normally people tend to crave for that particular food and if it is within their reach they will go on and have it. This was the same case with her. Food smells are said to have the same impact for example there is a restaurant near her home and any time she passes by it she succumbs to the smell of her favorite food, French fries. Fourthly her preferred food which was low in fiber made her overeat. Food that is not rich in fiber will also lead to overeating as fiber tends to fill up the stomach hence decreased levels of cravings and food consumption.(Trachtenberg)

Consequences of overeating

There are severe consequences of overeating which can have adverse effects on ones social life, and health. For instance over consumption of fat and cholesterol posses greater risks of heart diseases such as coronary thrombosis. Overeating has major consequences, below are some just to mention a few that I witnessed my friend going through. First was relationship damage. She was unable to handle conflicts and any problems that confronted her. Whenever there was tension in a relationship instead of sorting out the problem she would turn to food as a safe haven. Problems in her relationships continued pilling, tempers flared, anger increased, and finally the relationship sours.

She also suffered from Low self esteem due to negative self image as a result of lacking self control in dealing with personal matters and dealing with external problems hence her friends regarded her as a loser and failure. This greatly determined how she felt about herself hence damaging her self esteem. Last but not least, Obesity. Within a few months she had become overweight hence obese that is according to body mass index measurements a statistical measurement for comparing a person's height and weight. (Gadzik, 2006, pp.8188.)

Psychology of overeating

Overeating has become a major problem among many people. Psychology attributes the problem to factors such as the environment. The environment in which people live in posses big problem as these foods are readily available which makes it difficult for people to resist overeating. Ivan Pavlov research on dogs is a good example of how environment affects eating habits. Pavlov dogs would salivate at the sound of the bell which they learned to link to provision of food. As for my friend the environment contributed greatly as there were many restaurants around her neighborhood offering her favorite meals. The food smell from the restaurants also made her crave for food as she linked the food smells to eating. (Trachtenberg).

Ethical Dilemmas of Overeating

There are several ethical dilemmas according to my observations. I am forced to tell her that she looks fine so as to avoid smashing her self esteem. While I know that overeating can result to a bigger problem such as coronary thrombosis (Bill).

Conclusion

Overeating seems to be a problem with many people some of whom don't even realize they have it. The first step to deal with it is identifying you are overeating. Then desire to heal which must be done with willingness, self compassion, and right attitude.

POST COMMENT

Office Desks and Creating Your Own Area Senior living facility recreating the world of joy for the Veterans Beating a Speeding Ticket - It's Possible! Creating A Title For Your Book That Gets You Noticed Creating a Brand Name Cavities Aren't Just from Eating Candies Numerous Benefits of eating Oatmeal Get The Perfect Solution From A AZ Heating Technician Creating A Nursery With Character Treating Ovarian Cysts - Finding A Natural Cure For Ovarian Cysts Do You Fear Your Husband Is Cheating On You? How is IPL Laser used for treating MGD? How to Prevent Overeating