Habitual overeating can lead to weight gain and eating disorders. The Cleveland Clinic in the United States has presented practical strategies to reduce overeating, based on advice from psychologist Dr. Susan Albers.
According to the medical community on Tuesday, eating disorders refer to disturbances in eating behavior, including binge eating or food refusal, loss of control over food intake, excessive preoccupation with food, and refusal to eat despite nutritional deficiency. Also known as dietary disorders, they are broadly categorized into anorexia and bulimia.
Dr. Albers first draws a distinction between overeating and binge eating disorder. Binge eating disorder is a clinical condition in which the ability to control eating itself has broken down, while general overeating is mostly triggered by emotions, habits, and environment. That is where the solution begins. "Mindful eating," which involves consciously focusing on the act of eating, is the key.
In terms of lifestyle, regular meal times, regular exercise, stress management, and sufficient hydration are fundamental. The appetite hormones ghrelin and leptin respond sensitively to sleep, exercise, and hydration. Sleep is particularly important, and Dr. Albers points out that even just one hour of sleep deprivation significantly increases appetite.
When meals are delayed for too long and extreme hunger sets in, people tend to eat quickly without discrimination. Maintaining stable blood sugar with small, healthy snacks is therefore effective in preventing overeating.
Checking one's own state before eating is also effective. Emotional eating occurs not only with sadness or anger but also with positive emotions such as excitement or joy. Simply asking oneself "Am I hungry, or is this emotional?" before reaching for food can help curb the impulse.
Boredom is another major trigger of unconscious overeating. Habitually eating while watching videos or scrolling through a smartphone is a typical example. Changing location or drinking a glass of water can break the pattern.
Environmental design also matters. Writing a shopping list before grocery shopping and placing vegetables and fruits at the front of the refrigerator increases the frequency of healthy choices. Online ordering and pickup services are used as tools to reduce impulse purchases in stores. When eating, food should be portioned onto a plate rather than consumed directly from the bag or container, as visual information influences how the brain recognizes intake.
In dining-out situations, checking the menu in advance before visiting can reduce impulsive orders. At buffets, surveying all the food before serving and then choosing small portions lowers total intake. One should also beware of the tendency to unconsciously match the eating pace of dining companions. According to a 2011 study, people were found to unconsciously imitate the chewing speed of those they eat with.
"Overly strict dietary restrictions increase psychological deprivation, which eventually becomes a pathway to binge eating," Dr. Albers said. Rather than suppressing appetite, a realistic approach is to stabilize blood sugar through balanced meals. If overeating impairs daily functioning or is accompanied by emotional problems such as anxiety or depression, consultation with a medical professional is recommended.
