Food craving and emotional eating: associated variables

Food craving and emotional eating are considered two relevant problems that significantly affect the psychological and emotional well-being of the people who suffer from it. The objective of this research was to analyze whether the variables "emotional regulation" and "states of stress, depression and anxiety" are related to the craving for food and emotional eating. Sex differences in the study variables were also analyzed in a complementary way. The study was carried out with a sample of 168 people (46 men, 121 women and 1 non-specified), with an age range between 18-73 years. The results showed that emotional regulation negatively correlated with food craving and emotional eating. Likewise, a positive correlation was found with states of stress and depression. Regarding sex, women presented greating emotional eating and states of stress and depression, while men had a significant relationship with expressive suppression. The discussion of these results allows us to conclude that people with poorer emotional regulation and exposed to situations of stress, depression or anxiety could be more likely to experience food craving and emotional eating.