Introducing "Breaking Barriers"

Understanding Emotional Eating:

Emotional eating is a coping mechanism some people use to deal with unwanted feelings.  Understanding why emotional eating occurs, the shame that often follows binge eating, and the cyclical nature of these patterns is crucial.

Weight Stigma:

Many people and policymakers view obesity as a result of lack of willpower and poor self-discipline, perpetuating negative stereotypes. This perspective shifts the blame onto individuals instead of addressing the underlying biological, psychological, and social factors.

This can lead to feelings of distress, shame, guilt, and failure. Many cope with these emotions by using food to distract, soothe, or numb their discomfort, but this strategy often results in increased food consumption and weight gain. Evidence indicates that stress triggers biological, psychological, and social mechanisms that sustain weight gain, including increased appetite, altered eating behaviours, and subsequent weight increase.

Identifying Personal Triggers:

For some people, emotional eating is a learned behaviour. During childhood, their parents may have given 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.

Many people turn to food for comfort when they feel sad, lonely, or stressed. Societal and family pressures related to weight and body image can exacerbate the shame associated with emotional eating. Breaking the cycle can seem nearly impossible without support.

Building Empathy and Understanding:

If you're facing emotional eating challenges, know that you're not alone. It's possible to develop a healthier relationship with food. Be kind to yourself—emotional eating patterns often begin in childhood and can take time and effort to change.

Living in an Obesogenic World:

This term describes an environment that promotes excessive weight gain and obesity. Our modern surroundings are characterized by several factors that contribute to this issue: food environment, processed fast foods, technology and sedentary lifestyle, stress and mental health, lack of work/life balance, urbanization and infrastructure, marketing and media influence that promote high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, portion sizes and economic factors.  In this obesogenic environment, making healthy choices requires deliberate effort and awareness. It involves navigating a landscape that often seems designed to promote weight gain rather than support a healthy lifestyle.