ArticleThe International journal of eating disorders2021
Emotional eating across different eating disorders and the role of body mass, restriction, and binge eating.
Article in The International journal of eating disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Post-Pandemic Shifts in Sustainable Food Behavior: A Systematic Review of Emerging Consumer Trends.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Relationship between Mental Health and Emotional Eating during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Perceived Stress and Disordered Eating Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood: A Multidimensional Pilot Study of Dietary and Genetic Factors.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Bidirectional temporal relationships between emotional state and eating across eating disorders: a network approach.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Adolescent eating behaviours: associations with autistic and ADHD traits in childhood and the mediating role of anxiety.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Food preference and behavioural choice across the eating disorder and body weight spectrum.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Associations between Eating Behaviours and Psychological Characteristics with Body Mass Index Change and Appetite-Related Changes during Incretin-Based Therapy.Obesity facts · 2026Article
- Beliefs about negative emotions and emotional eating: the role of rumination and body mass index.Current issues in personality psychology · 2026Article
- The Impact of Negative Social Feedback on Wanting and Liking of Food Pictures in Anorexia Nervosa.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026Article
- A cross-sectional analysis of emotional and binge eating in UK adults enrolled on the NHS low-calorie diet pilot for type 2 diabetes.Clinical obesity · 2025Article
- Reduction of High Emotional Eating via Increased Physical Activity: Assessing a Path Informed by Multiple Behavioral Theories Within Community-Based Obesity Interventions.Journal of prevention (2022) · 2025Article
- Eating Disorders in the Workplace.Nutrients · 2025Article
- The relevance of cardiac and gastric interoception for disordered eating behavior.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- The development of emotional overeating: a longitudinal twin study from toddlerhood to early adolescence.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Article
- Eating behavior patterns, metabolic parameters and circulating oxytocin levels in patients with obesity: an exploratory study.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2025Observational
- Emotional food craving across the eating disorder spectrum: an ecological momentary assessment study.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2024Article
- Cortical thickness and childhood eating behaviors: differences according to sex and age, and relevance for eating disorders.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2024Article
- Fatty Acids and Their Lipogenic Enzymes in Anorexia Nervosa Clinical Subtypes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Emotional food-cue-reactivity in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: An electroencephalography study.The International journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
- Emotional eating: elusive or evident? Integrating laboratory, psychometric and daily life measures.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveDifferent subtypes of eating disorders (ED) show dysfunctional eating behaviors such as overeating and/or restriction in response to emotions. Yet, systematic comparisons of all major EDs on emotional eating patterns are lacking. Furthermore, emotional eating correlates with body mass index (BMI), which also differs between EDs and thus confounds this comparison.
methodInterview-diagnosed female ED patients (n = 204) with restrictive (AN-R) or binge-purge anorexia nervosa (AN-BP), bulimia nervosa (BN), or binge-eating disorder (BED) completed a questionnaire assessing "negative emotional eating" (sadness, anger, anxiety) and "happiness eating." ED groups were compared to BMI-matched healthy controls (HCs; n = 172 ranging from underweight to obesity) to exclude BMI as a confound.
resultsWithin HCs, higher BMI was associated with higher negative emotional eating and lower happiness eating. AN-R reported the lowest degree of negative emotional eating relative to other EDs and BMI-matched HCs, and the highest degree of happiness eating relative to other EDs. The BN and BED groups showed higher negative emotional eating compared to BMI-matched HCs. Patients with AN-BP occupied an intermediate position between AN-R and BN/BED and reported less happiness eating compared to BMI-matched HCs. DISCUSSION: Negative emotional and happiness eating patterns differ across EDs. BMI-independent emotional eating patterns distinguish ED subgroups and might be related to the occurrence of binge eating versus restriction. Hence, different types of emotional eating can represent fruitful targets for tailored psychotherapeutic interventions. While BN and BED might be treated with similar approaches, AN-BP and AN-R would need specific treatment modules.
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