ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay - Paraguayan nutritionist Carolina Sosky, in a radio interview marking World Health Day, warned about the serious impact of dietary habits on health. She emphasized that emotional factors play a significant role, particularly in the issue of childhood obesity and the difficulty of dieting.
Nutritionist Sosky pointed out that "despite growing public interest in healthy eating and increased access to related information, the consumption of ultra-processed foods continues to rise steadily." She explained that the diets of past generations were healthier because the options for processed foods were not as diverse as they are today.
Furthermore, she added that despite increased access to information, accessibility to various unhealthy foods has also increased, creating a gap between information and actual eating habits.
'Emotional Eating' is the Biggest Hurdle in Dieting
Sosky cited emotional factors as the biggest challenge in dieting. "We don't just eat because we are hungry. Many people turn to food due to emotional reasons, boredom, or sadness," she stated. She added that if food intake occurred according to the body's needs, dieting would be much easier.
In addition, she pointed out the strong connection between social activities, such as watching soccer games or celebrations, and food, emphasizing that "the problem is that emotions and eating habits are very closely linked."
Besides this, the lack of meal planning was also identified as a cause of unhealthy eating habits. Due to easy access to fast food and eating out, unhealthy food choices are likely to be made based on emotions or the surrounding environment if meals are not planned in advance. Sosky advised, "If you plan and prepare your meals in advance, you can make better choices without being swayed by your emotions or whatever food is in front of you."
Serious Levels of Childhood Obesity Require Active Intervention from Public Health Authorities
Sosky expressed concern over the severity of the childhood obesity problem. "Obesity cases are increasing from a young age, and the main reason is that most of the snacks and cafeteria food that children consume at school are high in sugar and processed," she explained.
Regarding this situation, Sosky urged public health authorities to actively intervene along with improving awareness of health management. She emphasized, "What we must remember on this World Health Day is that health is very closely related to eating habits. Many health problems such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases can be prevented or managed through proper eating habits."
Causes and Coping Strategies for Emotional Eating
Experts cite stress, anxiety, loneliness, sadness, and boredom as major causes of emotional eating. These emotions stimulate the brain's reward system, triggering cravings for specific foods (mainly high-calorie, high-fat, and high-sugar foods) that temporarily improve mood.
To overcome emotional eating habits, the following efforts are necessary:
Recognize Your Emotional State: Before eating, it is important to identify your emotional state and recognize if you are seeking food for emotional reasons rather than hunger.
Find Healthy Ways to Relieve Emotions: Instead of using food to cope with stress or negative feelings, practice healthy ways to relieve them, such as exercise, meditation, hobbies, or talking with friends.
Establish Planned Eating Habits: Irregular eating can trigger emotional eating, so it is important to eat balanced meals at regular times.
Prepare Healthy Snacks: It helps to have healthy snacks such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts readily available for sudden cravings or emotional hunger.
Seek Professional Help: If you find it difficult to control emotional eating habits on your own, consider seeking help from professionals such as nutritionists or psychological counselors.
For a healthy life, both physical and mental health are important. Efforts to recognize emotional factors and maintain healthy eating habits are necessary, and society as a whole urgently needs to promote healthy eating habits and prepare active measures to prevent childhood obesity.
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