Study Shows Link Between Binge Eating and Suppression of Emotions
by Matt C
(London)
May 28, 2010
A recent study appears to show evidence of a link between the suppression of negative emotions and a desire for binge eating.
Now this might not exactly sound like something we don’t already know intuitively – discussions around the link between emotional difficulties and eating disorders are rightfully commonplace. But this study is apparently one of the first to try to scientifically demonstrate the link with the suppression of negative feelings.
In other words, it is not just the experiencing of negative emotions, but the suppression of those emotions that is a significant factor.
The study was conducted in Germany and reported in the April edition of ‘Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics’ (see: http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=JournalHome&ProduktNr=223864) and you can read more about it at: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/189008.php
The experiment consisted of a group of 27 women with a DSM-IV diagnosis of BED, and a control group of 25 healthy overweight women.
The groups were asked to watch 3 sadness-inducing film clips but were instructed to do something different for each clip:
For the first clip, simply watch the film;
For the second clip, watch the film but suppress your emotions;
For the third clip, watch the film and reappraise any upcoming emotions.
Participants rated their sadness and desire to binge using a scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 8 (extremely).
Desire to binge eat was also measured using a variety of recorded responses, such as:
'At the moment, I would really like to eat something’
‘I am hungry’
‘I would eat more than I usually do'.
The experiment also incorporated a variety of biological and physiological measurements to test responses.
The findings suggested that all the film clips significantly increased sadness ratings, but the significant result appears to be that for the experimental group of women with BED, the desire to binge eat increased from baseline to post-film after the watch and suppress instructions, but not after the reappraise instruction.
For the control group, no changes occurred.
Other questionnaires in the study also apparently showed that the women with BED tended to suppress more and reappraise their emotions less than the control group.
The result of this experiment helps reinforce the desirability for any therapy aimed at helping people to over come Binge Eating Disorder, to include enabling clients to learn to face, understand, and deal with their emotions in appropriate ways, rather than avoiding and suppressing their emotions.
Source: April 2010 edition of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
Emotion Suppression but Not Reappraisal Increases Desire to Binge in Women with Binge Eating Disorder
Jennifer Svaldi, Detlef Caffier, Brunna Tuschen-Caffier
