Health
As election nears, stress eating needs a sharp eye: 'It's destructive behavior'
The upcoming presidential election could lead to a lot of unwanted – and sometimes unhealthy – snacking.
Emotional eating can be a byproduct of stressful times, including political events, sports playoffs and other happenings, according to various studies.
Recent research published in the journal Nutrients indicated that emotional eating is considered a “critical risk factor for recurrent weight gain.”
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The findings suggest a link between emotional eating and health factors such as obesity, depression, anxiety and stress.
Identifying healthier coping mechanisms for negative emotions can help prevent dangerous outcomes, the researchers concluded.
Studies suggest that emotional eating is more prevalent in women, an expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Los Angeles-based registered dietitian nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein said she often sees an uptick in emotional eating among her clients during stressful times.
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Having worked with private clients through three presidential election cycles, Muhlstein said there’s “always a spike in activity” before and after the election.
“People are watching the debates and watching the commentary on the couch, quickly eating their bag of chips or cookies, and it’s really destructive behavior,” she said.
A registered dietitian nutritionist confirmed that she sees an uptick in emotional eating among her clients during stressful times. (iStock)
Even during “nail-biting sports games,” people feel more inclined to mindlessly snack to “feel in control of the situation,” Muhlstein said.
“When we have these periods of unrest where it’s a situation of not knowing … that sense of limbo that can feel uneasy, people tend to confuse it with hunger,” she noted.
Emotional eating and weight loss
As a nutritionist, Muhlstein said emotional eating is one of the biggest factors she’s encountered with her clients who are struggling with their weight.
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“Until we get hold of the emotional eating, it’s really hard to lose the weight and even harder to keep it off,” she said.
Emotional eating is more prevalent in American culture than it is in other countries, according to Muhlstein, as many food companies have “pushed onto us … that food is going to be the thing that makes us feel better.”
Emotional eating is more prevalent in American culture than it is in other countries, said an expert. (iStock)
Indulging in not-so-healthy treats and sweets during happy occasions, like birthdays and other celebrations, doesn’t have the same negative long-term impact as eating to get through a negative situation.
“We want to have treats like cake or cookies to elevate a positive experience,” she said.
“If you have a slice [of cake] along with an overall healthy meal, you can still lose weight that week – you can still feel good in your body.”
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“If you got laid off, or got divorced, or are fighting with a best friend, or are watching the news and feeling stressed out, and you’re sitting there eating cake in a very rushed, unhappy way – in order to give you this short-term emotional relief and a hit of dopamine – I find that is what triggers a long-term, unhealthy relationship with food,” Muhlstein said.
Potential for addiction
Emotional eaters tend to eat foods that are higher in sugar and other fattening ingredients, Muhlstein said, which can have addictive properties.
The part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens will “fire up” and release dopamine when consuming processed foods that contain a balance of sugar, salt, fat and other artificial flavorings, the expert cautioned.
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“We see in loads of research that there is a connection between eating ultra-processed foods and these feel-good chemicals in our body,” she said.
“When we’re eating things like cookies that have no fiber … or we’re having lots of candy that’s just sugar, syrups, flavorings and dyes, it never really fills us up and never satisfies us.”
Sweets should “elevate a positive experience” to prevent unhealthy habits and emotional eating, the expert advised. (iStock)
Guilt can worsen emotional eating, Muhlstein added, as many people “beat themselves up” after eating unhealthy foods.
Studies have shown that people who feel guilty when they overeat have higher instances of emotional eating and are more likely to continue eating poorly.
How to curb emotional eating
Muhlstein encouraged people to “lose the shame or guilt” and try to have a positive outlook in regard to eating habits.
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“If you’re constantly telling yourself, ‘I’m a stress eater, I’m a stress eater, I’m a stress eater,’ then the next time you get stressed, you will likely go to food,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“If you tell yourself, ‘I’m so stressed, I really need a walk,’ or ‘When I’m stressed, I like to journal or do mindful practices like meditation or yoga,’ then you will slowly start to engage in those healthier stress management techniques.”
A simple way to prevent emotional eating is to keep high-sugar, high-fat, ultraprocessed foods out of the home.
A simple way to prevent emotional eating is to remove trigger foods from your home, experts recommend. (iStock)
“You want to set your environment up for success,” Muhlstein advised. “That way, when you are stressed, you don’t have those quick-fix foods that trigger you.”
Muhlstein also recommended using healthier coping mechanisms in high-stress situations, such as exercising, deep breathing and drinking plenty of water.
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Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
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The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
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At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
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Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
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“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
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Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
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“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
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Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
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The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
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The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
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“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
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This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
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Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
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“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
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