A Developmental Model of Emotional Eating

Over- and under-eating in response to subjective emotional states (emotional eating) are well described behaviours that are thought to emerge early in life. Research and theory have proposed that individual characteristics and environmental factors (e.g. parental feeding practices) both contribute to the development of emotional eating. However, the mechanisms underlying this development are poorly understood. Here, we review relevant literature that pertains to factors and processes involved in the development of emotional eating and propose a comprehensive model suggesting how emotional eating develops throughout infancy and childhood. Within the model, we describe the biological and environmental factors that could impact a child’s probability for emotional eating. We identify key mechanisms that may influence how these factors lead to emotional eating, such as interoceptive processing, emotion regulation and appetite self-regulation. We put forward the idea that emotional eating is a context dependent behaviour, with the extent of emotional eating likely influenced by contextual factors operating in conjunction with key mechanisms. Lastly, we offer potential pathways through which emotional eating develops as a learnt behaviour. The proposed model provides a comprehensive explanation that considers the complexity of emotional eating behaviours and generates novel ideas for future research.