Overeating and the Pandemic

Contributor: Staff at Carolina House

The impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our society seems endless. It has caused disruption in nearly all aspects of our lives. From working conditions and e-learning to lockdowns and quarantine, face masks and vaccines to repeated testing and political upheaval, everyone has likely been affected in some capacity. So much in our lives has been turned upside down, and we have all had to find ways to cope.

But not all coping mechanisms have proved to be beneficial.

The Effects of Change

When COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, life changed. It’s safe to assume that most people thought that it would be temporary and that things would eventually go back to normal. But two years later, things continue to be in a state of flux. Regulations keep changing, mandates keep shifting, and many may feel like they don’t know whom they can or can’t trust.

Ultimately, the pandemic has caused most people to experience significant changes in the overall structure of their everyday lives [1], including sleep patterns, exercise habits, and eating behaviors. A study done on adults in Italy noted that 13% of respondents started eating less, while 42% began eating more [2].

Stress Eating 

Stress eating and emotional eating are terms many people are familiar with. It is not rare for a person to turn to food as a means of comfort when, for example, they’re dealing with a stressful day. This is not necessarily problematic when done occasionally. In fact, it may be considered somewhat common in situations like holiday celebrations. It does become a problem, however, when excessive eating continues to happen over longer periods of time [1].

People who overeat have probably found that food helps soothe their feelings of stress or tempers their negative emotions. So, understandably, they continue to do it.

The stress of the pandemic likely impacted the mental health of everyone in some way. As we all tried to find ways to cope, some found that eating initiated a sense of comfort that allowed them to manage their distress. That combined with being confined at home led to an increase in weight gain. An article in Harvard Health Publishing stated that from a testing pool of 15 million patients, 39% reported having gained weight during the pandemic, with approximately 2% gaining more than 27.5 pounds and 10% gaining more than 12.5 pounds [4]. The remaining 27% reportedly gained less than 12.5 pounds.

This weight gain cannot be attributed solely to overeating. It can also be the result of a decrease in exercise as well as an inability to have unstructured physical activity due to being stuck at home.

The stress of the pandemic may have caused people to turn to food to find comfort. The pandemic itself can be viewed as a traumatic or acutely stressful event [1] that didn’t leave people with time to process what was happening. This caused everyone to have to quickly figure out how to best handle the sudden distress they were experiencing. As time went on and they had the ability to process, certain coping mechanisms, like overeating, could have already become habitual and hard to stop.

Overeating vs. Binge-Eating Disorder

One common belief is that overeating is the same as binge-eating disorder. This is not true. Simply put, overeating occurs when a person ingests more calories than their body needs or uses to produce energy. Binge-eating disorder, on the other hand, is a medical condition [3]. It is a clinical mental health disorder that is outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). It is possible for people to binge eat without having a clinical diagnosis of binge-eating disorder.

Signs that could potentially mean that periods of overeating may be a symptom of binge-eating disorder would include a person feeling an immense amount of shame after bingeing episodes, eating alone to hide their eating habits, and feeling a lack of control of their eating behaviors.

However, that still does not necessarily mean that a person has binge-eating disorder. But if someone is experiencing those effects of their eating behaviors, it would be worthwhile to talk to a mental health professional.

References

[1] Ye, B., Wang, R., Liu, M. et al. (2021). Life history strategy and overeating during COVID-19 pandemic: a moderated mediation model of sense of control and coronavirus stress. Journal of Eating Disorders, 9(158). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-021-00514-5.

[2] Cancello, R., Soranna, D., Zambra, G., Zambon, A., & Invitti, C. (2020, September). Determinants of the lifestyle changes during COVID-19 pandemic in the residents of northern Italy. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 17(17). 10.3390/ijerph17176287.

[3] Schaeffer, J. (2016, December). What’s the difference between overeating and binge eating disorder? Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/eating-disorders/compulsive-overeating-vs-binge-eating-disorder#Overeating-and-Binge-Eating-Disorder.

[4] Frates, E.P. (2021, October). Did we really gain weight during the pandemic? Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/did-we-really-gain-weight-during-the-pandemic-202110052606.

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About Carolina House 

Carolina House is an eating disorder treatment center that serves people age 17 and older of all genders.

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The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Published on March 17th, 2022. Published on EatingDisorderHope.com
Reviewed & Approved on March 12, 2024 by Baxter Ekern, MBA