In a study of more than 1,500 adolescents, 34% engaged in emotional eating while sad and 40% did so while anxious.

For some people, emotional eating was simply a habit formed earlier in life that has persisted over time.

But other factors might also contribute to the likelihood of emotional eating.

Often we label emotions as good or bad, and this can result in fear, avoidance, and unhelpful coping strategies such as emotional eating.

There are many therapeutic interventions that work to improve aspects associated with emotional eating.