Emotional regulation and obesity: A psychobiological approach

Abstract

The tendency to overweight and obesity depends mainly on genetics, but also on eating habits. These are difficult to change automatic behaviors, that have been related to emotions. Emotion regulation strategies are aimed at modifying the affective reactions and states and their consequences. There are three main aspects of eating behavior that may be addressed by emotional regulation. First, executive functions are an important component of some strategies of emotion regulation, and there are also consistent relationships among executive functioning performance, brain structure, and obesity. Second, some overweight and obese people show a hypersensitivity to tasty and high-energy food, together with an increase in the activity of the brain reward system that makes it difficult for them to control eating behavior in certain situations. Third, the strong influence of the negative affective states on eating behavior. In this study, we present the main strategies of emotion regulation and the brain mechanisms involved, and we describe the main regulation strategies that have been employed in the treatment of overweight and obesity. We conclude that obesity treatments should take into account, when appropriate, the ability to regulate emotions, especially when obese and overweight people show cognitive deficits, low levels of self-control or the behavioral features of an emotional eater.
Key words: emotion, emotion regulation, obesity, overweight