‘Tis the season of an abundance of food and drink. While celebrating should be joyful, for some women it can trigger eating disorder symptoms. Michigan State University Foundation professor Kelly Klump has found that holiday temptations can add another layer of stress to an already complicated biological process.
It is well known women undergo monthly hormonal changes in estrogen and progesterone due to the menstrual cycle. However, new data show these changes can cause women to eat more in the second half of their cycle. Women are biologically wired to increase their food intake during this time in preparation for pregnancy – it’s supposed to happen.
“These natural hormonal changes can trigger emotional eating and binge eating in all women, but especially in women who are vulnerable to eating disorders,” Klump said. “In a society that overwhelmingly views women’s increased eating negatively, the reality is that this natural cycle can leave women vulnerable to eating disorders like bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.”
The holidays can be a particularly risky time, as the holiday temptations and stress can increase the chances that emotional eating (i.e., the tendency to overconsume food while experiencing negative emotions) and/or binge eating occur. Unfortunately, these eating episodes can intensify concerns and obsessions with body weight that further increase the risk of developing an eating disorder.
“It’s an issue year-round, but it can be especially problematic during the holidays,” Klump said. “If we lived in a society in which eating and body weight were not stigmatized in women, these holiday temptations would be much less likely to cause problems/concerns.”