Mood, emotions and eating disorders

Mood and emotions are intrinsically involved with eating. The question is in what ways do these normal emotional relations with food contribute to, or shed light on, the development of abnormal relations with food that eventually become clinical eating disorders (EDs). This chapter discusses basic mechanisms, findings, and models that help our understanding of the interactions between eating and emotions, in both clinical and nonclinical populations. The finding that comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders is the norm among patients with EDs suggests that EDs may not necessarily be restricted to domains of eating behavior and body image but may also be associated with significant difficulties in affective functioning. This chapter reviews the evidence relating to the notion that EDs are disturbances of mood regulation, in which regulatory strategies specifi cally related to eating and the body are used to diminish negative affect associated with food, body image, or stress.