Hello Fitness Blender family! I am excited to share with you part 1 of this community post series where I’ll be sharing information via video and written posts about the phenomenon of overeating.
Part 1 (you are here): In this part 1, I will define overeating, specifying what overeating is and is not, as well as give you some information on one of the factors in our environment that influences how much we eat that is often outside of our conscious awareness.
Part 2: In part two, I’ll outline six additional factors that influence how much food we take in that operate outside our awareness.
Part 3: Finally, in part three, I’ll share with you some tips from a Psychologist on how to avoid overeating as well as information on when you should seek help. This is something that most of us deal with from time to time, so I imagine we can all learn from it!
Defining Overeating
So what is overeating? Overeating is defined as eating past the point of fullness (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). Note that this can get really confusing if you aren’t in tune with your body’s hunger and satiety cues. Being out of tune with these cues can happen from biological causes, regular restriction or overeating, or eating disorders. However, if you are in tune with what sensations in your body indicate that you are hungry, satiated, or “full” — eating past the point of fullness is considered overeating. Generally, the amount we “should” eat (I typically loathe the term should, but is appropriate for this context) is somewhere between the feeling of satiety and fullness.
However, for the purposes of this post, I am not talking about:
Binge Eating
Eating more than intended within a low calorie diet or restricted food goal for the purposes of dieting
Calorie/macronutrient ranges that constitute overeating (we’re all different)
While these are all things that impact us on our wellness journeys and may or may not be problematic given the context, that’s not the purpose of this post.
First Factor
So, the first factor — to give a little teaser for what’s to come — is food variety. A phenomenon called sensory specific satiety is at play here. This is the phenomenon in which our satiety from eating a given food decreases as we eat it. However, our satiety for eating other foods (of different colors, flavors, textures, etc.) remains high (Raynor & Epstein, 2001). Therefore, the more we switch up the variety of foods, the more we will eat. In fact, presenting multiple foods in one meal that vary in flavor increases energy or calorie intake by 10-15%, but varying foods in flavor, texture, and macronutrient intake increases the number of calories or the amount of food we eat by as much as 40% compared to if we eat just one food in a given sitting (Hetherington, 2007).
More to come in Part 2 of this series, I’ll be sharing six additional factors that influence how much we eat. I would love to chat with you all about overeating in the comments below!
References
Hetherington, M. M. (2007). Cues to overeat: psychological factors influencing overconsumption. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 66(1), 113-123.
Overeating. (2023, February 7). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24680-overeating
Raynor, H. A., & Epstein, L. H. (2001). Dietary variety, energy regulation, and obesity. Psychological Bulletin, 127(3), 325-341.
Wellness Content: Overeating Series - Part 1 of 3
Hello Fitness Blender family! I am excited to share with you part 1 of this community post series where I’ll be sharing information via video and written posts about the phenomenon of overeating.
Defining Overeating
So what is overeating? Overeating is defined as eating past the point of fullness (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). Note that this can get really confusing if you aren’t in tune with your body’s hunger and satiety cues. Being out of tune with these cues can happen from biological causes, regular restriction or overeating, or eating disorders. However, if you are in tune with what sensations in your body indicate that you are hungry, satiated, or “full” — eating past the point of fullness is considered overeating. Generally, the amount we “should” eat (I typically loathe the term should, but is appropriate for this context) is somewhere between the feeling of satiety and fullness.
However, for the purposes of this post, I am not talking about:
While these are all things that impact us on our wellness journeys and may or may not be problematic given the context, that’s not the purpose of this post.
First Factor
So, the first factor — to give a little teaser for what’s to come — is food variety. A phenomenon called sensory specific satiety is at play here. This is the phenomenon in which our satiety from eating a given food decreases as we eat it. However, our satiety for eating other foods (of different colors, flavors, textures, etc.) remains high (Raynor & Epstein, 2001). Therefore, the more we switch up the variety of foods, the more we will eat. In fact, presenting multiple foods in one meal that vary in flavor increases energy or calorie intake by 10-15%, but varying foods in flavor, texture, and macronutrient intake increases the number of calories or the amount of food we eat by as much as 40% compared to if we eat just one food in a given sitting (Hetherington, 2007).
More to come in Part 2 of this series, I’ll be sharing six additional factors that influence how much we eat. I would love to chat with you all about overeating in the comments below!
References
Hetherington, M. M. (2007). Cues to overeat: psychological factors influencing overconsumption. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 66(1), 113-123.
Overeating. (2023, February 7). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24680-overeating
Raynor, H. A., & Epstein, L. H. (2001). Dietary variety, energy regulation, and obesity. Psychological Bulletin, 127(3), 325-341.