Poor food choices are - for some of us all of the time, and all of us some of the time - a symptom of something deeper. According to Dr Gillian Moore-Groarke, a psychologist with a special interest in eating disorders, there can be a wide and complex gap between knowing and doing. She encourages people to look behind the food and find the emotional reasons for bad eating habits. Many people, she believes, suffer from "psychological hunger".
"For some people, eating is rarely triggered by physical hunger, instead food is being used as an anaesthetic to fill an emotional need that is not being met," she says. "When they are anxious or discomforted, they deal with these feelings by eating rather than by trying to work them though" - what we used to call "comfort eating". Characteristics of such behaviour include feeling out of control around food, wavering between eating too much and too little, frequent weight loss or gain, and becoming trapped in the vicious circle of using food as a substitute for change, then suffering self-blame for lack of courage and willpower.
Healthy Eating Week, organised by the Department of Health's Health Promotion Unit to encourage us to eat more sensibly, was launched yesterday. This year's theme is Go for Low Fat Healthy Eating. Surveys show Irish people get far too much food energy from fat (41%), rather than from alternatives such as fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals, rice, pastas and potatoes.
Dr Moore-Groarke offers some compelling reasons why food is a ready ally. Food is accessible, a safe way of expressing anger without confrontation, it can deaden constant emotions like depression and anger, and is a way to feel nurtured: "Food is a friend who is always there no matter what," she says, "it doesn't reject or abandon, it is a relationship you can completely control, it doesn't laugh at you. Food is the most available, cheapest, legal, mood-altering drug on the market." Also attitudes towards food are inextricably linked with early family patterns: "Patients say the only way my mother showed love was by feeding me. This learned behaviour is continued on," says Dr Moore-Groarke. The types of food that people use to feed their feelings are unlikely to be carrot juice or crispy lettuce. "Yes, it is invariably high fat, high sugar food," she agrees. "Again, it's learned behaviour in childhood - if you're good you'll have a treat." High fat sugary or savoury snacks will give the quick hit needed, unlike high fibre foods which are more satisfying long-term.
Her assertion that being overweight is learned behaviour will challenge many. Most of us know people who remain stick-thin despite a weakness for Mars Bars, and others who seem to eat little and yet continue to look bulky. We may believe such injustices are down to family genes or individual metabolism. "This is not genetics, it's family habits of eating," she says. "And all metabolic rates can be increased by exercise. Apart from damage to the hypothalamus - the eating centre in the brain - nobody need be overweight. When someone says they are overweight, what they really mean is there is something wrong in their lives and they're unable to deal with it."
Are there types of problems that lead to eating as a substitute? "There can be a combination of stress factors," she says. "People who are overweight for a long time can become depressed and anxious. For people who are not overweight it could be daily stress.
Particular personalities are more prone to use food as their prop. Common traits among compulsive eaters include feeling worthless and powerless, coupled with a strong desire to control, striving towards perfection, difficulty in expressing feelings and with close relationships. "People can be very unaware of what they are doing. They come looking for a quick fix solution about food and you have to really work to build up a relationship and a rapport with them," says Dr Moore-Groarke. If food plays too important a role in your life, there are, she suggests, a few simple things you can do. Before you eat, ask yourself if you are physically hungry. If not, ask yourself what might be bothering you, and try to work on that instead. Try to determine what usually triggers your emotional eating - is it anger, boredom, loneliness, fatigue, family problems, money worries, for instance?
But what if you're stuck in an intractable situation? "You may not be able to change the situation but you may be able to begin to change yourself," she says. "Many people say they won't buy any clothes, any make-up, have a new hair-do until they lose weight, so they spend their whole lives on hold. They can get so stuck in depression that they say `I can't even go for a walk until I lose weight'."
Some life, work or relationship situations may be capable of change with professional support. Counselling can help to reframe a problem and show people what options they have. You could try to find other nonfood ways to nurture yourself - such as having a long, scented bath, seeing a friend, renting a favourite movie, doing something creative, helping someone else. Beginning a phased exercise routine that is within your physical capabilities is one of the best ways of overcoming eating, health and weight problems. Walking releases relaxation hormones called beta-endorphins, so you can begin to feel better, have a sense of achievement. Walking can be a social activity, and a 20-minute brisk walk three times a week will help in a weight reduction programme and increase fitness.