Why Does Stress Make Us Keep Snacking?

Many people unconsciously use food as an escape when facing stress, anxiety, or life pressures. This habit is known as emotional eating, a pattern of eating triggered by emotions rather than hunger.

A nutritionist from IPB University, Reisi Nurdiani, said that eating is closely linked to a person’s psychological state. According to her, emotional eating is one form of eating behaviour characterised by a tendency to consume food because of emotional control rather than hunger.

‘The triggers are not always negative emotions. The feeling of happiness can also drive someone to eat as a form of celebration. However, the problem arises when this habit occurs too frequently and becomes the main mechanism to relieve stress,’ she said in a written statement, quoted on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

Warning signs of emotional eating include eating without hunger, difficulty controlling portions, only desiring certain types of foods, and feeling guilt after eating. If this condition occurs often, Reisi suggests consulting a psychologist first before guidance from a nutritionist.

Reisi explained that there are three types of eating behaviour: emotional eating, external eating, and restrained eating. In emotional eating, decisions about eating are influenced by emotions; whereas external eating is triggered by visual cues of food, and restrained eating relates to conscious restriction of intake.

In her view, emotional eating occurs most frequently in adolescents up to early adulthood. ‘During adolescence and early adulthood, physical development is robust, but pressures are high, increasing the chances of emotional eating,’ she said.