Secret eating is part of the complex psychology around food and diet. Other elements of an unhealthy relationshsip with food include comfort eating, yo-yo dieting, lying about eating and even food ‘addiction’. The UK weight loss company LighterLife has surveyed 2,000 women in the UK about their eating habits, comparing responses in 2006 with those published now, in 2010. First of all, the survey shows that women are concerned about overweight, with 85% having been (or currently are) on a diet (compared to 61% in 2006). Unfortunately many participants soon abandoned their diets. Average dieting time was 15 weeks with only a sixth having managed to stick to a diet for more than a year.

Women sabotage their healthy eating plans with secret eating. Around 36% of those surveyed admitted to secret eating. The phenomenon of secret eating apparently takes many forms, including behaviors like hiding food, eating in the dark, visiting fast-food outlets to hide eating from friends and family, and using the recession as an excuse to eat cheap calorie-dense foods like pizza and fries. Secret eating takes place on a weekly basis for one in six while one in ten admit to secret eating as often as every two or three days. The peak time for secret eating is between 11am and 3 pm. Secret eating leads to lies – with more than half of those surveyed saying they have lied to their husbands, mothers, and friends about what they have eaten. Secret eating also leads to guilt – eight in ten feel bad about eating unhealthy foods and some even throw food away to avoid tempation. In 2010, nearly three quarters said they had a favorite comfort food (compared to 54% in 2006) which they turn to in times of stress or depression. Many believed themselves addicted to their comfort food and chocolate was cited as the top comfort food. These findings show that keeping to a healthy weight can be tough and secret eating and denial just make it worse. But the positives are that if you look at your behavior around eating and are honest about it with yourself, you may be able to learn to feel good about making healthy eating choices.

Source:

LighterLife survey January 4 2010