Emotional Eating and Spiritual Well-Being: A Possible Connection?

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Abstract
The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate the relationship between emotional eating and spiritual well-being. It was found that among college women lower levels of spiritual well-being correlated with higher levels of emotional eating (r=-.22, p=.0015). In other studies emotional eating has been found to contribute to higher caloric intake, binge eating, and bulimic eating attitudes. A better understanding of the correlates of emotional eating may lead to health education strategies for preventing or managing overweight, obesity, and eating disorders—which may be some of the major public health issues of the future. Implications for health education are discussed, and research needs are suggested.