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in collaboration with
Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical psychologist)
Do you tend to rush to the tub of ice cream in the event of a breakup? We explain to you what mechanism is hidden behind this behavior.
In the famous hit film “Bridget Jones”, the romantic heroine tries, as best she can, to find love. Between two setbacks, she faces her loneliness with a pot of ice cream in her hand, slumped on the sofa. An attitude that we know all too well. And Science too! Researchers have been interested in the famous link that exists between loneliness and food urges in women…
Isolated women have more cravings
To better understand the effect “Bridget Jones” among the fairer sex, researchers evaluated 93 women and showed them visuals of sweet and salty foods.
However, single women – that is, those who had high levels of social isolation – tended to have higher body fat, a lower quality diet, greater cravings, a reward-based diet. (or uncontrolled), as well as increased levels of anxiety and depression.
Even more interesting, these women had increased activity in the regions of the brain associated with a strong desire to consume sugary foods… and lower activity in the region of the brain associated with self-control.
Effects, which were confirmed on screen: MRI scans showed an increase in brain activity in said group.
Sweet foods also appeared to have a more significant and widespread impact than salty foods. They were indeed acting like “emotional painkillers“, explain the researchers, reducing “the pain associated with social exclusion“.
For scientists, there is no doubt: these results are proof of an intrinsic link between poor nutrition and poor mental health.
“These results are interesting because they provide evidence for what we intuitively know“, revealed Arpana Gupta, researcher and co-director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center at UCLA. “When people are alone or lonely, it not only impacts how they feel; they underestimate what they eat, their desire to eat and their cravings, especially for unhealthy foods.”
Good in his body, good in his head!
Emotional eating, a coping strategy for negative emotions
Amélie Boukhboza, clinical psychologist, also recognizes an obvious link between emotions and food impulses.
“The Bridget Jones effect, the name is well chosen. This phenomenon speaks to the well-known relationship between emotions and eating behaviors (…) Indeed, in moments of intense emotional vulnerability, such as loneliness, the brain can ask for a little gentleness. Consumption of sugar then acts as a “soft blanket”. It is comforting !“, she says. “This is the same thing that happens when there is a peak of intense stress or depression, emotional eating comes as a coping strategy in the face of negative emotions. The effect on the brain is twofold: on the one hand, release of serotonin, the neurotransmitter of calm and well-being which therefore has an antidepressant effect; on the other hand, the consumption of sweet foods also triggers the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated in particular with pleasure and satisfaction,” she confides.
We understand better why, in these difficult times, the brain can seek an increase in this feeling of well-being, making sweet foods particularly attractive.
“Treats have the ability to quickly create a feeling of reward and are therefore a preferred choice to temporarily alleviate these negative feelings. Obviously, in the long term, it doesn’t work, since you have to constantly repeat the experience. At the end of the day, there are extra pounds, depression guaranteed, the vicious circle is launched then quickly sets in (sugar depression depression….) and the loop is closed“, recalls the expert.
In this context, how can we skillfully manage these difficult emotions?
“Perhaps by adopting healthier strategies, including regular physical activity, but also artistic expression, meditation, yoga, or why not behaviors that generate a little more adrenaline like climbing or skydiving…”, concludes the psychologist.