Emotional eating is very common in today's society. Emotional eaters overeat to compensate for the day-to-day pressures of modern living. Food has become a way of helping us to balance our feelings and whilst in moderation this is not a bad thing, it has an adverse effect on our health if taken to extreme.

Identifying if you are an emotional eater is essential, as ignoring this leads to obesity and other health related illnesses.

To find out whether you are an emotional eater, answer the following questions.

• Do you reach for food at the first sign of stress
• Do you overeat when you are sad
• Do you eat from the fridge between meals whilst thinking of something else
• Do you reach for a snack when angry
• Do you devour a bar of chocolate in seconds to calm yourself downDo you
• When something good happens do you celebrate by eating
• When socialising at your home, do you more often than not offer food
• Is food the first thing that comes to mind when you are emotional
• Is food on your mind most of the time
• Do you see food as a form of energy to survive or as comforter

If you have answered yes to one of these questions you are probably an emotional eater. If you have answered yes to 3 or more you are definitely an emotional eater.

It is possible to break the habit of emotional eating. Awareness is the key to taking the first step into gaining control.