College students sometimes joke about the “freshman 15” – the weight they gain from eating more high-calorie food at the campus cafeteria. These days, nutritionists are also talking about the COVID-19 – pounds added during a pandemic.
As a registered dietician, Melanie Brede counsels students at the University of Virginia, and since March she’s seen more people dealing with stress and loneliness by eating.
“We eat in response to positive emotions too," she notes, "but stress eating – when people talk about that they’re really thinking about feeling stressed out and then looking for something comforting or soothing.”
Brede says that’s normal – a signal that something is wrong, and we’re trying to take care of ourselves. The key is to find alternative behaviors that can soothe without causing weight gain – like taking a walk, e-mailing, texting or calling friends or relatives, meditating or deep breathing.
“Even just taking a few long, slow breaths we know has the physiological impact of calming and soothing our nervous system.”
Humans are wired to respond to visual cues, so Brede suggests putting food into cupboards or the fridge, preparing more meals at home to avoid high-fat carryout and eating at scheduled times rather than grazing through a less structured day at home.
