Does Guilt and Worry After Eating lead to Weight Gain?

Researchers reveal that people who feel guilty after eating big amounts of snacks such as a chunk of chocolate cake are likely to gain more weight than those who don't feel the guilt.

Researchers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand emphasize that the impact of human behavior is also important. Dr Roeline Kuijer and Jessica Boyce conducted a test on about 300 female participants aged 18 to 86, to find out whether better weight control depends on guilt or determination to succeed.

The participants were asked about their eating habits, they were also questioned if they were trying to shed weight and would eating chocolate cake make them feel guilty or happy.  The results declared that 27 percent of these women accepted feeling guilty and 73 percent of women admitted feeling good after eating the chocolate cake.

On observing these women 18 months later, it was found that the women who agreed feeling guilty on consuming the chocolate cake were found to have gained radically more weight.

"Associating chocolate cake with guilt was related to an increase in weight," the researchers said in a report, Daily Mail reported. "But those who saw it as a celebration were, on average, more successful in losing weight."

The researchers emphasized that the diet controlling habit of guilt ridden-women gets abandoned once they are guilt ridden .

"Enjoyment of food is essential to people's well-being. This study shows those who consume a 'forbidden food' with celebration and view it as a treat do better in terms of weight management," the researchers said.

"Enjoyment of food should receive more attention than it has in the past" they added.

Another previously conducted research blames the brain and hormones for weight gain in people. The brains and hormones conspire to cut unnecessary food intake but sometimes the signals aren't effective and overeating ensues duet to stress, physiological and environmental problems.

"The hormones leptin and insulin inhibit the development of obesity when consumption of fat and calories increases," researchers stated in a press release.

"Some people respond very well to these hormones and they don't gain weight during these bouts of overeating. But others are less responsive to leptin and insulin, which makes them more at risk to become obese."