Health · Medical Research · 6 hrs ago
Children with stronger mood swings may be more prone to emotional overeating
Researchers in Trondheim found a link between mood swings and emotional overeating in children and teenagers.
The study used data from 878 children followed from age 6 to 18 as part of the Trondheim Early Secure Study.
Emotional overeating, sometimes called comfort eating, means eating in response to feelings rather than hunger.
Children with greater emotional instability and more negative emotions had a higher risk of emotional overeating, though the study did not find significant differences by age or gender.
High levels of emotional overeating are linked to a greater risk of obesity and more serious eating problems later in life.
The researchers say early attention to strong, unpredictable emotions may help prevent the habit, and parents may want to avoid using food to comfort highly emotional children.
Children with greater emotional instability and more negative emotions had a higher risk of emotional overeating, a study found.
The research followed 878 children and adolescents from age 6 to 18 as part of the Trondheim Early Secure Study.
Researchers said the findings only partly support theories that mood swings and poor emotion regulation drive emotional overeating.
They found no significant differences between boys and girls or across ages in childhood and adolescence.
The researchers said paying attention to children with strong, unpredictable emotions may help prevent emotional overeating.
- Who
- 878 children and adolescents participating in the Trondheim Early Secure Study.
- What
- Researchers found that greater emotional instability and more negative emotions were associated with a higher risk of emotional overeating.
- When
- Participants were followed from age 6 to 18. The article was published on 2026-10-30.
- Where
- The Trondheim Early Secure Study, conducted by researchers at NTNU.
- Why
- The researchers investigated whether emotional instability and the ability to regulate emotions affect emotional overeating over time.
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- Study participants
- 878 children and adolescents
- Study age range
- 6 to 18
- Study
- Trondheim Early Secure Study
- Publication date
- 2026-10-30
- Research institution
- NTNU
What people are saying
Children who often experience strong and variable emotions may be at greater risk of developing emotional overeating later in life.
The results suggest that paying extra attention to children who express strong and unpredictable emotions could be a wise tactic to prevent the development of emotional overeating.
We've previously shown that the risk of overeating increases if parents use food to comfort their child.