Do you feel happy and satisfied after you eat a big delicious bar of chocolate or a large cup of ice cream, or after you drink a yummy milkshake, especially when you are facing a stressful situation? You are not alone!

A lot of people cope with their stress, boredom ,or anxiety by consuming calorie-rich foods or eating more frequent meals. And the results in many cases are more extra pounds.

Different researches have been done to  reveal the relationship between obesity and psychology or the mental situation of people. On one hand, surveys show that many subjects admit their tendency to make more trips to the kitchen when they experience frustrating situations. A lady whose husband moved to another city leaving her with three kids to persuade a job opportunity said she was eating sub-consciously especially at night and gained about 20 pound the first month. Another case is a subject who was a new immigrant struggling with the cultural chock: learning new language, seeking a job, and missing family. Eating a lot was a reaction to the whole situation, and it ended up with adding some inches to the waist. Also surveys show that handling stressful times or conditions with consuming more food is common among teenagers. Many students tend to eat more when there is a test around the corner either because they are nervous or bored of studying. Besides, some teens react to the fear of moving toward the adulthood world by staying home most of the time and consuming more meals. One girl said her mother was obsessively warning her not to eat a lot in order to maintain a good body shape. As a reaction, the girl was hiding and eating the most calorie-rich foods.

On the other hand, researches have been done to find how obesity affects the psychology of the people who are overweight. Surveys included questions like: What do you think about yourself? What do other people think about you? The results revealed that many obese people feel that they are neither attractive nor acceptable in their environments. Besides, people may think they are lazy or they have no control on themselves.It is not surprising to hear these answers inasmuch as overweight people are always subject to lectures or remarks from family members, friends, or strangers. Moreover, obesity can be an encumbrance that prevents them from being involved in the public life: Using the public transportation, going to movies,or going on vacation since the accommodations are not comfortable for them at all. Furthermore, they may not be able to participate in  public activities or activities that are offered in their workplaces, especially those which demand physical fitness. In addition, an obese girl could fail to have a romantic relationship with somebody or to follow the tips of fashion, considering that the body shape could be a big matter in the both cases. All those daily issues may in the long run let obese people feel inferior to others, leading eventually to anxiety or depression.

All in all, obesity and psychology interact with each other in such a complex way that it could be hard sometimes to decide which one has led to the other.