Low-income people are more likely to engage in emotional eating and become obese due to psychological distress, a study published by a group of researchers from the University of Liverpool suggested.
The study analyzed the diets and psychological issues of 150 people in northwest England and its results were published in the journal Obesity, John Tung Foundation Mental Health Center director Yeh Ya-hsing (葉雅馨) said on Monday.
The study found a correlation between lower socioeconomic status and higher psychological distress, as well as between heightened psychological distress and emotional eating, and high risks of obesity, she said.
Compared with people living in more affluent communities, those living in poorer neighborhoods have easier access to low-cost and high-calorie foods, Yeh said, citing the study.
The study also found a correlation between psychological distress and eating behavior and body weight adjustment, she said.
Emotional eating refers to eating “mindlessly” and without any moderation, Yeh said.
People are likely to exceed the recommended daily maximum calorie intake and become obese if they continuously engage in emotional eating as a way to relieve stress, she said.
Emotional eating might bring a sense of pleasure and satisfaction, but those feelings would be quickly replaced by negative emotions, Yeh said.
Rather than restricting their diet, people can calculate the calories of the food they are about to eat and associate the calories with the exercise they have to do to burn them, she said.
This way, people can think about the hours they would need to spend exercising to burn the excess calories even when they are out of control emotionally, Yeh said, adding that people should make a habit of this.
Rich people who are bored or idle are also a high-risk group for obesity, she said.
Differences in socioeconomic status cause health inequality, as people from a lower socioeconomic background are at a disadvantage when seeking healthcare, Taipei Medical University professor Chiou Hung-yi (邱弘毅) said.
Obesity is a key factor affecting people’s health, he said.
“The government should strive to create a dietary environment in which people from different socioeconomic status have access to healthier diets and avoid obesity risks,” Chiou said.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS