Fast Foods and Restaurant Eating
People are not only eating more food than they did 20 years ago, they are also replacing home cooking with fast food, dining out, and packaged foods. This behavior, according to studies, places people at higher risk for obesity. Fast foods may be more harmful than restaurant cooking. These foods tend to be served in larger portions and generally contain more calories and unhealthy fats and less ingredients of nutritional value than homemade or restaurant meals. Snack foods and sweet beverages, including juice and soft drinks, are specific culprits in the increasing prevalence of obesity. However, frequent small healthy meals (instead of two or three large daily meals) have been associated with lower weights.
Stress
People react differently to stress. Some overeat and gain weight and others stop eating and lose weight. People who gain weight in response to stress often overeat foods high in sugar, fats, and salt. A 2003 study on rats suggested that stress hormones increase the pleasure from eating such so-called "comfort foods." Furthermore, it supported previous research indicating that stress-related eating was associated with the unhealthy accumulation of abdominal fat.
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