EATING AND EMOTION

Many studies suggest that eating and emotions influence each other bot h in man and animals. Experimental studies designed to test the effect of emotion on eating raises the question of the validity of the metho ds used to induce emotion and the nature of such emotion. The data obt ained seam to conflicting but the concept of restraint brings a certai n coherence. Negative affects stimulate eating in restrictive subjects and inhibit it in non restrictive subjects. The observation of intera ction between emotions and eating patterns has given rise to psychopat hological models and cognitive-behaviourist treatment of anorexia and bulimia. The links between biological data and eating disorders remain undefined whereas drug oriented treatment of these disorders have not provided satisfactory results.