General Introduction & Outline 11 1 Emotional eating: food for thought Persona Lisanne “I wish that I was more confident about myself …” Source: Shutterstock.com Figure 1 | Persona Lysanne This is Lisanne. She is one of the personas1 that was developed during this study. Lisanne is an emotional eater. According to van Strien emotional eating is the “tendency to overeat in response to negative emotions such as anxiety or irritability” [1]. For emotional eaters, eating and giving in to binge eating and or overeating, is a natural coping mechanism to deal with negative emotions [2-4]. If this behaviour is often repeated, it can lead to (severe) weight gain and even obesity [5-9]. According to the World Health Organization the obesity epidemic [10] has long been at the top of the charts as being a major societal problem in Europe. A population that is increasingly overweight and obese is causing a significant increase in chronic patients with an arsenal of co-morbidities, such as metabolic syndrome (diabetes II), cardiovascular disease, joint problems, and cancer [11-13], and consequently rising healthcare costs and overburdening the healthcare system [14-15]. Demographics Single; Lives alone. High school graduate. Suffers from obesity. Co-morbidities unknown. Length 1.62 mtr.; weight 91 kgs. Attributes Feels insecure about her body. Is not able to sense the difference between hunger, appetite, or emotions. Fears experiencing what she really feels. User needs Education on eating behaviour. Self-confidence. Help to set realistic goals. Support from peers. 1 A persona is a fictional representative of a target group
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