If you eat bread when you're sad, it may be time to break free from false hunger

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A meme once popular online poked fun at personality types by gauging reactions to the phrase, “I bought bread because I was sad.” It was a playful way to guess whether someone’s MBTI type leaned toward T (thinking) or F (feeling). But beneath the humor lies a more serious insight: people often eat not because they are physically hungry, but to soothe their emotions.

The new book “The Hunger Habit” explores this very distinction, arguing that a healthy relationship with food begins when we stop confusing food cravings with real hunger. Written by addiction psychologist Dr. Judson Brewer, a professor at the Brown University School of Public Health, the book is rooted in his work with patients suffering from binge-eating disorders. Through his consultations, Dr. Brewer found that hunger can be manufactured, disguised, and combined with other cravings. Emotional states such as anger, loneliness, fatigue, boredom, sadness, distress, or even excitement often masquerade as hunger.

When such eating patterns are repeated, they become wired into the brain. If someone habitually turns to cake when stressed and feels better afterward, their brain begins to link stress relief with sugary food, setting up a feedback loop that reinforces the craving.

Dr. Brewer offers a way to reset these ingrained behavioral loops — no special techniques, extreme willpower, calorie-counting apps, or expensive devices required. The starting point is simply becoming mindful of one's own eating cycle, identifying the “trigger-behavior-result” pattern, and recognizing when an urge to eat is based on false hunger.

One case study in the book involves a person who binges to suppress anxiety, only to become more anxious due to the resulting weight gain and health decline. By becoming aware of this vicious cycle, the individual was able to break free and lose a significant amount of weight.

According to Dr. Brewer, it takes just 21 days to build a healthier eating habit using his approach. And if you slip up along the way? That’s okay. Don’t fall into self-hatred, he advises, and be kind to yourself.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.