When Food Becomes a Coping Strategy: Understanding Emotion Regulation and Disordered Eating

We often think of disordered eating as being about food.

The research tells a more complex story.

A 2025 meta analysis of more than 8,500 adolescents and young adults found a clear association between emotion regulation difficulties and disordered eating. In other words, the more a young person struggled to understand, manage, or respond to difficult emotions, the more likely they were to engage in disordered eating behaviours. The relationship was present across sexes, although it was stronger among females.

This matters because behaviours like binge eating, emotional eating, or restrictive eating don’t happen in isolation. For many teens, they serve a purpose. They may temporarily reduce distress, create a sense of control, or provide relief from emotions that feel too overwhelming to manage.

That doesn’t mean emotion regulation is the only factor involved, and it certainly doesn’t mean every teen with emotion regulation challenges will develop an eating disorder. But it does highlight an important piece of the puzzle that’s easy to overlook.

As mental health professionals, it’s a reminder that lasting change often comes from understanding the function of a behaviour, not just trying to eliminate it.

When we help teens identify emotions, tolerate distress, and develop healthier coping strategies, we’re not just teaching skills. We’re helping reduce the need for behaviours that may have become their way of coping.

Read the research: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40337-025-01197-y