What Is Emotional Eating?

    Emotional eating is when people use food as a way to deal with feelings instead of satisfying hunger{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Have you ever finished a whole bag of chips out of boredom or downed cookie after cookie while preparing for a big test? But when done a lot — especially without realizing it — emotional eating can affect weight, health, and overall well-being.

    Not many of us make the connection between eating and our feelings.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}One of the biggest myths about emotional eating is that it's caused by negative feelings. Yes, people often turn to food when they're stressed out, lonely, sad, anxious, or bored. But emotional eating can be linked to positive feelings too, like the romance of sharing dessert on Valentine's Day or the celebration of a holiday feast. Sometimes emotional eating is tied to major life events, like a death or a divorce{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Emotional eating patterns can be learned: A child who is given candy after a big achievement may grow up using candy as a reward for a job well done.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's not easy to “unlearn” patterns of emotional eating. But it is possible. And it starts with an awareness of what's going on.

    We're all emotional eaters to a degree. But for some people emotional eating can be a real problem, causing serious weight gain or other problems. The trouble with emotional eating is that once the pleasure of eating is gone, the feelings that cause it remain{#blank#}5{#/blank#}That's why it helps to know the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger.

Next time you reach for a snack, wait and think about which type of hunger is driving it.

A. Believe it or not, we've all been there.

B. If a crying boy gets some cookies, he may link cookies with comfort.

C. One study found that people who eat food like pizza become happy afterwards.

D. And you often may feel worse about eating the amount or type of food you like.

E. Understanding what drives emotional eating can help people take steps to change it.

F. Boys seem to prefer hot, homemade comfort meals, while girls go for chocolate and ice cream.

G. More often, though, it's the countless little daily stresses that cause someone to seek comfort in food.

    You cannot choose your child's friends for him, but you can help him learn to choose friends wisely. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are a few ways to help your child make friends.

•Build your child's selfconfidence.

    When he succeeds or has made a great choice, tell him you're proud of him. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Your middle school student is going through many changes and may feel like he isn't" good enough". Building his selfconfidence will help him feel more confident and will make it easier for him to form healthy friendships.

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    Give him your full attention when he talks, and really listen to what he has to say.

    Discuss the qualities in a friend with your child.

    Discuss with your child the qualities that matter most, such as being reliable and kind, and making good choices when it comes to avoiding alcohol and tobacco.

    Get to know your child's friends.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's more important to talk with them and find out what they like to do. Allow your child to invite his friends over and get to know them better.

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    Afterschool clubs and sports programs are good places for meeting new people. Be open to exploring different activities with your child to find something that he enjoys.

A. Friends are very important for us.

B. Introduce your child to new groups of people.

C. Talk with your child every day and listen to his concerns.

D. Try not to judge your child's friends based on how they dress.

E. When he does not succeed, help him feel better and keep trying.

F. You can teach him ways to find friends who will have a positive influence on him.

G. There are many types of friends and we should be careful when making our choices.

    I like my job. It may be my nature that draws me to this kind of job. I work at Izzy's Pizza Bar.

    One day an elderly couple came in just after 3p. m. The first thing they said was, Where is Nan?" Nan is my mother. She was not in that day. It was her day off.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} , since they liked to talk with my mom. But when I explained I was her daughter, they were thrilled to meet me. We enjoyed our conversation, comparable to a girl speaking with her grandparents. They are the type of people who understand me and have a positive attitude towards my job.

    Later that night, I waited on two men. It took some effort to get them to be friendly. I explained I was waitressing over the summer to make some extra cash for school. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, since she was also my coworker. They said they were very surprised at the idea of me and my mother waiting on people at the same restaurant. The two men were quite different. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Once all the customers had finished eating, I began my closing duties, using the time to reflect on my day, or rather, life. I rushed around getting everything done, thinking about those two men.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. We should treat people with respect, regardless of their occupation. I could have let those two men make me feel ashamed, but I didn't. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. I will always have pride in the person I was, am, and aim to be.

A. I had always received a positive response from everyone else I had told

B. Everyone should have equal opportunities in getting a job

C. I also said I was grateful that my mom had trained me

D. On the contrary, I felt really proud

E. This couple got a lot of enjoyment out of eating in this restaurant

F. You could say they were very disappointed to know that

G. Your job doesn't have to state who you are as a person

    Is our planet heating up? Are human beings to blame for climate change? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The discussion on this subject has been heated, but what are scientists actually saying? At Reader's Digest, we decided to find it out.

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    Yes, it has, and even warmer. Greenland was forested between 450,000 and 800,000 years ago, so temperatures were considerably warmer then. There have also been other times of relatively high temperatures.

    So why does the concern exist?

    It's all about the speed at which temperatures are changing. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But in the 20th and 21^st centuries, especially since 1976, temperatures have probably risen more quickly than during any century in the past 1 ,000 years. Warming may bring improved crop production and other benefits to northern countries such as Canada or Russia. However, many species may not adapt to these conditions, and the one that is able to may cause a problem. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The West Nile virus, first seen in North America nine years ago, infected about 4,000 people in the US in 2006. The mountain pine beetle, which is active during warmer winters, has already destroyed about 13 million hectares of Canada's forests, worth an estimated $6. 4 billion.

    What is causing the warming?

    IPCC has concluded that human activity is very likely responsible, by increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases and thus the greenhouse effect. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They argue the human contribution is nothing.

A. Some scientists, however, still disagree.

B. Has the planet ever been this warm before?

C. Has human behavior made the planet warm?

D. Temperatures have been changing all the time.

E. In the past, temperatures moved up or down gradually.

F. Mosquitoes have been moving northwards to higher places.

G. These questions have burst into newspapers, films and popular books.