Nutrients
Emotional Eating Beyond Obesity: A Transdiagnostic Conceptual Analysis of Phenotyping, Measurement, and Priorities for Clinical Validation
By Vasiliu O, Mangalagiu AG, Vasiliu DG and 1 others.
Abstract
Background
The concept of emotional eating (EE) originates in the early psychosomatic accounts of overeating, but its nosological status remains contested more than four decades after it was first scientifically explored. Although neither the DSM-5-TR nor the ICD-11 recognizes EE as a discrete entity, clinically significant presentations of EE are described in the literature and can currently be captured under residual diagnostic categories in the absence of specific criteria.
Objective
To examine whether EE is best conceptualized as an independent disorder or a dimensional, transdiagnostic, nutritional-behavioral phenotype, and to identify requirements for its clinical validation.
Methods
A conceptual analysis supported by a critical synthesis of the literature focused on phenotypic heterogeneity, nutritional correlates, measurement approaches, diagnostic boundaries, and clinical implications of EE.