Academician of European University of Lefke (EUL) Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Assist. Prof. Dr. Ç. Tuba Günebak represented EUL with her presentation titled “The Effect of Our Emotional State on Our Food Preferences and Our Nutritional Behaviour” at the first of the FHN Talk series organized by the Food and Nutrition Association. 

Günebak: Over 600 million fat people in the world

Günebak said that “Overweight, fatness, obesity; whatever its name is, it has become a rapidly growing problem all over the world” and added that according to the scientific data, while the number of overweighed people was 400 million in 2008, today this number has reached 600 million.

Günebak: Obesity is becoming a chronic disease

Günebak said that “Today, while one out of every 5 men is fat, one out of every two women seems to be fat and the incidence of obesity is more common in women” and emphasized that everybody is looking for a solution for that. Obesity becomes a chronic disease for individuals who do not receive regular nutritional training and cannot change behaviour, she said.

Emotional state of an individual significantly effects the nutritional behaviour

Günebak said that “The most common solution method observed and applied on an individual level is diet. However, research shows that the person’s mood affects nutritional behaviour significantly and can change the appetite mechanism” and went on to say that it is possible to achieve a permanent solution in obesity patients with proper nutrition interventions and nutritional behaviour change treatment.