Anxiety and eating in the overweight: the psychosomatic hypothesis revisited.

It has been estimated that as many as 80 million people in this country are overweight (Stuart & Davis, 1972), and excessive weight is certainly a major problem in our society. While there are some unusual physical conditions which can cause a person to be overweight, the most common cause is the intake of food in excess of energy expenditure, or, put more simply, overeating (Stunkard, 1974). The cause(s) of overeating itself, however, is (are) still very much in dispute