Even with the best intentions, your patients on a weight-loss journey could be affected by life events that manifest in different emotions, including grief. If your patients are expressing feelings and showing outward signs of depression and grief, as a primary care physician your trusted position presents a unique opportunity to explain how emotions they’re experiencing are affecting their eating habits.

Here’s guidance on how to start these conversations gently and how to offer advice and strategies for their overall well-being.

Grief Can Act as a Trigger for Emotional Eating

Research shows that bereavement is social, it is the loss of an important other person.

“Therefore, interventions most needed appear to us to be social as well,” said Holly G. Prigerson, PhD, a professor of sociology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and director of Cornell Center for Research on End-of-Life Care in New York City. “Bereavement leaves ripple effects on a survivor’s social environment; not only is it a dyadic loss of a close connection but also a loss disrupting a survivor’s social environment.”

With this said, grief is a powerful emotional process that can influence multiple areas of physical and psychological functioning, including how and why we eat, said J. Kim Penberthy, PhD, ABPP, Chester F. Carlson endowed professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia School of Medicine and UVA Health in Charlottesville, Virginia.

From a psychological perspective, grief often disrupts normal appetite cues and can lead to emotional eating, especially among individuals already vulnerable to obesity, she said.

“Primary care providers play a crucial role in helping patients understand this connection and guiding them toward healthy, compassionate coping strategies,” Penberthy said.

When grieving, your patients may experience an increase in stress hormones like cortisol, which can intensify cravings for both sugary and high-fat foods. These comfort foods may provide short-term relief but are not a sustainable way to manage emotional distress, she said.

“Eating in response to emotion, especially sorrow, is not a sign of weakness, rather it’s the body’s natural attempt to self-soothe in a moment of pain,” Penberthy said.

What Your Role Can Be to Assist Your Patient

Primary care providers can help patients normalize this response by providing a gentle explanation.

Penberthy suggested this messaging: “It’s not uncommon to find yourself turning to food during grief. Our brains are trying to find comfort, even though eating may not truly soothe what we’re feeling inside.”

She also said to reiterate that emotional eating in the context of grief is often about emotional regulation, not hunger.

Short-Term Tips That May Help

In the short term, physicians can recommend several accessible and supportive actions.

“Encouraging patients to stay physically engaged — even through light activity like daily walks — can help reduce stress, improve sleep, and regulate appetite,” said Penberthy.

Support groups, whether in person or online, offer a space for individuals to share their experiences and feel less isolated. These connections can help patients find emotional validation and relief, she said.

When to Consider Medication

When considering medication, some patients may be hesitant. Penberthy suggests emphasizing the upsides. “Sometimes when grief becomes overwhelming, medication can help stabilize sleep and mood. This isn’t a long-term commitment — just one of many tools we can consider together.”

She further said that positioning medication as optional and temporary gives patients autonomy while also reducing stigma.

Therapy As Another Path to Balance

Psychotherapy is another key resource, and doctors can introduce it gently by framing it as a form of support, not a diagnosis, she said. For example, Penberthy often says, “You might find it helpful to talk with someone who can guide you through this process. Even a few sessions with a therapist can help you feel more grounded and supported.”

In fact, therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy have shown particular promise in helping individuals manage emotional eating linked to unresolved grief.

Help Patients Manage Triggers

When we are upset, it is natural to want to “self-soothe,” and it’s how we comfort ourselves especially when we feel anxious and our go-to external source of comfort, security, and support isn’t available to us — which is often the case in bereavement, said Prigerson. “Some mourners self-soothe by smoking or drinking, and others by eating,” she said. “But there are healthier ways to self-soothe.”

For patients with obesity who are struggling with emotional eating, a few targeted strategies may help. Penberthy offered these ideas:

• Patients can keep a food and emotion journal to become more aware of eating triggers.
• Patients can practice mindful eating techniques (eg, pausing to ask, “Am I physically hungry or emotionally hurting?”)
• Patients can seek nonfood ways to self-soothe, such as walking, calling a friend, or engaging in calming pastimes.

The role of the primary care provider is not only to guide medical treatment but also to offer empathic, validating support during one of the most vulnerable times in a patient’s life, she said.

“Grief and emotional eating are deeply human responses,” Penberthy continued. “With gentle language, practical tools, and collaborative care, providers can empower patients to navigate their grief without judgment and with hope.”