Another good reason to knit: Potential for easing comfort eating

I've heard several times through the years that people have used knitting to help them lose weight or give up another bad habit, because doing something with your hands like, say, eating, smoking, or even biting your fingernails is a lot harder when your hands are full of a luscious merino.

A new study shows that there might in fact be some benefit for people recovering from anorexia who take up knitting.

Researchers taught 38 women in a specialized eating disorder unit were given knitting lessons and access to knitting supplies, and then reported their psychological state after knitting. Seventy-four percent said knitting helped calm their fears and cleared their minds of preoccupations associated with their disordered eating, while 74 percent said it had a calming and therapeutic effect and 53 percent reported feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment following a knitting session.


While such results don't clearly translate to people who don't have eating disorders, we can probably all relate to the ideas of knitting as a way to calm a troubled, stressed-out mind. The meditative state that can come from the gentle rhythm of knitting may mimic the zone-like state of a comfort eater who feels out of control in front of food, but it gives them a productive outlet for excess energy and worry that's a lot healthier than ice cream or chips.


Other crafts, video games, puzzles and projects that use visual spatial mental resources might be beneficial for taking people's mind off food or other bad habits, experts say.