A Role for Exercise in Attenuating Unhealthy Food Consumption in Response to Stress

Abstract

It is well established that both acute and chronic stress can be detrimental to health and wellbeing by directly increasing the risk of several chronic diseases and related health problems. In addition, stress may contribute to ill-health indirectly via its downstream effects on individuals’ health-related behaviour, such as promoting the intake of unhealthy palatable foods high in fat and sugar content. This paper reviews (a) the research literature on stress-models; (b) recent research investigating stress-induced eating and (c) the potential physiological and psychological pathways contributing to stress-induced eating. Particular attention is given to (d) the role of physical exercise in attenuating acute stress, with exploration of potential mechanisms through which exercise may reduce unhealthy food and drink consumption subsequent to stressor exposure. Finally, exercise motivation is discussed as an important psychological influence over the capacity for physical exercise to attenuate unhealthy food and drink consumption after exposure to stressors. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of how physical exercise might alleviate stress-induced unhealthy food choices.

Prevalence and Predictors of Emotional Eating among Healthy Young Saudi Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Increased physical activity has been shown to lower EE [ 17 ]. Physical activity has been linked to a reduction in stress and less consumption of unhealthy food [ 78 ]. A randomized controlled trial showed increased physical activity improving both mood and sleep [ 79 ], which may be moderated by serotonin and melatonin, respectively [ 80 , 81 ].…”

High-intensity Interval Training Promotes the Shift to a Health-Supporting Dietary Pattern in Young Adults

“…Andrade et al [6] demonstrated that women who received 12-months of behavioural intervention, including moderate and vigorous exercise, had reduced emotional overeating through eating self-regulation, suggesting that an active lifestyle can contribute to long-term weight management. Physical exercise can alleviate stress-induced unhealthy food choices [48]. Physical activity and dietary habits are likely interconnected and together could represent good strategies for sustainable weight management.…”

Weight gain in Major Depressive Disorder: Linking appetite and disordered eating to leptin and ghrelin.

“…Increased intake of highly palatable foods and related behaviours may be used to minimise psychological distress or dampen physiological stress responses produced by the HPA axis (e.g. Dallman et al, 2003;Leow et al, 2018), therefore acting as a potential coping mechanism for stress or low mood. This is supported by the positive associations between MDD symptom severity, emotional eating and food addiction.…”

“…Comfort eating in MDD is often viewed as having psychological underpinnings (e.g. Leow et al, 2018), however the associations between leptin, ghrelin and disordered eating in MDD suggest that excessive eating behaviours are also related to physiological pathways, which is relevant to intervention approaches. Further research is required to assess the temporal nature and causal relationships between these variables.…”