Eating Behavior, Stress, and Adiposity: Discordance Between Perception and Physiology

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the interrelationships among stress, eating behavior, and adiposity in a cohort of normal- and overweight individuals. Clinical markers of physiological stress (fasting serum cortisol) and adiposity (body mass index [BMI] and percent body fat) were obtained from participants selected for a natural history protocol ( n = 107). Self-reported data on eating behavior (using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire subscales such as Cognitive Restraint, Disinhibition, and Hunger) and psychological stress (via the Perceived Stress Scale) were evaluated. Demographic information was incorporated using principal component analysis, which revealed sex- and weight-based differences in stress, adiposity, and eating behavior measures. Following a cross-sectional and descriptive analysis, significant correlations were found between the Disinhibition and Hunger eating behavior subscales and measures of adiposity including BMI ( r = .30, p = .002 and r = .20, p = .036, respectively) and percent body fat ( r = .43, p = .000 and r = .22, p = .022, respectively). Relationships between stress measures and eating behavior were also evident in the analysis. Disinhibition and Hunger correlated positively with perceived stress ( r = .32, p .001 and r = .26, p = .008, respectively). However, Disinhibition varied inversely with serum cortisol levels ( r = -.25, p = .009). Future studies are warranted to better understand this paradox underlying the effects of perceived and physiological stress on eating behavior.

Dietary Intake Assessment, Severity of Symptoms, and Pain in Women with Fibromyalgia

“…Similarly, it has been reported that FMS patients tend to experience high levels of stress (Galvez-Sánchez et al, 2019), and since pain and stress share significant conceptual and physiological overlaps (Abdallah & Geha, 2017), it should be of special interest to perform research that relates stress to diet in FMS patients. Previous studies have reported significant relationships between stress measures and eating behavior (Debeuf et al, 2018;Joseph et al, 2018) but, to the best of our knowledge, it has not been investigated in FMS patients. Finally, a further limitation is the lack of assessment of physical activity in these patients.…”

Job strain is prospectively associated with a lower frequency of fruit consumption in schoolteachers

“…In another study, lower job control, which is present in job strain and in passive job, was associated with binge eating (1) , possibly because of the feeling of tension/anxiety generated (3) , which in turn may lead to a greater tendency to consume sweets and foods rich in saturated fat instead of healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables (34) . Moreover, high cortisol levels (35) and hormonal imbalances involving leptin and ghrelin (36) observed in stressed individuals could be implicated in the pathophysiological mechanisms behind the reduction in the frequencies of fruit consumption over time associated with job strain. Last, a lack of time is a frequent complaint related to job strain and has been reported to be one of the reasons for not engaging in healthy behaviours, such as healthy eating (37) .…”

Percepción de Discriminación y Obesidad: el Rol de la Afectividad Negativa y la Calidad de la Dieta

“…La percepción de estrés psicológico, la sintomatología depresiva y la ansiedad son variables que se han vinculado a múltiples comportamientos en salud, entre los cuales destaca la preferencia por alimentos no saludables Gibson-Smith et al, 2018;Joseph et al, 2018). En relación al estrés psicológico, se ha demostrado en forma experimental que ante la generación de alto estrés psicológico, los individuos prefieren alimentos ricos en contenido graso y calórico, por sobre comidas saludables y bajas en grasa (Tomiyama et al, 2015).…”