Associations between ovarian hormones and emotional eating across the menstrual cycle: Do ovulatory shifts in hormones matter?

Abstract

Objective: Elevated ovarian hormone levels are associated with increased risk for binge eating (BE) and emotional eating (EE) during the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle. However, past studies have not examined whether pronounced hormonal changes that precede the midluteal phase (i.e., the dramatic decrease in estradiol and increase in progesterone during/after ovulation) also influence midluteal increases in binge-related symptoms. Past theories and studies of phenotypes strongly related to BE (e.g., depression) suggest that these pronounced hormonal changes may also contribute. This study examined this possibility in 375 female twins (aged 15-25 years) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry.Methods: Daily ratings of EE (assessed with the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire) and daily saliva samples of estradiol and progesterone were collected for 45 consecutive days.Results: No significant associations were found between pronounced changes in estradiol or progesterone across ovulation and changes in EE scores in the midluteal phase. Results remained unchanged after controlling for body mass index and negative affect and examining participants with clinical BE episodes or more extreme hormonal fluctuations. Discussion:In aggregate, the current findings and past data suggest that hormone levels are more significant predictors of EE than pronounced hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle. K E Y W O R D S binge eating, emotional eating, estrogen, ovarian hormones, ovulation, progesterone, pronounced change Note. BMI = body mass index; Difference score = maximum − minimum; EST = estradiol; Max = maximum; Min = minimum; Neg Aff = negative affect; PRO = progesterone; SE = standard error; Trans = transition. 198FOWLER ET AL.

Psychiatric Symptoms Across the Menstrual Cycle in Adult Women: A Comprehensive Review

“…As such, results presented in this review surround emotional and binge eating. Research examining emotional or binge eating appears to indicate consistent cyclic effects (see Fowler et al 164 and Leon et al 152 ). In both clinical and community-based studies of women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, significant increases in binge eating were reported during the mid-luteal and premenstrual phases.…”

“…Menstrual cycle phases are termed and calculated differently across research groups, which may mask or inflate true symptom variability. For example, some researchers define ovulation as a distinct phase or window of days, 174 and others include ovulation as a part of the luteal phase 164 . Assessment of cycle phase is further complicated when comparing studies using hormonal measures and those employing self-reports.…”

“…For example, some researchers define ovulation as a distinct phase or window of days, 174 and others include ovulation as a part of the luteal phase. 164 Assessment of cycle phase is further complicated when comparing studies using hormonal measures and those employing self-reports. Assessing menstrual phases through self-reported days since menstruation is complicated by the known variability in the length of menstrual cycle phases.…”

Reliability and Validity of the Emotional Eater Questionnaire in Romanian Adults

“…In our study, with the female gender, the emotional eating score increases by 4.5 points when controlling for the effects of other variables in the model. These differences between genders can be partly explained by physiological differences [ 51 , 52 , 53 ] due to the interaction of oestrogen and progesterone across the menstrual cycle in females.…”

Association of Inflammation Biomarkers with Food Cravings and Appetite Changes Across the Menstrual Cycle

“…Previous studies show that approximately 90% of women report both physiological and psychological symptoms, including depressive mood, irritability, and food cravings, during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle (luteal phase [days 16-28] of the menstrual cycle to the beginning of the next menses) (Chumpalova et al, 2020; Matsumoto, Asakura, & Hayashi, 2013). Most of these symptoms are thought to be caused by hormonal fluctuations and are exacerbated by psychological and behavioral factors (i.e., stress, depression, and eating disorders) (Fowler et al, 2019; Kroll-Desrosiers et al, 2017; Roney & Simmons, 2017). Food cravings have also been reported as a regular symptom among menstruating women (Hormes & Niemiec, 2017).…”