Environmental stress effects on appetite: Changing desire for high- and low-energy foods depends on the nature of the perceived threat

Abstract

It is well-documented that harsh environmental conditions influence appetite and food choice. However, the experience of environmental harshness is complex and shaped by several underlying dimensions, notably threats to one's social support, economic prospects, and physical safety. Here, we examined the differential effects of these three dimensions of environmental harshness on desire for specific food items. We first showed 564 participants images of 30 food items. Next, they rated how much they desired each item. The participants were then randomly assigned to a condition where they read one of six scenario stories that described someone's current living conditions. Each scenario story emphasized one of the three dimensions (social support, economic prospects, physical safety), with two levels (safe, harsh). Following this, the participants once again rated how desirable each food item was. The results showed that exposure to cues of low social support and high physical threat reduce the desire to eat, whereas cues of economic harshness had little effect. Further analysis revealed a significant interaction between energy level of different foods and perceived threat to physical safety. These findings are important in helping to understand how current environmental conditions influence changes in appetite and desire for different kinds of food items.

Primary Dysmenorrhea Risk based on Characteristics, Dietary Habits, and Types of Exercise

“…26,27 Swaffield B Jim & Guo Qi said that the anxiety and stress in young women would affect their appetite that will certainly impact their nutritional status. 28 It is different from the results of research conducted by Kurniawati Widi & Luh Made K.S who argue that anxiety and stress will increase the appetite. 27 Malnutrition in adolescent would affect of the reproductive organ function.…”

How Childhood Socioeconomic Status Impacts Adult Food Preference: The Mediating Role of Stress and Trait Appetite

“…One possible reason is that different types of environmental stressors have different effects on appetite. As noted by [ 14 ], financial stress tends to increase appetite whereas concerns about physical safety tend to decrease appetite.…”

“…The specific food items can be found in Table 1 . For further details on the images used in this study, please refer to Swaffield and Gou [ 14 ]. With regards to the food items selected to be included in each of the six food categories, there were no inclusion requirements other than to ensure variety.…”

“…Studies have also shown that stress influences food preference and the volume of food consumed. Stress can both increase and decrease appetite depending on the type and intensity of the stressor [ 6 , 14 ]. Low-intensity chronic stress tends to increase appetite whereas acute stress tends to decrease appetite [ 15 , 16 ].…”

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