Having your cake and eating it too: A habit of comfort food may link chronic social stress exposure and acute stress-induced cortisol hyporesponsiveness

Tryon, M.; DeCant, Rashel; Laugero, Kevin D.

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.02.018

Cited by 119 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Indeed, experimental research in non-human animal models has suggested that the consumption of palatable comfort foods plays a causal role in dampening the stress-responsive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to acute and chronic physical stressors (Dallman, Pecoraro, & la Fleur, 2005;Foster et al, 2009;Ulrich-Lai et al, 2007). Furthermore, some studies in humans have reported correlations between high chronic stress, high comfort eating, and decreased HPA responses to acute laboratory stressors (Tomiyama, Dallman, & Epel, 2011;Tryon, DeCant, & Laugero, 2013;van Strien, Roelofs, & de Weerth, 2013). Future research should examine both psychological and physiological stress responses to naturally occurring stressors to test these putative mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comfort eating, psychological stress, and depressive symptoms in young adult women

Finch

Tomiyama

2015

Appetite

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a b s t r a c tLittle is known about whether comfort eating actually functions to reduce psychological stress. In addition, the effectiveness of comfort eating may be particularly relevant in the context of depression, but no study has tested whether comfort eating processes might depend on severity of depressive symptomology. This study tested 1) whether greater comfort eating statistically buffers the relationship between adverse life events and perceived psychological stress at age 18e19, and 2) whether potential stress-buffering effects may differ by level of depressive symptoms. These relationships were examined in the NHLBI Growth and Health Study, comprising 2379 young adult women. Participants self-reported experiences with adverse life events, their perceived psychological stress, and whether they tended to eat more while experiencing certain negative emotions. As hypothesized, the relationship between adverse life events and perceived stress depended on comfort eating status (p ¼ .033). The effect of adverse events on perceived stress was attenuated among comfort eaters compared to non-comfort eaters (p ¼ .004), but this buffering effect was not shown in participants with an elevated level of depressive symptoms. In conclusion, among young adult women without high depressive symptoms, comfort eaters may experience reduced perceived stress compared to those who do not engage in this behavior. Intervention researchers should also consider the possible benefits of comfort eating.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comfort eating, psychological stress, and depressive symptoms in young adult women

Finch

Tomiyama

2015

Appetite

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“…These relationships may be caused by work overload and longer working hours resulting in less time and lower motivation for preparing healthy meals (Bevan & Reilly, 2011). Other studies have indicated that work stress leads to fewer whole meals and more frequent snacking during working times (Bevan & Reilly, 2011;Oliver & Wardle, 1999;Tryon, DeCant, & Laugero, 2013;Wallis & Hetherington, 2009). …”

Section: Intra-individual Effects Of Perceived Stress On Physical Actmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress: Personal Matter or Family Affair? Intra- And Inter-Individual Relationships Between Stress, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Nutrition

Reiner

Niermann²,

Krapf

et al. 2015

ijcyfs

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Individual health behavior, which is determined by individual motives, emotions, and cognitive processes, is embedded in a social environment. One of the most important social environments is the family. According to Family Reciprocal Determinism, stress perceived by one family member becomes part of the family environment and may affect interactions within the family, as well as the health behavior of all family members. This study investigated 214 families, each represented by a mother, a father, and one of their children. The aim of the study was to examine intra-and inter-individual relationships between perceived stress and three health behaviors: physical activity, leisure-time sedentary behavior, and food consumption. The results indicate that individually perceived stress is related to individual health behavior as well as the health behavior of other family members. However, these relationships vary among family members. The inter-individual analyses revealed that this effect is strongest for the relationship of mothers' stress to other family members' health behavior. Investigating the link between perceived stress and health behavior from a family perspective may be useful for understanding the relationship between stress and health.

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“…The first study compared female students with extremely high or low scores on emotional eating, as measured by the DEBQ [53]. The study exposed participants to a modified TSST, subsequently assessing total cortisol response to the stressor, as well as their food intake.…”

Section: Role Of Glucocorticoids and Visceral Fat In Dampening Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress-Induced Eating Dampens Physiological and Behavioral Stress Responses

Finch

Tomiyama

2014

Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Abdominal Obesity

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Having your cake and eating it too: A habit of comfort food may link chronic social stress exposure and acute stress-induced cortisol hyporesponsiveness

Cited by 119 publications

References 36 publications

Comfort eating, psychological stress, and depressive symptoms in young adult women

Comfort eating, psychological stress, and depressive symptoms in young adult women

Stress: Personal Matter or Family Affair? Intra- And Inter-Individual Relationships Between Stress, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Nutrition

Stress-Induced Eating Dampens Physiological and Behavioral Stress Responses

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