The relationship between stress, dietary restraint, and food preferences in women

External eating mediates the relationship between impulsivity and unhealthy food intake

“…As our sample included only women, it is not surprising that external eating was associated with the intake of sweet food, but not of savoury food. Other research has shown that women are more likely to prefer (Wansink, Cheney, & Chan, 2003), crave (Weingarten & Elston, 1990), and consume (Habhab, Sheldon & Loeb, 2009 ) sweet foods over savoury foods. Importantly, the current study further adds to the literature by demonstrating that the relationship between motor impulsivity and intake of unhealthy sweet food was mediated by an individual's tendency to eat in response to external food cues.…”

Perceived stress and dietary choices: The moderating role of stress management

“…Most research examining the relationship between perceived stress and eating behaviors among college students has been conducted among predominantly white females (Habhab, Sheldon, & Loeb, 2009;Kandiah et al, 2006). Moreover, research has focused on this relationship among restrained (those who consciously restrict food intake in order to lose or maintain weight) or emotional eaters (those who eat in response to negative affect; Habhab et al, 2009), both of which have been linked to disordered eating behaviors (Delinsky & Wilson, 2008).…”

Gene×cognition interaction on stress-induced eating: Effect of rumination

“…For instance, women increasingly snack on high-caloric sweet foods under stress exposure; a behavior that has been interpreted as a function of their psychophysiological (cortisol) stress responsiveness (Epel et al, 2001). Numerous similar results have found that people eat more after an experimental stressor in the lab (with a greater preference for sugary/fatty foods) (Epel et al, 2004;Zellner et al, 2006;Habhab et al, 2009;Rutters et al, 2009;Born et al, 2010). These experimental study findings have been further supported by associative studies that established a strong link between specific types of daily stressors and an increased intake of fatty and/or sweet foods.…”

“…Regarding stress-induced eating, this might mean that people may increasingly focus (i.e., as a type of escape) Table 1 An overview of studies examining the relation between stress and a preference for sweet and/or fatty foods. Sweet and/or fatty foods Cartwright et al (2003) Schoolchildren (N = 4320) Fatty foods Elfhag et al (2008) Families ( Adult men and women (N = 68) Sweet and/or fatty foods Rutters et al (2009) Adult men and women (N = 129) Sweet foods Born et al (2010) Adult females (N = 9) Crispy foods and foods with full taste Zellner et al (2006) Adult female students (N = 34) Sweet and fatty foods Grunberg and Straub (1992) Adult men and women (N = 54) No significant preference Wallis and Hetherington (2009) Adult females (N = 26) No significant preference Epel et al (2004) Adult females (N = 59) Sweet and/or fatty foods Habhab et al (2009) Adult female students (N = 40) Sweet and/or fatty foods on food as a function of the negative impact of a stressor to shift their attention from their aversive self-awareness (known as the avoidance-distraction theory). Wallis and Hetherington (2004) found evidence for this theory.…”