About Your Mood  Mood Research

Stress = Poor Food Choices For Some

A recent study that appeared in the Journal of the American Psychosomatic Society concluded that "certain individuals choose less healthy foods when under stress." Underlying this study of 68 men and women was previous research that suggested that two groups of people are especially vulnerable to patterns of unhealthy eating: restrained eaters and emotional eaters.

The participants were divided into stressed (given 10 minutes to prepare a 4-minute speech that they had to deliver after lunch) and unstressed (listened to a short, neutral-toned presentation before the meal).

The stressed emotional eaters ate sweeter, high-fat, energy-dense foods (e.g. cakes and chocolate cookies) than did the unstressed non-emotional eaters.

Scientists believe that carbohydrate-rich/protein-poor foods affect mood-influencing brain chemicals, like serotonin. The theory holds, says the study, that stress-prone people may unconsciously learn to choose such foods as a stress-coping mechanism.

Source: PRIMEDIA Intertec