stress and eating

Question 1

public speaking

Answer 1

Oliver wardle and Gibson 2000-

68 men and women
stressed & unstressed
conditions; individual differences
▫ Eating behaviour, psychological and physiological
characteristics of arousal were assessed.
Findings
▫ Little effect of restraint
▫ Stressed emotional eaters ate more sweet high-fat
foods and a more energy dense meal than
unstressed and non-emotional eaters

Question 2

physical vs reaction time

Answer 2

Physical threat (e.g., fear, cold pressor)
▫ Lots of evidence to indicate underconsumption (direct
physiological effects).

Lattimore & Caswell (2004)
* Active versus passive coping
▫ RT tasks vs. cold pressor test
* Restrained & unrestrained participants
* Repeated measures design

his study examined the effects of active (AC) and passive coping (PC) stress tasks on food intake in female restrained (n=20) and unrestrained eaters (n=20). Participants completed a reaction time task (AC), a cold-pressor test (PC), and a relaxation control condition separated by 1-week intervals. Food intake was assessed after each task. Self-reported anxiety, heart rate and blood pressure (BP) were measured before and after each task. Restraint was measured using the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Significant increases in BP were evident in the AC task only. Stress tasks produced significant increases in self-rated anxiety. Restrained eaters consumed more than unrestrained following the reaction time task, while the opposite was observed following relaxation. The findings of this study show that disinhibited eating of restrained eaters can be triggered by the distracting effects of a cognitively demanding task and may be independent of anxiety experienced. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

shows difference between restraint vs non restraint eaters

and physical vs psychological stressors

Question 3

ego threat

Answer 3

High self-awareness (Heatherton, Herman & Polivy, 1991).
* Physical vs. ego threat
* Restrained and unrestrained participants
▫ Anticipated electric shock (physical threat)
▫ Completion of an unsolvable task (ego-threat)- threatening self esteem
▫ Anticipation of a speech

under physical threat (electirc shock)= in unrestraint eaters they ate less, restrained eaters ate slightly more

under ego threat- restrained eaters ate more.no effect on unrestrained eaters

anticipation of speech- restraint eaters ate more, unrestraint eaters ate less

Question 4

Naturalistic studies

Answer 4

Daily hassles (Newman, O’Connor, & Connor, 2007)
- 50 females; high vs low cortisol reactors (how much cortisol people produced to a stressful event)
- Cortisol reactivity assessed (modified Trier Social Stress
Test)
- Snack intake diaries for 2 weeks

• Association between daily hassles and snacking, but only
  for high reactors
• Restraint, disinhibition, emotional & external eating
  associated with increased snacking in high reactors only

so more snacking only in people who produce lots of cortisol- still a biological aspect

small sample size

Question 5

Naturalistic studies 2

Answer 5

Stress associated with greater risk of both weight gain and
weight loss in UK students (Serlachius, Hamer & Wardle,
2007)

The Freshman 15- The “Freshman 15” is a term used to describe the belief that first-year college students gain an average of 15 pounds (approximately 6.8 kilograms) during their freshman year. While the term is widely recognized, it’s often exaggerated—research shows that the actual weight gain is usually less than 15 pounds, often closer to 3–5 pounds for most students.

Causes of the “Freshman 15”: Pliner & Saunders (2008)
Stress and Emotional Eating:

Transitioning to college can be stressful, and some students may turn to food as a coping mechanism.
Stress-eating, coupled with changes in routine and lifestyle, can contribute to weight gain.

Question 6

focus group studies

Answer 6

Hafiz et al., 2023-

Exploration of university student eating practices; n =
42 (27 male); focus groups.
‘I eat everything during exam periods as I always feel
hungry’.
‘I actually gained weight because I felt the stress of the
exams and I needed something to run away from it;
sometimes you –just eat; even when you are not
hungry’

Question 7

review and meta analysis

Answer 7

Hill et al., (2022)
* Systematic review and meta-analysis of stress and
eating behaviours in healthy adults
* N = 54 studies
* Meta-analysis of effects
▫ Stress associated with an increased consumption of
unhealthy foods and decreased consumption of healthy
foods
▫ Restraint was identified as a significant moderator of
this relationship
▫ Small effect sizes