Health for Body Mind and Soul

Stress is everywhere in our lives, felt in both work and home life.  Stress may cause a variety of health issues.  A recent research study conducted at the University College, London addressed the impact of stress on food choices that people make.

Professor Jane Wardle conducted this study with the goal of testing whether or not stress impacted overall food desire and eating attitudes.  Sixty-eight men and women participated in the study.  Each participant was questioned to determine his or her attitude towards eating,eating habits, and food preferences.  The participants were then given the task of preparing a four minute speech, which they were told would be filmed after lunch.  The control group was read text designed not to provoke a stress response.  All participants (including the stress and control groups) were then measured for blood pressure, heart rate, mood, and hunger, both before they ate and 10 minutes after they began eating.

The measurements of blood pressure and heart rates confirmed the presence of stress on the test subjects.  As for food choices, stress did not have a significant impact on their appetite for certain foods.  However, those individuals identified as emotional eaters ate more calories, and fat than other non-emotional study participants.

http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/62/6/853.short

The results of the study indicate that emotional eaters may be susceptible to eating more calories during a period of elevated stress than non-emotional eaters.

Emotional eating is generally referred to individuals who alter their eating habits as a way to soothe negative emotions.  These negative emotions may be the results of daily struggles, major life events, or both.  Typically, emotional eating is characterized by binging on various foods, often without even realizing it.  In this case, food serves as a short-term distraction, but often leaves the emotional eater with additional guilt over their food choices.  This behavior often leads to a cycle of negative emotions and more overeating.

Here are some daily tips that may help to stop the cycle of emotional eating.

• Learn and practice stress management techniques to help reduce overall stress.
• Learn how to handle unexpected stressful events.  This may mean professional therapy services to give you coping skills or getting support from a close friend or relative.
• Analyze your hunger.  Ask yourself if you are really hungry or are just experiencing a stressful situation.
• Fight boredom. Distract yourself if you tend to eat when you are bored.
• Choose better snacks.  If you are an emotional eater, keep fresh fruits and vegetables handy and turn to those instead of the more high caloric foods.

Whatever method works for you, emotional eating can be conquered with the right tools.