Those same people are also more likely to say that they feel their eating is out of control. As a result, women under chronic stress often try to regain control through "rigid restraint" methods like skipping meals.
These findings are the result of a survey of 600 women and were presented at meeting of the Obesity Society. What's being reported, from the tendency for chronically stressed women to turn to high-fat food to the trigger response of food denial and meal skipping, doesn't seem to be very groundbreaking to me. If I surveyed all my Facebook friends or asked ten women off the street, I am pretty sure not a one would say their stresses are soothed by broccoli.
Granted, as USA Today notes, some people do under-eat during periods of stress but that most women opt for things like chocolate, chips, and fast food.
In fact, it is a dichotomy often cited by both well-established and pop-science diet book authors. Paul McKenna told Shine earlier this year that this binge-starvation cycle slows metabolism and leads to more fat storage and weight gain. Getting to the emotional issues behind these eating extremes is key for women who want to get to a healthier weight and have more stable, fueling eating habits, he said.
The UCSF study's lead author echoed this, suggesting that people under chronic stress try to separate their emotional hunger from their physical hunger so they can regulate their bodies' needs better.
What I did appreciate in this new report, however, is a statement by researcher and psychologist Elissa Epel, who connected these behaviors to both emotional upheaval and what I personally regard as a cultural obsession with the high-fat foods that do our bodies so much harm.
"Chronic stress really taxes people's ability to self-monitor their eating behavior. In our current environment of abundantly rich food, we need every ounce of conscious effort to manage our eating, because eating is an automatic behavior we can do too easily and too often if we're not mindful," Epel said.
What I'd love to see now are simple tips that women can use to distinguish between the food their bodies need and the food their brains crave. I'd also like to see those tips be realistic, workable, and well-tested by women who are in the middle of moving, getting divorced, raising kids, or changing jobs.
I think we're all well-aware that women have these coping mechanisms when we're chronically stressed. Now how about about a study on what really, truly works to change those patterns?
Do you turn to food for relief when you're under stress? Are you more likely to eat veggies or ice cream when times are tough?
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