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    No kidding: Study says women eat crappy comfort food when they're stressed

    By Jessica Ashley, Senior Editor | Healthy Living – Fri, Nov 6, 2009 12:09 AM EST

    A new study conducted by the University of California-San Francisco reveals what any woman who has ever experienced a job loss, break up, tantruming child, ongoing illness, micromanaging boss, or filing taxes in more than one state knows -- those of us who are under chronic stress are more likely to eat fattening foods.

    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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    11 comments

    • Charlene
      Charlene  •  2 years 7 months ago
      I'm still surprised by how these grants are given, ie proving something that we already knew? Yes, we do need to find out why people are obese, but come on, seriously?
    • katie
      katie  •  2 years 6 months ago
      When I'm stressedd I both don't eat much at all, and only eat junk food.
    • Rebekah
      Rebekah  •  2 years 6 months ago
      When I'm stressed, I'm fully aware that ordering pizza or hitting Mcky D's for that milkshake is bad in so many ways--but I just say 'screw it.' Its hard to care. And delivery is evil--they bring the food right to my door! But its sooo goood. Mmmm...pizza....cheesy goodness...
    • Erin
      Erin  •  2 years 7 months ago
      When I'm stressed I DON'T eat, and then I end up losing weight that I can't really afford to lose. If I'm really freaking out about something, I try to make myself eat at least small amounts of healthy food, since eating healthy food will make me feel better, more awake, and in the end (hopefully) less stressed.
    • Melinda
      Melinda  •  2 years 7 months ago
      When I'm stressed out the last thing I'm thinking about is behavior modification, no, I'm just eating, okay, stuffing. Stuffing my feelings instead of leaving my 30 year marriage. A little ice cream, hmm, maybe some maple syrup on it, hey, let's add a little old coffee to the mixture, yum, oh, don't forget the cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on first. Man, nothin' better than Blue Belle Homemade Vanilla ice cream under all this slop, yum-o! Then it's in front of the television to watch Dr. Oz! No, it's usually eleven o'clock at night and I'm watching Alton Brown's Good Eats!
    • ms
      ms  •  2 years 7 months ago
      I'm more likely to want to hike or bicycle, THEN eat something 'bad'.
    • Liz
      Liz  •  2 years 7 months ago
      The only thing I know of that truly works is behavior modification and building new coping skills vs maladaptive coping skills. A person has to get to a point where the maladaptive behavior is so troublesome or obstructive that it becomes more stressful than the stress which causes them to indulge a vice. Some people (most?) are just wired to seek the quick fix or the fastest/cheapest/easiest way to relieve an unpleasant feeling or situation. Thus the dollar menu or Walmart or diet pills etc...vs true self-care.
      And even when a behavior is troublesome or obstructive people will still resist making changes because...we're stubborn?
      If you find the miracle cure, though, be sure and share it :)
    • plumpangel
      plumpangel  •  2 years 6 months ago
      when i'm stressed or unhappy..i turn to junk food & chocolates
    • Flutterbyze
      Flutterbyze  •  2 years 6 months ago
      behavior modification, Does it come in pill form?
    • Ana Caterina
      Ana Caterina  •  2 years 7 months ago
      ''When times are tough'' I'm no more likely to eat any certain food -especially not junk- than I would be on any other day. I don't tend to turn to food for comfort. Mostly because I find it upsetting rather than comforting - the guilt of consciously sabotaging my health just adds up to what stressed me in the first place. People really ought to just stop seeking comfort in food.

      My comfort things are cuddling, getting some pampering, watching a movie... basically just a bunch of stuff which don't include food.
    • Karly Randolph Pitman
      Karly Randolph Pitman  •  2 years 6 months ago
      Jessica, as you said here: 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...

      You can change how you eat, for sure, but the challenge is, these steps aren't simple. They take planning and effort. To truly create a nourishing life - instead of using food as a buffer - you have to change the way you live. You have to ask yourself: Why is my life so stressful that I have to eat to cope? This is not something done in 10 easy steps. It's a process that takes time and effort, which is why it's so much easier to revert to the food.

      Granted, there is much that is out of our control. Life throws lots of curve balls our way. But there is so much that *is.* Here's one simple tip you can start to implement in your life. The next time you feel pulled to the food, ask yourself: What is one small thing I can do to support myself right now, to make me feel better? And then do it. Keep stringing this moments along until they gather momentum.

      If you have an ingrained pattern of stress eating, it will take time to change your habits. You will slip back into old patterns at times.

      That's okay. Keep moving forward.

      I've been a lifelong stress/complusive/overeater. I've learned much on my path that I share with others in helping women overcome overeating, kick their sugar habit and love their bodies.

      For more information on stress eating, check out my website at http://www.firstourselves.com.
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