I have always thought of stress eating as a pyschological phenomenon: snacking as avoidance, food as comfort. This may be true, but it doesn't fully explain how truly hungry I felt just after the renal exam last week, even after the need to procrastinate through eating had gone away.
According to a 2007 review article in Nutrition entitled "Relationship between stress, eating behavior, and obesity," I am not alone:
One of our renal workshop cases got me thinking: cortisol, a stress hormone, causes transient insulin resistance. For instance, diabetic patients on insulin need to increase their dose under periods of stress (illness, surgery, psychosocial) to avoid hyperglycemia. Could the stress of exam anxiety be enough to affect glucose metabolism through cortisol release? Would that impact appetite? What other effects could cortisol have on appetite?
Cortisol mobilizes energy stores -- glucose from the liver, protein and fat breakdown. Perhaps we eat to increase or replace these nutrients. So does cortisol affect appetite directly? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find conclusive data, either online or in old lectures. According to a 2014 study accepted for publication in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences ("Plasma levels of leptin in reproductive women with mild depressive and anxious states"), stress in humans has been associated with decreased, increased, and normal levels of leptin -- a hormone that inhibits appetite.
Part II -- Nutritionists in my audience, how can we improve satiety under stressful situations? Foods to eat or avoid? Please write in and let me know!
According to a 2007 review article in Nutrition entitled "Relationship between stress, eating behavior, and obesity," I am not alone:
The effect of a major stressful event (school examination) on food consumption was investigated in 225 male and female high school students. Total energy intake was significantly greater on the examination day when compared with the stress free day (2225 versus 2074 kcal).
In a large cross-sectional study with 12,110 individuals, greater perceived stress was associated with a higher-fat diet. Individuals in situations of greater perceived workload and perceived stress reported increases in total energy and fat intake compare with periods of low workload and low perceived stress.But why? Is stress eating purely psychological, or can we find a biochemical explanation?
One of our renal workshop cases got me thinking: cortisol, a stress hormone, causes transient insulin resistance. For instance, diabetic patients on insulin need to increase their dose under periods of stress (illness, surgery, psychosocial) to avoid hyperglycemia. Could the stress of exam anxiety be enough to affect glucose metabolism through cortisol release? Would that impact appetite? What other effects could cortisol have on appetite?
Cortisol mobilizes energy stores -- glucose from the liver, protein and fat breakdown. Perhaps we eat to increase or replace these nutrients. So does cortisol affect appetite directly? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find conclusive data, either online or in old lectures. According to a 2014 study accepted for publication in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences ("Plasma levels of leptin in reproductive women with mild depressive and anxious states"), stress in humans has been associated with decreased, increased, and normal levels of leptin -- a hormone that inhibits appetite.
How does this...
Source: 2007 Nutrition review
Lead to this?
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