Why Stress Affects Someone's Eating Habits?

Medical Video: How the food you eat affects your brain - Mia Nacamulli

Are you the type of person who likes to eat when stressed, or is it actually not appetite when you have a lot of thoughts? Indeed, eating behavior when stressed can change in various ways. Each individual has his own way of responding to the stress he experiences. However, most individuals respond to stress by eating more than usual. How did it happen?

The relationship between stress and eating behavior

Research has shown a lot about the relationship between stress and food. In times of stress, people usually look for foods that are high in calories or high in fat. In fact, when you are stressed, your body can also save more fat. So, stress, increased food intake, and more fat storage can cause you to be overweight.

Many adults report that they are a group of people who eat when stressed, aka eat more or eat unhealthy foods when they feel stressed. According to him, eating behavior like this makes him more able to deal with the stress he felt. Others also report that they eat to help manage stress. Apparently, stress is very influential on your eating behavior, starting from the appetite to eat, the amount of food you take, to the selection of your food.

Stress can interfere with balance in the body. So, the body will react to stress to restore balance by producing a physiological response. One of the body's disturbed balance when you are stressed is the physiological body that is related to food intake.

How can stress change eating behavior?

A person's eating behavior can change to respond to stress. This depends on how much stress you are feeling. There are two types of stress, namely:

Acute stress, where stress occurs only temporarily - in a short time. For example, stress due to congestion on the road. You can easily handle this stress.
Chronic stress, when you experience a big problem that concerns your life and is more difficult for you to handle. This stress can last longer.

The body's response to acute stress

When you experience acute stress, the medular part of the brain signals to release some stress hormones, such as epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) from the adrenal gland. These hormones then trigger a "fight-or-flight" response, such as an increase in heart rate, breathing, the breakdown of fat and carbohydrates, and blood pressure. At the same time, the body slows down its physiological work, such as blood flow to the digestive system, appetite, and food intake. So, during acute stress, you are more likely to lose your appetite.

The body's response to chronic stress

When your body experiences chronic stress, the hypothalamus (the center of the brain that controls stress) instructs the pituitary gland to release adenocorticotropin (ACTH) to the adrenal cortex. If chronic stress is severe enough and lasts long enough, it can cause the hormone cortisol to increase, where this hormone can stimulate appetite during the recovery period from chronic stress. Therefore, in people with severe stress, their appetite will increase so he eats more, he will see food as an object that can give him peace.

Cortisol with the help of insulin (with higher levels) can also activate the lipoprotein lipase enzyme and inhibit the breakdown of triglycerides which can cause more fat reserves. Chronic stress has been shown to increase abdominal fat buildup in women. So, when you experience chronic stress, your body is more likely to store more fat, in addition to your increased appetite. So that, increasing your weight or obesity will overshadow you.

Stress can also affect eating choices

Stress also seems to affect your eating choices. When stressed, you are more likely to choose foods with high calorie content, so this can also contribute to weight gain when stressed. Foods that contain high levels of fat and / or sugar may give pleasure to people who are facing stress.

The level of the hormone cortisol combined with high insulin may play a role in the selection of this meal. Other studies have shown that ghrelin (a hormone that triggers hunger) can cause this. Another theory also says that fat and sugar seem to have an impact that can inhibit the activity of parts of the brain that produce and process stress.

Conclusion

So stress can affect your eating behavior in two ways. A small portion of you may lose appetite when experiencing stress in a short time. Meanwhile, most individuals will respond to stress by increasing their food intake during severe stress.

Research by Dallman (2005) shows that overweight individuals tend to eat more when experiencing chronic stress compared to individuals who have normal or lean body weight. Other studies show that people who go on a diet or who often refrain from eating are more likely to eat more during stress than people who do not diet or do not limit their food intake.