Stress eating is a common phrase, and many people either do it themselves or know of someone who has this habit. But why do we tend to eat when stressed. There are actually a variety of reasons, both having to do with our body’s reaction and our physiological response to stress.
Hormonal Eating
As mentioned in other blog posts, when stressed, the body releases two main hormones, epinephrine (more commonly known as adrenaline) and then cortisol. Epinephrine is released first, creating what is known as the fight or flight response. Surprisingly, epinephrine actually decreases hunger as it focuses. According to Harvard Health Publishing’s Article “Understanding the stress response”, the adrenaline reason this response occurs is because “The carefully orchestrated yet near-instantaneous sequence of hormonal changes and physiological responses helps someone to fight the threat off or flee to safety”. The body has to focus on many responses during the fight or flight response, and due to hunger not being as important during this time, it is put on the back burner as the body focuses on more important matters for your safety.
However, stress isn’t always short term, there are long term stressors which cause the hormone that causes stress eating to appear: Cortisol.
Cortisol is another hormone that releases when stressed after epinephrine in order to keep the body on high alert. “Harvard Health Publishing” continues to elevate our understanding of this topic in another article named “Why stress causes people to overeat”, where it informs us that “cortisol increases appetite and may also ramp up motivation in general, including the motivation to eat”. This increase in appetite due to cortisol does make sense, as cortisol triggers a release of glucose to keep the body energized, leading the body to feel hungrier as a way to replace that released energy.
The Comfort of Food
While it makes sense why people turn to foods in moments of high stress, why do we choose to eat unhealthy foods? The reason we tend to cope with unhealthy foods is because they tend to be sugary, fatty, or carb based, all of which release serotonin and dopamine (chemicals our brain releases to make us feel good). Eating unhealthy food improves our mood and tends to decrease stress along with it, making it feel like the perfect distraction to combat whatever we may be facing in the moment.
Comfort food may also be associated with a good memory. For example, if a loved one always made you a certain food when stressed, you may begin to associate that food with a better feeling. Emotional comfort is another reason people tend to stress eat, as it makes them feel better and remember a better, less stressful experience.
Dangers of Stress Eating
Despite the feel good nature food can provide, eating too much has its dangers. The article “The Negative Effects of Stress Eating” tells us some symptoms stress eating may lead to, including, “Excessive fatigue; increased abdominal fat; fluctuations in weight; stomach pain, cramping, or other gastrointestinal issues; preoccupation with food; feeling out of control; isolation; [and] difficulties telling the difference between emotional and physical hunger”. Along with these risks, overeating can lead to long term health problems as well, such as heart problems and diabetes.
Comfort food and emotional eating is not a terrible habit, just remember to do so in moderation and with good habits, such as healthy eating and exercising. With the right routine, food can help us release stress in a healthy, safe manner.
My friends and I recently had a conversation about how hard it is to just eat at college. I feel as thought I’m never eating the ‘just-right’ amount and find myself either skipping meals due to inconvenience or overeating because of the buffet-style setup or just snacking to stay awake while doing work. Either way, I end up not feeling great. I’m sure this is something that just comes with the transition of being a college student but it’s definitely a strong point to become aware of.
I’ve heard of the term stress eating before but had never looked into it this much. This was a rather deep dive into something I didn’t know much about. This post made for an interesting read. I recall a few classmates in high school, myself included, used to stress eat. I overcame this by replacing my stress management activity with running. I know exercise is a good way to manage stress. If you haven’t already, that would be a good blog post.
I have heard the phrase “stress eating” being thrown around a lot, but I never realized there was a science behind it. I really like how your post provides facts regarding the different aspects of stress eating (hormones, types of foods consumed, and its risks). This was very informative, and I appreciated how you ended with possible solutions to combat this habit.