NEW YORK, Feb 04 (Reuters Health) - For those who reach for a cookie when times get tough, stress may take a toll on the waistline, a Finnish study suggests.

Researchers found that for people who said stress often drove them to eat, the comfort food of choice tended to be greasy, salty or sweet. Not surprisingly, such "stress-driven" eaters, particularly women, weighed more on average.

Dr. Jaana Laitinen, of the Oulu Regional Institute of Occupational Health, and colleagues report the findings in the current issue of Preventive Medicine.

The researchers looked at 5,150 individuals at four points in their lives--birth and ages 1, 14 and 31. At age 31, the participants' body mass index, eating habits and methods of coping with stress were studied. Those who said they often or sometimes tried to make themselves feel better by eating and drinking were designated as stress-driven eaters.

Laitinen's team found that these individuals were more likely than others to frequently eat pizza, hamburgers, sausages and chocolate. They also drank more alcohol, on average, according to the report.

For both men and women, body mass index--a measure of weight, taking height into account--was higher among stress-driven eaters than others. For women, obesity was associated with eating to cope with stress.

Men were more likely to eat in the face of stress if they were single, divorced or frequently unemployed. The tendency was also seen in men with academic degrees--which is surprising, the researchers note, since higher education is often linked to lower rates of obesity. They speculate that the young men in this study may be more susceptible to stress caused by on-the-job demands compared with older, more experienced workers.

Among women, those who felt a lack of emotional support in their lives had a greater tendency to eat to cope with stress, the report indicates.

The researchers conclude that efforts to prevent or treat obesity should address the ways in which people cope with stress.

"Programs aimed at preventing and treating obesity," they write, "should cover the way in which people deal with emotions, ways of achieving greater emotional support, and strategies for handling stress caused by unemployment or work."

SOURCE: Preventive Medicine 2002;34:29-39.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archiv...204elin001.html

Well, this comes as no surprise to those of us who deal with this problem .. but at least it recognises that environmental factors outside of a person can be triggers to eat, as opposed to just being a glutton. Unfortunately, a lot of misinformed doctors, and unsupportive family and friends still like to blame the overweight person for lacking willpower or being unable to control our "impulses".



Doreen

good points, doreen. Nor does this address the underlying physiological causes of stress (or why some people "cope" less well than others)--perhaps poor serontonin production or fewer receptors or an absence of relevant enzymes.