Stress reduces an individual’s immunity and may create serious long-term health issues resembling hypertension, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Studies have shown that stress affects an individual’s eating habits. Some people eat more and crave comfort food in periods of stress, anger, fear, boredom or sadness, often termed emotional eating.

The newest study explains how the brain signals during stress cause over-indulgence in comfort food.

In periods of stress, signals within the brain’s lateral habenula that indicate satiation turns off, which might have otherwise let the person know they’ve eaten enough.

When the brain signals malfunction, people are inclined to eat more, and most frequently take pleasure in comfort food that’s high in fats, resulting in weight gain and obesity. The findings of the study were published within the journal Neuron.

“Our findings reveal stress can override a natural brain response that diminishes the pleasure gained from eating – meaning the brain is repeatedly rewarded to eat,” said Herbert Herzog, senior creator of the study.

Researchers made the findings after evaluating chronically stressed mice. The brain signals within the lateral habenula of the brain were inactive while they ate high-fat foods, which made them eat more without becoming satiated.

“We discovered that the lateral habenula was energetic in mice on a short-term, high-fat weight-reduction plan to guard the animal from overeating. Nevertheless, when mice were chronically stressed, this a part of the brain remained silent – allowing the reward signals to remain energetic and encourage feeding for pleasure, not responding to satiety regulatory signals,” first creator Kenny Chi Kin Ip said.

Stress also induces a craving for sweet food. The study showed that stressed mice consumed 3 times more sucralose than others. They produced a molecule called NPY, which was accountable for weight gain. When NPY was blocked from activating brain cells within the lateral habenula of stressed mice, they consumed less comfort food, leading to less weight gain.

“We found that stressed mice on a high-fat weight-reduction plan gained twice as much weight as mice on the identical weight-reduction plan that weren’t stressed,” Ip added.

Suggestions to stop emotional eating

• Manage stress with techniques resembling yoga, meditation or deep respiratory
• Keep a food diary to trace when and what you eat
• Keep yourself distracted to avoid eating when you are bored
• Check in case your hunger is real or whether it is only a craving
• When you feel like eating something between meals, take pleasure in a healthy snack, resembling fresh fruit or vegetable

Researchers discovered how the brain signals during stress cause over-indulgence in comfort food.
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Published by Medicaldaily.com