Stress & Diets
This finding came from a 16-week study promoting healthy eating for overweight, low-income mothers of young children. Many of the women participating were unaware that they were stressed out, reported Mei-Wei Chang, the study’s lead author and associate professor or nursing at Ohio State University. She noted that “if you don’t know how to manage stress, then when you are so stressed out, why would you care about what you eat?” She added that many of the women participating in the study were aware of feeling impatient, and having head and neck pain and trouble sleeping – but didn’t know those are signs of stress. Analysis of data from the study showed that the women’s lowered perceived stress after participating in the intervention was the key factor influencing their eventual decrease in consumption of high-fat and fast foods. Learn more about popular diets from this handy guide.
Source:
Mei-Wei Chang et al, “Perceived Stress Can Mediate the Associations between a Lifestyle Intervention and Fat and Fast Food Intakes.” Nutrients, March 11, 2020; DOI: 10.3390/nu12123606
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