Stress Triggers Craving for Comfort Foods

DALLASStress triggers the hunger hormone ghrelin to kick-start cravings for comfort foods like mashed potatoes, sweets and other high-fat, high-calorie feel-good foods, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center conducted a study to observe the levels of ghrelin in mice who had access to free food while being exposed to a number of stressful situations. The results showed the levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin rose according to the extended levels of stress and appeared to stimulate cravings for less healthy food. They found higher levels of ghrelin were brought on by increased stress and that this led to an increase in the appetites of the mice.

This helps explain certain complex eating behaviors and may be one of the mechanisms by which obesity develops in people exposed to psychosocial stress," said Dr. Jeffrey Zigman, assistant professor of internal medicine and psychiatry and senior author of a study. We think these findings are not just abstract and relevant only to mice, but likely are also relevant to humans."

Previous research conducted by Zigman showed chronic stress also causes elevated ghrelin levels, and that behaviors generally associated with depression and anxiety are minimized when ghrelin levels rise. In mice, these stress-induced rises in ghrelin lead to overeating and increased body weight, suggesting a mechanism for the increased prevalence of weight-related issues observed in humans with chronic stress and depression.

Interestingly, researchers at the University of Porto in Portugal have developed an anti-obesity vaccine containing ghrelin that curbs appetite and boosts calorie burning in mice. The findings, presented June 5 at the Endocrine Societys 93rd Annual Meeting, suggest an anti-ghrelin vaccine may become an alternate treatment for obesity, to be used in combination with diet and exercise.