Everyone knows that stress can cause you to eat — but a new study confirms that those who find themselves frequently overwhelmed can develop a dependency on bad-for-you comfort foods.
Researchers published in the journal Neuron said that stress can override components of the brain that treat sweets and junk food as occasional rewards — making us crave them everyday.
“We showed that chronic stress, combined with a high-calorie diet, can drive more and more food intake as well as a preference for sweet, highly palatable food, thereby promoting weight gain and obesity,” said senior author Herbert Herzog of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
New research ties junk food consumption into reactions by the brain. motortion – stock.adobe.com
“Our findings reveal stress can override a natural brain response that diminishes the pleasure gained from eating — meaning the brain is continuously rewarded to eat…when experienced over long periods of time, stress appears to change the equation, driving eating that is bad for the body long term.”
Specifically, the scientists focused on the brain’s lateral habenula, which regulated the reward signals of food.
