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Stress and eating: the effects of ego-threat and cognitive demand on food intake in restrained and emotional eaters
journal contribution
posted on 2012-12-17, 11:07 authored by Deborah Wallis, Marion M. HetheringtonRestrained and emotional eaters overeat in response to stress. To compare differential effects of cognitive demand and ego-threatening
stressors on subsequent chocolate intake, 38 females completed a neutral (control), an ego threatening and an incongruent Stroop colournaming
task on three separate occasions. Participants were assigned to four groups based on median-split scores on the restrained and
emotional eating scales of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire—high restraint/high emotional, high restraint/low emotional, low
restraint/high emotional and low restraint/low emotional. Higher response latencies were observed in the incongruent task, confirming its
greater cognitive (attentional) demand. Overall intake was enhanced by 23% after ego-threat and 15% after the incongruent Stroop task
relative to control. Restraint was associated with greater intake after both ego-threat and the incongruent task than in the control condition. In
contrast, emotional eating was associated with greater intake after only the ego-threat, relative to control. A positive association between
reaction time and subsequent intake in all conditions for high restraint/low emotional eaters provided support for the limited capacity
hypothesis. Enhanced intake in emotional eaters is proposed to relate to escape from self-awareness. These findings demonstrate differential
effects of threat and demand on stress-related eating in restrained and emotional eaters.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Citation
WALLIS, D.J. and HETHERINGTON, M.M., 2004. Stress and eating: the effects of ego-threat and cognitive demand on food intake in restrained and emotional eaters. Appetite, 43 (1), pp.39-46.Publisher
© ElsevierVersion
- NA (Not Applicable or Unknown)
Publication date
2004Notes
This article is closed access.ISSN
1095-8304Publisher version
Language
- en