Stress: A Double-Edged Sword
Stress comes in many forms — emotional (like relationship conflicts or job loss) and physiological (like illness, sleep deprivation, or food restriction). While mild, short-term stimuli could be defined as “good stress” and increase motivation to achieve goals, prolonged or intense stress overwhelms our internal systems. Over time, this chronic strain can wear down the body’s ability to cope, disrupting the inner balance and increasing the risk for disease.
The way we experience and respond to stress is highly individual — shaped by personality traits, emotional state, and even biology.
How Stress Affects Eating Behavior
Most people experience a change in eating habits when undergoing stressful periods:
~40% of people eat more when stressed, often reaching for high-fat, high-sugar “comfort” foods.
~40% eat less, experiencing appetite suppression.
~20% don’t change their eating at all.
These differences often depend on the type of stress, how long it lasts, and how hungry or full someone is to begin with. For instance, short-term stress might increase one`s perceived hunger, while chronic stress could result in lack of appetite.
Cortisol, Cravings, and Fat Storage
Cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, plays a central role here. Chronically elevated cortisol — as seen in conditions like Cushing’s syndrome — is linked to weight gain, particularly around the abdomen, as well as insulin resistance, high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. In fact, prolonged stress results in a disruption in HPA (Hypothalamic-Pituitary Adrenal Axis), which can lead to the dysregulation of multiple hormone-dependent processes:
Alter glucose metabolism;
Promote insulin resistance;
Influence appetite hormones during stressful periods and recovery.
This creates a perfect storm: a heightened drive to eat, reduced ability to regulate that urge, and a greater risk for abdominal fat gain.
The Link Between Food, Reward, and Addiction
Certain foods exploit similar pathways in the brain as addictive substances such as drugs. High-fat/sugar diets have been found to activate dopaminergic reward systems, in turn increasing the preference for the addictive substance and cravings.
Changes in eating behaviors have been observed both in humans and animals when exposed to intense stress, resulting in a diet in favor of foods high in fat and/or sugar. In animal studies, rats given access to sugary or fatty foods eat more of them under stress. Humans mirror this: reaching for fast food, snacks, or desserts — even when they’re not truly hungry, and this effect is even more often observed in overweight or obese individuals.
Stress + Diet = Long-Term Effects
Chronic stress doesn’t just change eating habits temporarily — it can rewire the brain:
Rats fed high-fat/sugar diets under stress showed reduced ACTH (a key stress hormone) and increased hyperpalatable food intake.
Rats exposed to early life stress (e.g., maternal separation) had long-lasting changes in stress reactivity — but a high-fat diet “normalized” their behavior, reducing anxiety and depression-like symptoms.
After stress is removed, long-term hormonal imbalances may linger, similar to those seen in PTSD.
Chronic stress blunts dopamine response, contributing to lower pleasure over time, which could result in developing a pattern of copious consumption.
Interestingly, stress-related eating is more strongly linked to obesity in women than in men. People with higher BMIs are also more likely to respond to stress with increased food intake.
Restrained Eating: Helpful or Harmful?
Trying to restrict food intake can backfire when combined with stress. “Restrained eating” — consciously cutting back on calories for weight loss — might increase cravings and make one more sensitive when exposed to highly palatable foods.
Research has found that restrained eaters tend to increase their intake when stressed, while non-restrained eaters decrease their consumption. Moreover, people who follow rigid diet rules could numb their physiological cues for hunger and satiety, leading to overeating. On a psychological level, these individual may deplete the mental energy they need to regulate their eating behavior, which could also result in binge episodes.
Sleep Deprivation = A Stressor Too
Lack of sleep is one of the most common chronic stressors- roughly 30% of all adults in the United States sleep less than 6h per night. Multiple studies have proven that sleep deprivation alters appetite hormones:
Less sleep = more ghrelin (hunger hormone);
Less sleep = lower leptin (satiety hormone).
Interestingly, adults who nap for more than three hours per day were also experiencing an increase in perceived hunger, independent from their night-time sleep.
Exercise and Stress: What the Data Says
Stress doesn’t just affect eating — it impacts movement too.
About 73–80% of studies find that higher stress is linked to lower physical activity.
Major life changes (divorce, moving, job changes) often disrupt exercise routines — though some, like divorce in men, are sometimes associated with increased fitness.
Women who are already in the habit of exercising are more likely to maintain or increase activity during stressful periods.
Can Relaxation Help?
Yes! Mind-body interventions show promise, even the simplest ones. One study on women with obesity and emotional eating included a 3-week relaxation training protocol with guided meditations either with imagination exercises or virtual reality equipment. After three months, the women who were subjected to the sessions reported:
Fewer emotional eating episodes;
Reduced anxiety and depression;
Improved sense of control around food.
Interestingly, the VR-based intervention was even more effective than traditional relaxation.
Bottom Line: Stress Management is Key to Weight and Wellness
If you’ve ever wondered why sticking to your health goals feels harder when life gets chaotic, you're not imagining it. Stress changes your brain, your hormones, your cravings — even how motivated you are to move your body.
But here's the good news: once you understand what’s happening under the surface, you can stop blaming yourself and start working with your body, not against it.
Instead of forcing yourself into rigid food rules under all circumstances, focus on:
Building stress resilience through sleep, movement, and mindfulness.
Creating flexible eating habits that don't rely on extreme restriction.
Paying attention to emotional triggers that drive eating.
Nourishing your body with food and experiences that leave you feeling calm.
Stress might be unavoidable — but how we respond to it is a skill we can train. And when we do? Health doesn’t just become more sustainable. It becomes more human.
Sources:
Manzoni GM, Pagnini F, Gorini A, Preziosa A, Castelnuovo G, Molinari E, Riva G. Can relaxation training reduce emotional eating in women with obesity? An exploratory study with 3 months of follow-up. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Aug;109(8):1427-32. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.004. PMID: 19631051.
Stults-Kolehmainen MA, Sinha R. The effects of stress on physical activity and exercise. Sports Med. 2014 Jan;44(1):81-121. doi: 10.1007/s40279-013-0090-5. PMID: 24030837; PMCID: PMC3894304.
Yau YH, Potenza MN. Stress and eating behaviors. Minerva Endocrinol. 2013 Sep;38(3):255-67. PMID: 24126546; PMCID: PMC4214609.
