What are food cravings

Food cravings are an intense and specific desire to consume a certain food or food type that is hard to resist ¹⁾. Have you noticed that when food temptations strike, it often has more to do with your mood than when you last ate? You may crave food to relax, relieve stress or boredom, soothe anger, or cope with loneliness, sadness or anxiety. Indulging in cravings during these emotional times may lead you to eat too many high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods. Food cravings are a commonly experienced phenomenon among the general population ²⁾; however, frequent food cravings may lead to unwanted consumption of craved foods and trigger feelings of guilt and shame ³⁾. Chocolate is by far the most commonly craved food in the U.S.. Chocolate is unique in many ways: it has a very recognizable smell, high caloric density, and distinctive melt-in-your-mouth feel ⁴⁾. The characteristic pattern of cyclically fluctuating chocolate craving in many U.S. women described later has motivated a body of research specifically examining perimenstrual chocolate craving. Major findings from this work have previously been summarized in some detail elsewhere ⁵⁾. Accounts regarding the causes of perimenstrual chocolate craving can be categorized as focusing on biochemical/physiological versus contextual/psychosocial mechanisms. Popular hypotheses attribute craving to cyclic fluctuations in levels of ovarian hormones, pre- and perimenstrual nutritional deficits, and pharmacologically active ingredients in chocolate that serve to alleviate symptoms that arise specifically around the onset of menstruation. More recently, research has shifted toward exploring the role of cultural and psychosocial factors in the emergence of perimenstrual chocolate craving.

Between 68 and 97% of college-aged men and women in North America report ever having experienced a craving for a specific type of food ⁶⁾. Comparable to other studies, scientists found that females had significantly higher cravings for sweets than males ⁷⁾. Another recent study found that females who were obese/overweight were more likely to experience cravings than males despite comparable binge eating severity ⁸⁾. A growing body of research now points to a significant role of food cravings in the development and maintenance of eating- and weight-related pathology, including overweight, obesity, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and failure to sustain weight losses ⁹⁾. Hence, food cravings may be associated with disordered eating and eating disorder psychopathology. Food cravings are a frequently cited antecedent of binge eating (i.e., the consumption of an objectively large amount of food in a short period of time while feeling a loss of control) ¹⁰⁾ and correlate of eating disorder psychopathology. The Functional Analysis Model of Binge Eating posits that food cravings are a proximal antecedent of binge eating ¹¹⁾. Researchers have empirically demonstrated this theoretical relationship, finding that food cravings are associated with binging in women with bulimia nervosa ¹²⁾ and women with binge eating disorder ¹³⁾. For example, food cravings have been identified not only as reliable predictors of subsequent consumption of the desired food ¹⁴⁾, but also as potential triggers for episodes of binge eating, especially in bulimic and overweight individuals ¹⁵⁾. In spite of a steadily growing number of studies in this field, the exact mechanisms underlying the cause of food cravings have yet to be elucidated.

The prevalence and nature of food cravings varies significantly depending on the geographic region under investigation ¹⁶⁾. Food cravings seem to be most commonly reported by individuals in North America and chocolate has consistently been found to be the most commonly craved food in the U.S. ¹⁷⁾. Within the U.S., the type, frequency, and intensity of reported food cravings vary markedly by demographic characteristics. Younger individuals are more likely to experience food cravings, with prevalence decreasing steadily with age ¹⁸⁾. Women primarily report strong urges to consume sweets ¹⁹⁾, while men typically crave savory foods, especially when stressed ²⁰⁾. Women in the U.S. are twice as likely to experience cravings for chocolate as compared to men. This difference in prevalence appears attributable, primarily, to a pronounced increase in chocolate craving frequency and intensity during the perimenstrum, an eight days period beginning about four days prior to the onset of menstruation, for around half of female cravers ²¹⁾. In addition to the characteristic perimenstrual rise in chocolate craving, it appears that many U.S. women may also experience an increase in food cravings during pregnancy ²²⁾.

Food cravings are a common phenomenon, especially in women in the United States and have been implicated in a range of weight- and eating-related pathology. Cravings in women have been shown to increase in frequency and intensity at two distinct times: during the perimenstrum (i.e., a period of about eight days around the onset of menstruation) and in pregnancy ²³⁾. Perimenstrual cravings for chocolate have been the focus of significant attention from researchers in recent years, resulting in enhanced insight into the mechanisms underlying craving etiology ²⁴⁾. In spite of a growing interest in the study of mechanisms involved in the etiology of cravings in other domains, food cravings in pregnancy are poorly understood and widespread speculation about their meaning and significance by laypersons and the media stands in stark contrast to a lack of empirical research on the subject.

It has been reported that there are gender differences in eating disorder psychopathology and the type and amount of food cravings; however, there have been some conflicting results. Gender differences in food cravings and eating behaviors may result from numerous factors including psychological or physiological changes related to menstruation ²⁵⁾, differences in nutrition awareness and knowledge ²⁶⁾, cultural influences, and differences in dietary and mood-regulating neurotransmitters ²⁷⁾. While some researchers have found differences in the prevalence of general food cravings with cravings being more common in females than males ²⁸⁾, others have found no differences ²⁹⁾. Researchers have also examined differences in the type of foods craved, finding that woman crave more sweets ³⁰⁾ and carbohydrates than males ³¹⁾. Binge eating and eating disorder psychopathology are more common among females; however, a substantial amount of males experience binge eating and meet criteria for binge eating disorder. The prevalence estimates for binge eating and binge eating disorder (recurrent episodes of binge eating associated with marked distress and without regular compensatory behaviors) ³²⁾, are approximately 4.9-11.2% and 3.6%, respectively, for women and 4.0-7.5% and 2.1%, respectively, for males ³³⁾. While researchers have found that there are few differences in distal antecedents (e.g., age at first overweight, age at first diet, weight cycling) of binge eating by gender ³⁴⁾, only a few studies have examined gender differences of more proximal correlates of binge eating such as food cravings. In a recently published study comparing chocolate cravings in undergraduate men and women, male chocolate cravers had significantly fewer symptoms of eating disorders compared to male non-cravers ³⁵⁾. These results suggest the relationship between disordered eating and chocolate craving may be unique to women; however, it remains to be determined whether this is unique to chocolate or if this finding may generalize to other food types.

Researchers have demonstrated that binge eating and binge eating disorder are found in certain racial (e.g., black) and ethnic (e.g., Latino) groups at comparable rates relative to non-Latino whites ³⁶⁾; however, there is a paucity of research that examines models of disordered eating that account for race. While it has been reported that disordered eating is a cultural-bound syndrome, scientists are just beginning to understand differences and similarities in correlates and symptomatology among diverse groups. Of the studies that have been conducted, differences have been found between blacks and whites in terms of binge eating correlates such as depression ³⁷⁾, BMI ³⁸⁾ and eating disorder features such as dietary restraint, history of eating disorders, and eating disorder psychopathology. Others have found that among black and white women with binge eating disorder, there are no differences in mental, physical, and parental and family characteristics ³⁹⁾. There is also evidence that Hispanics having greater eating restraint, concerns, and psychopathology compared to blacks ⁴⁰⁾ and whites ⁴¹⁾. Given that obesity disproportionally impacts blacks ⁴²⁾ and binge eating is associated with increased BMI, further understanding of differences in associated correlates is necessary to create relevant interventions for these populations.

There are close connections between socio-cultural factors and eating behavior ⁴³⁾, yet scientists do not know the role that socio-cultural factors (e.g., gender and race) play in our understanding of the relationship between food cravings and disordered eating: much of our understanding of these relationships is gender and race-specific.

In another study ⁴⁴⁾ on the effect of low blood sugar ‘affects food cravings’ — to determine which areas of the brain were activated by the sight of food under different blood sugar levels. The use of both self-reported and brain imaging measurements provides information not only on physiological brain activity, but also on how this activity translates into consciously felt desires. In that study the researchers recruited 14 healthy participants – nine male and five female. They had an average age of 30 years and an average BMI of 25.6. Five of the participants were obese and nine were not obese. The participants were given a lunch prepared by the researchers and then examined using a function magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scan. During the scan the researchers controlled the participants’ blood sugar by giving them varying levels of glucose and insulin intravenously. The researchers held insulin levels constant, and varied the glucose levels. Glucose levels were initially held at normal levels (euglycaemia), and then slowly dropped to low blood sugar levels (mild hypoglycaemia). This was done over the course of two hours.

During the euglycaemia and mild hypoglycaemia phases, researchers showed the participants images of high-calorie food, low-calorie food and non-food images. After each image was shown, the researchers asked the participants to rate how much they liked the item shown in the image, on a scale of 1 to 9 (higher score meant they liked it more). The researchers then asked the participants to rate how much they wanted the item shown, again on a scale of 1 to 9. The high-calorie images included pictures of cake, ice cream, lasagne, crisps and steak. The low-calorie images included pictures of fruits, vegetables and tofu.

In addition to the behavioural ratings described above, the researchers measured the participants’ brain activity when they were looking at each image. An fMRI is able to measure brain activity in real-time by detecting which brain cells are using oxygen. To activate, brain cells need both oxygen and glucose from the blood.

The researchers recorded how much the participants reported liking and wanting each item, and the areas of the brain that were activated by seeing each of the images. They then compared which brain regions were active during the normal sugar (euglycaemic) phase versus the low sugar (hypoglycaemic) phase. They also assessed whether glucose levels influenced the ability of the food pictures to affect both brain activity and the feeling of desire for food. This was assessed using the rating scale.

During the normal glucose level (euglycaemia) phase, the non-obese participants showed more activity in two areas of the brain than during the hypoglycaemia phase. These areas of the brain, the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulated cortex, were significantly more active regardless of the type of image presented. These areas of the brain are responsible for controlling impulses. The difference in activation did not occur in obese participants.

During the mild hypoglycaemia, compared with the euglycaemia phase, the researchers found:

• Hunger ratings were significantly greater, with an average of 5.7 points during the hypoglycaemic phase versus an average of 4.5 points during the euglycaemic phase. Hunger ratings were similar in both the obese and non-obese participants.
• In both obese and non-obese participants, two areas of the brain called the insula and striatum were significantly more active when presented with both high- and low-calorie food images. These areas of the brain are responsible for promoting feelings of desire and craving.
• During hypoglycaemia wanting ratings were significantly higher in response to high-calorie foods, but liking ratings were similar between the two phases.
• There was no difference in brain activation in response to viewing low-calorie foods.

The researchers found that different areas of the brain are activated depending on the level of glucose available ⁴⁵⁾. When sufficient levels are present in the bloodstream, brain regions that control impulses seem to be activated. When low levels are present, brain regions that trigger desire and reward are more activated. The researchers say the level of activation of these regions differs depending on the weight of the individual ⁴⁶⁾.

When considering the implications of this research, it should be noted that the study was conducted under conditions that allowed the researchers to hold insulin levels constant artificially while manipulating glucose levels. This is not a state in which a person would find themselves naturally, as both insulin and glucose levels vary constantly. This feature of the study makes it difficult to generalize the results to a real world setting, particularly as, in everyday life, blood insulin levels would be expected to drop once sugar levels were too low.

This study has produced some interesting results but, ultimately, studies of this size are useful for generating theories rather than proving them. The sample size here (14 people) was very small and the results should be interpreted cautiously. Also, any comparisons between the obese and non-obese participants (five and nine people, respectively) are likely to be influenced by chance. Any further research attempts to confirm these results should involve more participants.

Food cravings in pregnancy

An estimated 50–90% of U.S. women experience cravings for specific foods during pregnancy ⁴⁷⁾. Very few women report food cravings exclusively during pregnancy; most have a history of pre-pregnancy cravings for a variety of substances ⁴⁸⁾. In terms of temporal patterns, it has been reported that food cravings typically emerge by the end of the first trimester. For example, among a sample of 400 white adult women 76% reported craving at least one food item by the 13th week of pregnancy ⁴⁹⁾. The most common trajectory of food cravings across gestation shows a peak in frequency and intensity during the second trimester, followed by a subsequent decline as the pregnancy progresses to term ⁵⁰⁾. Research has also consistently documented a significant drop in cravings following delivery ⁵¹⁾.

A 1978 study retrospectively examined prevalence and types of cravings in a group of 250 pregnant women and demonstrated that the most commonly craved items included sweets (i.e., ice cream and candy), dairy, starchy carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, and fast food ⁵²⁾. A 1992 survey of pregnant adolescents found frequent reports of cravings for sweets, fruits, fast foods, pickles, ice cream, and pizza ⁵³⁾. More recent studies showed similar cravings, with women endorsing a desire for fruit juice, fruit, sweets, desserts, dairy, and chocolate ⁵⁴⁾. Prenatal cravings for salty or savory foods are somewhat less commonly reported ⁵⁵⁾, with the notable exception of women who experience cravings exclusively during pregnancy. This subset of women were found to endorse cravings for savory, rather than sweet foods ⁵⁶⁾. Among 200 women surveyed, the most commonly reported cravings were for sweets, calorically dense savory carbohydrates like pizza or chips, animal proteins, and fruits. Prior research also points to certain temporal patterns in the types of foods craved over the course of pregnancy. Cravings for savory substances appear to be strongest during the first trimester, with a tapering of urges during the later stages of peripartum. In a large number of women, a preference for sweet foods reaches peak intensity during the second trimester ⁵⁷⁾. Urges for salty substances tend to emerge later on in pregnancy, with preference for and intake of salty foods increasing in the later stages of gestation in both pregnant adults ⁵⁸⁾ and teens ⁵⁹⁾.

How to stop and control food cravings

There has been a recent increase in efforts to develop interventions targeting food cravings and studies have tested the efficacy of diverse approaches, including brief guided imagery ⁶⁰⁾, use of self-help manuals ⁶¹⁾, acceptance based strategies ⁶²⁾, and biofeedback ⁶³⁾ in preventing or reducing food cravings. It should be noted that most of these interventions were developed specifically for individuals who identify as strong cravers ⁶⁴⁾, non-clinical populations ⁶⁵⁾, or those enrolled in weight loss trials ⁶⁶⁾. More work to test the efficacy of these interventions specifically in clinical populations is warranted.

Hunger vs. craving

The first step to managing your cravings is being able to identify when you’re truly hungry. Learn how to recognize the difference between a craving and hunger.

Cravings:

• Are usually for comfort foods, such as chocolate, sweets and fatty foods
• Are often caused by negative feelings
• Lead to eating that makes you feel good at first, but then guilty
• Increase during a woman’s pregnancy and menstrual cycle
• May be stronger when you’re dieting, especially if you’re giving up your favorite foods
• Can occur even after you’ve recently eaten
• Pass with time

Hunger:

• Usually occurs when you haven’t eaten for a few hours or more
• Results in a rumbling stomach, headache or feeling of weakness
• Doesn’t pass with time
• Isn’t just for one specific food
• Can be satisfied by a healthy snack or meal

If you have a craving, distract yourself. Try calling a friend, listening to music, taking a walk or bike ride, reading, or writing. If a negative feeling is causing your craving, use positive self-talk, exercise or a fun activity to improve your mood.

Healthy food and drink swaps

According to a professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health ⁶⁷⁾, healthy fats help curb cravings for unhealthy carbs.

Choosing healthier foods is easier than you may think. By changing just a few eating habits you can make a big difference to your diet.

Making small changes to your diet is the healthiest and most achievable way to lose weight.

Your first step is to eat fewer foods high in calories, fat, salt and sugars and swap them for something healthier, including more fruit and vegetables.

Remember, small changes can add up to make a big overall difference to your diet.

Go slow on unhealthy foods

Are there foods you never should eat? Not really. If you crave an ice cream sundae occasionally, have a small one. But don’t make it a daily event. Offset the chips you ate at your neighbor’s barbeque with healthier snacks at home. Healthy eating doesn’t mean eliminating certain foods altogether. However, there are some things that are best eaten only rarely.

Harvard nutrition scientists have compiled the following list of unhealthy foods you should keep to a minimum. Research suggests that eating these foods regularly (and to the exclusion of healthier choices) can set the stage for life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even some cancers.

• Added sugar. Whether it’s white granulated sugar, brown sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, corn sugar, or honey, sugar contains almost no nutrients and is pure carbohydrate. When you eat a lot of sugar you are filling up on empty calories, causing your blood sugar to rise and fall like a roller coaster, and can keep you from eating foods that with important nutrients and fiber.

Research cites soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages as the primary source of added sugar in the American diet and a major contributor to weight gain. In fact, just one extra 12-ounce can of a typical sweetened beverage a day can add on 15 pounds in a year. That’s not only because the drinks themselves add calories, but also because those liquid calories aren’t as satisfying as solid food.

• Baked sweets. Cookies, snack cakes, doughnuts, pastries, and many other treats are hard to pass up, but these commercially prepared versions are packed with processed carbohydrates, added sugar, unhealthy fats, and often salt.
• Processed and high-fat meats. Shun the cold cuts and “pigs in a blanket.” Despite some conflicting reports, the balance of the evidence confirms that processed meats like bacon, ham, pepperoni, hot dogs, and many lunch meats are less healthy than protein from fish, skinless chicken, nuts, beans, soy, and whole grains.
• Salt. Current dietary guide lines and the American Heart Association recommend reducing sodium to 1,500 mg per day and not exceeding 2,300 mg per day. But most of us get 1 ½ teaspoons (or 8,500 mg) of salt daily. That translates to about 3,400 mg of daily sodium. Your body needs a certain amount of sodium, but too much can increase blood pressure and the risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Refined carbohydrates. Bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, cookies, cake, or pancakes — if you enjoy these foods, opt for whole-grain versions. Yes, you can find or make whole-grain pancake mix. Whole-wheat pastas and breads are luckily easy to find. And you can always make your own homemade cookies or bars using grains such as oatmeal, and less sugar and unhealthy fats.

Nutrition experts say that breaking carb cravings is not about getting rid of carbs entirely but rather cutting back on highly processed fast-acting carbs and eating more high-quality ones that are high in fiber and low in added sugars, such as beans, whole grains, fruit and vegetables. If you don’t know how to get started, this plan can help:

1. Cut out all starchy carbs for one week.

This includes all pasta, bread, rice, bagels and potatoes, as well as pizza, crackers, pretzels, chips, cookies and cake.

By cutting starchy carbs and replacing them with foods that have a more modest impact on blood sugar, you can achieve more steady blood sugar control and better manage your cravings.

A day might include egg whites and cheese with berries for breakfast, yogurt for a snack, a grilled chicken salad with beans for lunch, an apple for a snack and a piece of fish and veggies for dinner.

2. Slash the sugary carbs too, including candy and sugar-sweetened beverages.

These sugary carbs rapidly flood the bloodstream, providing lots of sugar without any added nutrition.

3. Add some healthy fats.

Many high-fat foods are luscious and do not cause an insulin release, so they keep your blood sugar much more stable. Eating more healthy fats like nuts, nut butters, avocado, olive oil, and full-fat dairy can help reduce cravings for unhealthy carbohydrates like white bread and sugary cereal. When you are eating them, you don’t miss the processed carbs at all.

Unhealthy carbs cause blood glucose fluctuations that can contribute to weight gain and also metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk for heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

4. After the first week, you can gradually add back high-quality starchy carbs, starting with breakfast.

Research in a variety of populations has shown that eating carbs at breakfast seems to dampen the blood sugar effect of eating carbs at lunch. What this means is that on a day that you skip breakfast, you may be more likely to have a blood sugar spike after eating a carb-rich lunch, compared with a day when you eat breakfast but have the same lunch. In other words, don’t skip breakfast, and don’t skip carbs at breakfast.

High-quality carbs — including minimally processed grains, along with non-starchy vegetables, whole fruits and beans — are the ones to choose. They are delicious and slower-digesting, thanks to the way they are naturally packaged. If you eat wheat berries, your body has to digest the intact grain kernel, and that’s a slow process. But if you mill it and turn it into flour, now that whole package has been broken. Too much of these ‘refined carbs’ (stripped of their bran and germ, which contain nutrients) will cause metabolic problems for most people.

Breakfast examples with high-quality carbs include oats with nuts, seeds and cinnamon; rye crisp bread with scrambled eggs and berries; or Greek yogurt topped with fruit.

5. After the second week, you can add back high-quality starchy carbs (i.e. minimally processed grains) to lunch.

Good lunch examples include a chickpea or quinoa salad, bean or lentil soups, mushroom barley soup or a sandwich with whole-grain bread. Whole-wheat pasta or chickpea pasta is a good choice too, though it should take up only about a quarter of the plate, to allow room for veggies and protein.

6. Continue to skip starchy carbs at dinner.

At dinner, when you eat carbs, you are much more likely to have a blood sugar spike and to store that food energy as fat versus having it available for useable energy.

The metabolic response to a carbohydrate meal at night is less favorable than when you eat carbs earlier in the day, so if there is ever one meal that you want eat low-carb, it’s dinner and if you want to include them, choose wisely and keep the portions low.

7. Continue to limit refined carbs, such as white bread and white rice.

It might be difficult to forgo white basmati rice, pizza or sushi entirely, but limit these foods to a few times per week.

8. Continue to avoid foods high in added sugars.

If you have a sweet tooth, limit treats to 100 to 150 calories per day, depending on your goals.

Strategies to prevent overeating

Overeating is something people encounter all day long. There are two “types” of overeating:

1. Initiating an eating episode when there is no physiological need
2. Eating too much during an eating episode

You live in an environment filled with food messages – often designed to make you eat more and places that sell food are everywhere. Food advertising, super-sized meals, commercials, and colorful packaging at the grocery store are designed to entice you and as a result you end up eating when you’re not hungry, or eating far beyond your actual appetites. Additionally, many commercially prepared foods are highly processed, high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fat which can trick your taste buds into wanting more.

Despite the fact that food is everywhere, and that you’ve grown accustomed to “cleaning your plates,” snacking all day long and eating highly processed foods that may affect satiety signals and promote further eating, you can adopt strategies to tune out the messages, and tune in to your own nutrition needs.

3 strategies to prevent overeating

1. Look at your food

Pay attention to the food you’re about to put in your mouth. Stop everything else you’re doing and when you’re eating, just eat. Enjoy the food and the eating experience. This is a moment for you to relax and recharge.

Research shows that removing visual information about how much you’ve eaten during a meal increased the amount of food eaten. Eating attentively can influence food intake, and is one of the simplest approaches one can take to prevent overeating. Remember: You eat with our eyes, too ⁶⁸⁾.

Try this:

• Have a technology-free lunch. Leave your desk, and take a break from your computer, phone and tablet. Not only is this a great opportunity to reduce your “sit time” and boost your physical health, it’s also a chance to give your mind a break to simply enjoy your meal.
• During meals, disconnect from work – and screens – to reconnect with your own hunger and satiety levels. You may even discover that you’re more productive post-lunch as a result.
• At home, take a few extra minutes preparing and plating your meal – even if you get take out, use a real plate instead of eating from the carton. Sit at a table and avoid looking at screens, instead focusing on the food in front of you & how it can nourish your body.

2. Beware the S’s: Sugar and salt

Sugar and salt are taste bud tantalizers and as such, it’s easy to overeat sweet and salty food products – which are often highly processed. As you cut down on highly processed foods, your palate will adjust so that over time, you’re satisfied with far lower amounts of sugar and salt.

• If you really want a sweet treat, take a small piece of your favorite and eat slowly, savoring every bite.
• For savory snacks, opt for lower-sodium options like lightly roasted, unsalted nuts – try roasting them with herbs for a delicious flavor boost — or dip raw veggies in hummus. Note that some commercially prepared dips are high in sodium, so you need to read the nutrition label carefully. You can even make your own hummus, bean dips and guacamole to have more control over the salt factor.

Try this:

• If you really want to indulge in high salt and sugar foods, start with only three bites.
• Slowly savor each one, and think about the flavor: Is this a complex flavor, or does the sugar or salt dominate? After noting that, ask yourself: Will this food truly satisfy me? ⁶⁹⁾
• You may realize that high-sugar and high-salt foods, while easy to overeat, aren’t nearly as flavorful or satisfying as real, unprocessed foods. Does it nourish you, or make you hungrier? Real food should fill you up, not prompt you to eat more.

3. Change your response to comfort-food cravings

“Eat when you’re truly hungry” sounds like common sense, but the truth is that many people eat for reasons other than hunger – including when bored, anxious, stressed or angry. Let meal time be a way to honor real hunger, not a way to soothe your feelings. For food-free ways to handle emotional ups and downs, consider going for a walk, meditating, talking to a friend, writing in a journal, or listening to music.

In a study of 30 women, researchers explored the impact of chronic stress on eating behavior ⁷⁰⁾.

Women with higher stress levels responded differently to pictures of high-calorie foods than women with lower stress levels. Specifically, there was greater activity in the areas of the brain involving reward, motivation, and habitual decision-making. At the same time, those women with higher stress levels showed less activity in the regions of the brain linked to strategic planning and emotional control.

These results suggest that exposure to persistent stress may alter the brain’s response to food in ways that can lead to poor eating habits.

Try this:

• When tempted to turn to “comfort food” for emotional reasons, ask yourself if you’re really hungry.
• If not, but you’re still tempted to eat, wait 10 minutes before you prepare anything – and do something else in the meantime. Whether at work or at home, take a few minutes to walk or stretch. Sometimes when stressed we operate on autopilot, so teaching ourselves to “purposefully pause” can help us become more mindful and less stress-driven.
• Gradually increase your “pause,” to 15 minutes, then 20 minutes, and so on. You may not be able to control your comfort food cravings, but you can change your response to them. By gradually lengthening your response time, you may find that you’re able to change your habit from “crave & cave” to “pause & pass.”