Weight status moderates stress-eating in the absence of hunger associations in children

Alison L Miller; Hurley Riley; Sarah E Domoff; Ashley N Gearhardt; Julie Sturza; Niko Kaciroti; Julie C Lumeng

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2019.02.005

Weight status moderates stress-eating in the absence of hunger associations in children

Appetite. 2019 May 1:136:184-192. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.02.005. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Authors

Alison L Miller¹, Hurley Riley², Sarah E Domoff³, Ashley N Gearhardt⁴, Julie Sturza⁵, Niko Kaciroti⁶, Julie C Lumeng⁷

Affiliations

¹ Center for Human Growth and Development, 300 N. Ingalls Street, 10th Floor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA; Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, 1415 Washington Heights, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. Electronic address: alimill@umich.edu.
² Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, 1415 Washington Heights, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
³ Center for Human Growth and Development, 300 N. Ingalls Street, 10th Floor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA; Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, 101 Sloan Hall, Mount Pleasant, MI, 48859, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, 300 Church Street, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
⁵ Center for Human Growth and Development, 300 N. Ingalls Street, 10th Floor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
⁶ Center for Human Growth and Development, 300 N. Ingalls Street, 10th Floor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA; Department of Biostatistics, 1415 Washington Heights, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
⁷ Center for Human Growth and Development, 300 N. Ingalls Street, 10th Floor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA; Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA; Department of Nutritional Sciences, 1415 Washington Heights, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.

Abstract

Objective: The association between stress and eating remains unclear in children potentially due to factors that may moderate the association. We examined whether weight status or sex moderated associations between response to a stress induction and eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), among low-income children.

Method: Children (n = 223; M age = 7.8 years, SD = 0.7 years) participated in a stress induction protocol (modified Trier Social Stress Test for Children [TSST-C]) during which behavioral coding of observed anxiety and change in self-reported distress were measured. Afterwards, participants completed a standardized EAH protocol where they were offered palatable foods. Total kilocalories consumed during the EAH protocol was calculated. Weight and height were measured and weight status calculated as overweight (BMI ≥ 85th percentile for age and sex) vs. not overweight. Multivariate linear regression models adjusting for covariates were conducted to test whether child weight status or sex moderated the stress response-EAH association, for both stress response variables.

Results: Weight status moderated the association between observed stress response and EAH such that children with overweight engaged in more EAH as observed anxiety increased, whereas children without overweight engaged in less EAH as observed anxiety increased (β_interaction = 0.48; p = .010). Weight status did not moderate associations between self-reported distress and EAH. Child sex was not a significant moderator.

Conclusions: After exposure to stress, children with overweight in middle childhood may eat more palatable food compared to children without overweight, possibly due to hypersensitization to food cues or weight stigma experienced by youth with overweight. It may be helpful to encourage youth with overweight to engage in stress-management techniques that do not involve eating as a response to stress.

Keywords: Eating behavior; Eating in the absence of hunger; Observational study; Observed anxiety; Overweight; Stress induction.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Body Weight*
Child
Feeding Behavior / psychology*
Female
Humans
Hunger
Male
Pediatric Obesity / psychology*
Poverty*
Sex Factors
Stress, Psychological / psychology*
Surveys and Questionnaires

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding