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Stress response and binge eating disorder
1New York Obesity Research Center, Departments of Medicine, St Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University-College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10025, USA. marci513@aol.com
Appetite
|November 2, 2005
Summary
Obese individuals often binge eat due to stress. This paper explores how cortisol, a stress hormone, may link stress to binge eating and obesity, particularly in women with binge eating disorder.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Stress is a known binge eating trigger in obese patients.
- The biological mechanisms linking stress and binge eating are not well understood.
- Cortisol, a key stress hormone, influences food intake and obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a theoretical overview of cortisol's role in binge eating.
- To discuss recent findings on stress, cortisol, food intake, and abdominal fat.
- To examine cortisol responses in women with binge eating disorder (BED).
Main Methods:
- Theoretical review of existing literature.
- Discussion of recent human studies on laboratory stress, cortisol, and food intake.
- Comparison of cortisol responses in different eating disorder populations.
Main Results:
- Exogenous glucocorticoids increase food intake and contribute to obesity.
- Cortisol elevates after laboratory stressors in women with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and obesity.
- Obese women with BED show a greater cortisol response to stress compared to non-BED obese women.
Conclusions:
- Cortisol secretion is a potential biological mechanism linking stress and binge eating.
- Further research is needed on cortisol's role in binge eating disorder.
- Understanding this link may inform treatments for obesity and binge eating disorder.