Identifying stress-related eating in behavioural research: A review

Stress is a commonly reported precipitant of overeating. Understanding the relationship between stress and food intake is important, particularly in view of the increasing prevalence of obesity. The purpose of this review is to examine how stress-related eating has been defined and measured in the literature to date. There are no established diagnostic criteria or gold standards for quantification of stress-related eating. Questionnaires relying on the accuracy of self-report are the mainstay of identifying people who tend to eat in response to stress and emotions. There is a paucity of clinical research linking objective measurements of stress and appetite with self-reported eating behaviour. Limitations of the methodological approaches used and the heterogeneity between studies leave significant knowledge gaps in our understanding of the mechanism of stress related eating, and how best to identify it. These issues are discussed, and areas for further research are explored.