Author : Jennifer L. Kuo
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 136 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (13 download)
Book Synopsis Stress, Eating Behavior, and Mindfulness Among College Students by : Jennifer L. Kuo
Download or read book Stress, Eating Behavior, and Mindfulness Among College Students written by Jennifer L. Kuo and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prior literature suggests that people who are subjected to acute stress tend to overeat and make more unhealthy food choices. In addition, more mindful people tend to have better health behaviors. However, past research has not evaluated whether mindfulness moderates the relationship between stress and eating behavior. The current study investigated whether mindfulness protected against stress-related eating behavior. This study explored the relationship between stress and eating behavior among 97 undergraduate women. Participants were randomly assigned to the control condition (n = 54, a reading task and simple arithmetic task), or stress condition (n = 43, a job speech and complex arithmetic task). Afterwards, the women were offered red grapes and M&Ms as part of what was described as a taste test to evaluate total caloric intake and food choice (proportion of M & M servings eaten over total servings eaten). Mindfulness did not predict caloric intake or proportion of M & M servings relative to total servings eaten. Additionally, mindfulness did not moderate the relationship between stress and eating behavior. In contrast to previous studies, women consumed fewer total calories in the stress condition compared to those in the control condition. However, greater decreases in positive affect following the TSST were associated with a higher proportion of M & M servings to total servings. Stress itself influences caloric intake, but affective response to stress can alter food choice by increasing unhealthy food preference. High fat, high sugar diets can lead to obesity, which increases risk for many adverse health conditions. Therefore, identifying protective factors for higher emotional reactivity to stress could improve overall health.