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Children's psychosocial stress and emotional eating: A role for leptin?
Author(s) -
Michels Nathalie,
Sioen Isabelle,
Ruige Johannes,
De Henauw Stefaan
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.22593
Subject(s) - leptin , emotional eating , moderation , psychology , medicine , mediation , endocrinology , psychosocial , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , obesity , eating behavior , psychiatry , social psychology , political science , law
Objective: Psychosocial stress can be a health threat by stimulating unhealthier eating behaviors. We aim to test the role of the hormone leptin in the association between stress and diet/emotional eating as detected in primary school children. Method: In a two‐wave longitudinal study with 308 Belgian children (5‐12y) in 2010‐2012, the association of fasting serum leptin with reported stress (negative events and emotional problems), measured stress by salivary cortisol (overall cortisol output and awakening response), emotional eating and food consumption frequency was examined. Analyses were split by sex. Mediation and moderation by leptin change were tested. Results: One stress marker (overall cortisol output) was significantly correlated with high leptin levels, but only in girls and cross‐sectionally. Only in boys, leptin was associated with low emotional eating. Leptin was not a significant predictor of unhealthy food consumption. Leptin change was not a mediator but an enhancing moderator in the link between stress (high cortisol output and emotional problems) and emotional eating in girls: high reports of emotional eating in 2012 were present in the case of combined high 2‐year leptin increase and high stress at baseline. Discussion: Stress (represented by emotional problems and high daily cortisol) seems to lead to hyperleptinemia in girls; and the combination of high stress and hyperleptinemia might make girls more vulnerable to stress‐induced eating. No functional data on leptin sensitivity were present, but results might suggest that stress induces lower sensitivity to the anorexigenic leptin activity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.(Int J Eat Disord 2017; 50:471–480)