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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Is Associated With Emotional Eating
Author(s) -
Talbot Lisa S.,
Maguen Shira,
Epel Elissa S.,
Metzler Thomas J.,
Neylan Thomas C.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.21824
Subject(s) - emotional eating , stressor , psychology , clinical psychology , obesity , eating disorders , posttraumatic stress , psychiatry , emotional well being , young adult , medicine , eating behavior , developmental psychology
The present study investigated the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and emotional eating in a sample of medically healthy and medication‐free adults. Participants with PTSD ( n = 44) and control participants free of lifetime psychiatric history ( n = 49) completed a measure of emotional eating. Emotional eating is the tendency to eat or overeat in response to negative emotions. PTSD participants exhibited greater emotional eating than control participants (η 2 = .20) and emotional eating increased with higher PTSD symptom severity ( R 2 = .11). Results supported the stress‐eating‐obesity model whereby emotional eating is a maladaptive response to stressors. Over time, this could lead to weight gain, particularly abdominal stores, and contribute to higher risk for comorbid medical disorders. Findings suggest the importance of future longitudinal research to understand whether emotional eating contributes to the high rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in PTSD.