Work

Daily social resources as a buffer against stress eating and its consequences.

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Eating in response to stress can become habitual and have long-term consequences for weight gain, but little research has explored what may help break stress-eating cycles. We examined daily social resources as potential protective factors against daily stress eating and eventual weight gain. METHOD: = 536; 10,288 reports), we assessed stress-eating status and BMI at baseline, social responsiveness (feeling that others are caring), and stress-eating behavior over 24 days and tracked BMI a year later. We examined if social responsiveness moderates stress-eaters' daily stress-eating behaviors and changes in BMI. RESULTS: In Study 1, stress eating predicted increases in BMI and WHR at the 10-year follow-up but not among individuals who were more (vs. less) likely to receive emotional support in daily life. In Study 2, stress eaters tended to report more daily stress-eating behaviors compared to nonstress eaters, but such tendency was attenuated on days they perceived high (vs. low) levels of social responsiveness. Stress eating did not predict BMI at the 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: These observational findings suggest that social resources in daily lives may have long-term benefits for stress eaters, potentially by reducing their everyday stress eating. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Health Psychology

DOI: 10.1037/hea0001389

Authors: Yoobin Park, Brian P. Don, Ashley E. Mason, Aric A. Prather, Elissa S. Epel

Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, University of Auckland

Language: English

Topic: Eating Disorders and Behaviors

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging