Experiencing sudden weight gain? Stress is tricking your brain into eating more, says Johns Hopkins study

Feeling stressed all the time may end up ruining your weight-loss goals in the long run.

From hurting your heart and brain to affecting your appetite, chronic stress can have life-altering effects. The stress-induced hormone cortisol is known to trigger 'comfort food' cravings. High-fat food items that are sweet, salty and/or fried help the body get energy and pleasure during a stressful event.

A recent Johns Hopkins study looked at how stress increases appetite in obese and lean adults. The researchers found that stress impacts the brain's responses to food. When stressed, adults react to 'food cues' in areas of the brain that is associated with reward and cognitive control. They used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the activity across networks in the brain.


Published in the PLOS ONE journal, the team of researchers analysed data from 29 adults (16 women and 13 men) - 17 of whom had obesity and 12 of whom were lean. After completing two fMRI scans, the participants were asked to take a combined social and physiological stress test.

As part of the study, participants were given a food word reactivity test during both scans. "This test involved looking at how people’s brains reacted to food words, such as menu items on a chalkboard," the study read.

To maximise the appetitive response in the brain, the researchers asked participants to imagine how each food looked, smelled and tasted, and how it would feel to eat it at that moment. They were also asked how much they wanted each food, and if they felt they should not eat that food, to see how they approached decision-making related to each food.

Lead researcher of the study, Susan Carnell, a PhD and associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said that obese adults had less activation of cognitive control when they heard high-calorie food words like grilled cheese.

The study also showed that stress impacts brain responses to food. For example, obese individuals showed greater activation of the orbitofrontal cortex, a brain reward region, after the stress test. “We also found evidence for links between the subjective stress experienced and brain responses in both groups. Lean individuals who reported higher stress following the test showed lower activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a key brain area for cognitive control,” says Carnell.

While emotional or stress eating can make you feel better at the time, it can also leave you with the guilt of overeating. The best way to tackle this is to accept your feelings and address them, be mindful, get into a routine and improve your sleep cycle.