A new study that may explain why we crave high-calorie “comfort food” under chronic stress has found that stress turns off the brain’s natural response to satiety, which is to stop eating, thereby encouraging further food reward.
The study found that this happened in the brain’s lateral habenula, which when activated normally dampens reward signals, thus preventing a person from eating when they are satiated or full.
“Our findings show that stress can override the brain’s natural response to reduce the pleasure of eating – meaning the brain is constantly being rewarded for eating,” said Herbert Herzog, lead author of the study and visiting scientist at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney . , Australia.
The researchers also said their study showed how chronic stress can promote weight gain and obesity, highlighting the need for a healthy diet during periods of stress. Their work is published in the journal Neuron.
While some people eat less during times of stress, others eat more than usual and choose calorie-dense foods high in sugar and fat.
To understand the different eating behaviors of people in response to stress, the researchers studied mouse models of how different areas of the brain respond to chronic stress on different diets.
“We found that stressed mice on a high-fat diet gained twice as much weight as mice on the same diet that were not stressed,” Ip said.
At the heart of the weight gain was the molecule NPY, which is naturally produced by the brain in response to stress, as the researchers discovered when they blocked NPY from activating brain cells in the lateral habenula of stressed mice on a high-fat diet.
Thus, mice were found to consume less comfort food, resulting in less weight gain. The researchers further found, again in mice, that stressed subjects on a high-fat diet consumed three times more sucralose (here, artificially sweetened water) than subjects on a high-fat diet, suggesting that stress induced cravings for sweets and palatables. food.
“Crucially, we did not see this preference for sweetened water in stressed mice that were on a regular diet,” Herzog said. “It’s easy to use up a lot of energy in stressful situations, and the feeling of reward can calm you down – that’s when replenishing energy with food is helpful.
“But when experiencing stress for a long time, it seems to change the equation and lead to eating that is bad for the body in the long term.
“This research highlights how much stress can compromise healthy energy metabolism. “It’s a reminder to avoid a stressful lifestyle, and if you’re dealing with long-term stress, try to eat healthy and lock out junk food,” Herzog said.
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