Can a worry induction study explain why I eat more chips?
Research confirms that feeling worried can directly cause you to eat more. One experiment found that when people were made to feel anxious or worried, they consumed more snacks like chips than those in a control group. This suggests that the act of worrying itself can trigger the urge to eat.
What the research says
A laboratory study with 129 students tested whether causing worry would change how much food people ate. Participants were randomly assigned to a group where they were asked to worry or a control group. After the worry induction, those in the worry group ate significantly more potato chips and total food than the control group. The study found that this increase in eating happened even though measures of emotion regulation and intolerance of uncertainty did not change the outcome 2.
This finding helps explain why you might reach for a bag of chips when you are stressed. The study showed a direct link between the feeling of worry and the physical act of consuming more food. It indicates that the brain may signal hunger or the need to eat as a response to the stress of worrying, regardless of actual physical hunger 2.
Other research looks at how emotional eating connects to broader mental health issues. For instance, adults with ADHD often show higher levels of emotional eating, which may be linked to difficulties in regulating emotions 1. Similarly, programs that use mindfulness and physical activity, like scuba diving, have been shown to reduce emotional eating scores in adults with obesity 3. Another trial found that Compassion Focused Therapy helped reduce emotional eating in people with severe obesity by addressing feelings of shame and self-criticism 4.
What to ask your doctor
- Could my tendency to eat chips be linked to periods of high worry or stress?
- Are there mindfulness exercises or activities that might help reduce my emotional eating?
- Would a therapy focused on self-compassion be helpful for my eating habits?
- How can I tell the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger when I want to snack?
This question is drawn from common patient questions about this topic and answered using cited medical research. We do not provide individualized advice.