Study: Stress Leads Kids to Eat More Unhealthy Food

Stress appears to contribute to the consumption of unhealthy food by children, according to a study reported in the August issue of Health Psychology.

A team of British researchers studied 4,320 school children, gave them a standard test for stress and found that stressed-out 11-year-olds ate more unhealthy food than their less-anxious classmates, and consumed fewer nutritious meals and snacks.

"Children in the most stressed category ate more fatty foods and more snacks, but they were also less likely to consume the recommended five or more fruits and vegetables or eat a daily breakfast," said researcher Jane Wardle, director of Cancer Research UK's Health Behavior Unit.

Wardle and her colleagues said such unhealthy eating habits in the late preteen years could lead to obesity in the teen years and an increased risk of heart disease, cancer or Type 2 diabetes as adults.

Besides inquiring about the stress the students were under, the researchers also asked about their consumption of 34 fatty food items and fruits and vegetables, and the frequency with which they snacked and ate breakfast.

The researchers found that the strongest association for stress was with fatty foods as the most stressed students ate nearly twice the amount of such foods as the least stressed group.

Ethnic identity played a role in eating patterns, too, according to the researchers. Asian students had the best diets, while black students had the worst. White students were in the middle. Higher socioeconomic status was also linked with healthier eating practices.

"Stress appears to be consistently harmful to children in terms of steering their food choices away from the healthy and towards the unhealthy," said Wardle.

Wardle and her colleagues plan to continue to follow this group of children, observing them as they grow older in order to track their diets and their health.

Other sources: Center for the Advancement of Health