Hormone Role in Eating Researched

Gobbling down that handful of potato chips when you’re under stress may have more to do with hormones than hunger, according to a preliminary study by Yale University researchers in New Haven. The study suggests a possible genetic answer as to why some people, especially women, eat more and gain weight during times of high stress while others eat less and lose weight. The researchers examined the eating habits of 60 women and measured the levels of the hormone cortisol in their saliva. The researchers found that the women who secreted the most cortisol ate the most high-fat food after stress. The women who didn’t eat any high-fat food had secreted the least amount of cortisol.