ABSTRACT

Stress leads to detrimental health outcomes through direct biological and indirect behavioural changes. Stress can lead to disruption to normal eating behaviours, although the strength of these associations is unknown. This is the first meta-analysis to determine the strength of the stress-eating relationship in healthy adults and to explore the impact of potential moderators. Studies included had a clearly defined measure of stress (i.e., any noxious event or episode in one’s environment with the exclusion of emotional distress) that was linked to non-disordered eating. Key terms were searched in Medline, PsycInfo and Ovid databases (23,104 studies identified). 54 studies (combined N = 119,820) were retained in the meta-analysis. A small, positive effect size was found for the stress-overall food intake relationship (Hedges’ g = 0.114). Stress was associated with increased consumption of unhealthy foods (Hedges’ g = 0.116) but decreased consumption of healthy foods (Hedges’ g = −0.111). Only one significant moderator (restraint on stress-unhealthy eating) was identified. This meta-analysis identified the magnitude of the effect of stress on eating behaviour outcomes. Significant heterogeneity was observed that was not explained by the moderators examined. Further research on moderators of the stress-eating relationship is required and should distinguish effects for healthy versus unhealthy eating.

摘要

压力通过直接的生物学和间接的行为变化导致有害的健康结果。压力会导致正常饮食行为的中断，尽管这些关联的强度尚不清楚。这是第一个确定健康成年人压力-饮食关系强度并探索潜在调节因素影响的荟萃分析。包括的研究有一个明确定义的压力测量方法（即一个人的环境中的任何有害事件或事件，不包括情绪困扰），这与非无序饮食有关。在 Medline、PsycInfo 和 Ovid 数据库中搜索了关键术语（确定了 23,104 项研究）。54 项研究（合并N = 119,820) 保留在荟萃分析中。对于压力-整体食物摄入关系，发现了一个小的正效应大小（Hedges' g =  0.114）。压力与不健康食品消费量增加有关（Hedges' g =  0.116），但健康食品消费量减少（Hedges' g =  -0.111）。仅确定了一个重要的调节因素（限制压力不健康的饮食）。这项荟萃分析确定了压力对饮食行为结果的影响程度。观察到显着的异质性，审查的主持人没有解释这一点。需要对压力与饮食关系的调节因素进行进一步研究，并应区分健康饮食与不健康饮食的影响。