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Mood and carbohydrate cravings
Abstract
The relationship between mood and carbohydrate cravings, and the possible role of gender in these associations, was investigated in a sample of 113 males and 138 female college students. Participants completed a Cravings Questionnaire and several mood inventories (profile of mood states, Beck Depression Inventory, and the Vitality Inventory) in groups of 25. Individuals classifying themselves as "carbohydrate cravers" reported foods rich in carbohydrates, and "protein cravers" reported protein-rich foods as being the ones they most strongly craved. Carbohydrate cravers reported feeling distressed prior to their cravings and satisfied, happy/good and relaxed following carbohydrate consumption. Protein cravers reported feeling anxious or hungry prior to their cravings and happy, normal, bored, and energetic following protein-rich food consumption. A non-significant correlation existed between "protein" cravers' ratings of craving intensity and mood, but a significant positive correlation existed between "carbohydrate" cravers' ratings of craving intensity and almost all mood scales assessed for both male and female "carbohydrate" cravers. The correlation between craving intensity and mood existed predominately with individuals who craved sweet carbohydrate-rich foods.
... However, regular consumption of sweet foods reduces brain reward system responsiveness over time and leads to the need to consume even greater amounts to achieve the same level of pleasure, thereby reinforcing the constant search for these foods (Burger and Stice, 2012;Fulton, 2010;Stice et al., 2010) and consequently promoting more frequent craving episodes and UE. The triggers of SC episodes may be biological in nature, such as hunger or food restriction (Massey and Hill, 2012;Moreno-Domínguez et al., 2012;Polivy et al., 2005); psychological/subjective in nature, such as premenstrual syndrome (Yen et al., 2010); related to stress (Macedo and Díez-Garcia, 2014); or related to anxiety (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001;Fulton, 2010). ...
... Relationships between anxiety, SC, and EE can be partially explained by the hypothesis of self-medication, in which an individual has a desire to consume certain types of foods that evoke pleasure, such as sweets, as a coping mechanism to combat negative emotions (Liu et al., 2007;Wardle et al., 2000;Yanovski, 2003). In this situation, food choices are based on hedonic factors (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001;Fulton, 2010;Parylak et al., 2011). Sweet craving appears to be closely linked to the opioid system that regulates the hedonic response to sweets (Parker and Crawford, 2007). ...
... Studies have shown that most people have experienced food craving episodes, with estimates varying from 52% to 97% (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001;Gendall et al., 1997;Gilhooly et al., 2007;Weingarten and Elston, 1990). These episodes have negative repercussions for body weight, such as weight gain and obesity (Abiles et al., 2010;Chao et al., 2014;Franken and Muris, 2005;Potenza and Grilo, 2014), and for eating behavior, such as the development of binge eating and other eating disorders (Burton et al., 2007;Chao et al., 2016;Pelchat, 2002;Tiggemann and Kemps, 2005;White and Grilo, 2005). ...
Sweet craving (SC), defined as a strong desire for sweet foods, seems to be closely related to negative emotions, such as anxiety and unhealthy eating behaviors. The objective was to investigate factors that are associated with SC and to assess the relationships among SC, anxiety symptoms, and eating behavior in university students. This was a cross-sectional study involving 300 students of both sexes (20.5 ± 4.4 years) who were freshmen in a Brazilian public university. Eating behavior was evaluated using the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory, SC was identified by a yes/no question (“Have you had a very strong desire to eat sweet food over the last three months?”), and characterized by the Questionnaire for Assessment of Sweet Substance Dependence. Individuals with SC scored significantly higher for uncontrolled eating (UE), emotional eating (EE), and anxiety symptoms. Logistic regression analysis revealed that anxiety symptoms are independently associated with SC. In conclusion, negative emotions, like anxiety, and eating guided by these emotions can contribute to the SC phenomenon.
... Individuals with BD report a significantly higher consumption of sucrose, sweetened drinks and greater overall calorie intake when compared to the general population (Lopresti & Jacka, 2015). Carbohydrate craving has also been associated with fatigue, depression, paranoia, and disordered eating behaviors and is commonly observed in seasonal affective disorder (SAD), obesity and unipolar depression (Christensen & Pettijohn, 2001;Yang et al., 2020). Some evidence indicates that carbohydrate consumption leads to short-term mood enhancement, but increases psychological distress in the long-term. ...
... For example, one study described reduced cortisol levels immediately following the consumption of sweets in individuals with BD, an effect that did not last (Lopresti & Jacka, 2015). Eliminating sucrose from the diets of emotionally distressed individuals was associated with reduced distress and depressive symptoms in a different study (Christensen & Pettijohn, 2001). Despite these findings, more research is needed to confirm a mechanistic role for carbohydrate consumption on mental well-being. ...
Mood disorders, including depressive and bipolar disorders, represent a multidimensional and prevalent group of psychiatric illnesses characterized by disturbances in emotion, cognition and metabolism. Maladaptive eating behaviors in mood disorders are diverse and warrant characterization in order to increase the precision of diagnostic criteria, identify subtypes and improve treatment strategies. The current narrative review synthesizes evidence for Eating Behavioral Phenotypes (EBP) in mood disorders as well as advancements in pathophysiological conceptual frameworks relevant to each phenotype. Phenotypes include maladaptive eating behaviors related to appetite, emotion, reward, impulsivity, diet style and circadian rhythm disruption. Potential treatment strategies for each phenotype are also discussed, including psychotherapeutic, pharmacological and nutritional interventions. Maladaptive eating behaviors related to mood disorders are relevant from both clinical and research perspectives, yet have been somewhat overlooked thus far. A better understanding of this aspect of mood disorders holds promise to improve clinical care in this patient group and contribute to the subtyping of these currently subjectively diagnosed and treated disorders.
... This is due to its association with obesity [7,10], eating disorders [11,12], seasonal affective disorder [13] and the premenstrual syndrome [14]. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that carbohydraterich foods like chocolate, other sweets and sweet desserts seem to be the most craved foods in the majority of individuals [15][16][17]. FC seems to be more prevalent in women than in men [16][17][18]. It is common in young adults and evidence suggests that the number of craving episodes decreases as individuals age [19]. ...
... Across all research, a strong relation was found between FC and mood. Christensen and Pettijohn [15] demonstrated that in the majority of individuals who were identified as carbohydrate cravers (72% of participants in their study), anxiety, fatigue, and depression preceded craving episodes. In contrast, protein cravers were more likely to report feeling hungry, happy or bored at the onset of craving. ...
Obesity and weight gain in bipolar disorder (BD) have multifactorial underlying causes such as medication side effects, atypical depressive symptomatology, genetic variants, and disturbances in the neuro-endocrinal system. Therefore, we aim to explore the associations between food craving (FC), clinical parameters, psychotropic medication, and appetite-related hormones. In this cross-sectional investigation, 139 individuals with BD and 93 healthy controls (HC) completed the food craving inventory (FCI). In addition, blood samples (including leptin and acylated ghrelin) were analyzed and sociodemographic and anthropometric data were collected. Individuals with BD reported higher frequencies of total FC as well as craving for fat and fast food than HC. Additionally, we found a significant negative correlation between FC and ghrelin levels in BD. Smokers with BD reported significantly more craving for high fat foods than non-smokers. Age was significantly associated with FC independent of group. Individuals with BD taking olanzapine and quetiapine reported higher frequencies of craving for sweet food, while patients currently taking lithium reported less total FC compared to those without lithium therapy. Likewise, patients currently taking valproate reported less total FC and less craving for sweets than those not taking valproate. FC appears to be of clinical relevance in individuals with BD. Contrary to previous data, this does not seem to be a female phenomenon only and might encompass more than the specific craving for carbohydrates. Although due to the cross sectional design, causality cannot be determined, the association between depressive symptomatology and fast food craving warrants further research.
... The purpose of this study was to determine whether the usual snack choices of these obese individuals. The relationship between mood and carbohydrate cravings, and the possible role of gender in these associations, was investigated by Christensen et al. [8]. Selected individuals classifying themselves as ``carbohydrate cravers'' reported foods rich in carbohydrates, and ``protein cravers'' reported protein-rich foods as being the ones they most strongly craved. ...
... Carbohydrate cravers reported feeling distressed prior to their cravings and satisfied, happy/good and relaxed following carbohydrate consumption. Protein cravers reported feeling anxious or hungry prior to their cravings and happy, normal, bored, and energetic following protein-rich food consumption [8]. ...
... Both of these factors can affect the regions of the brain responsible for feelings of pleasure and reward [8]. Mainly carbohydrates are associated with mood improvement and positive emotions after consumption [10]. This may be confirmed by the theory/existence of carbohydrate craving syndrome, defined as appetite and mood disorder through irresistible desire to consume sweet or starchy food in response to negative emotional states [11]. ...
... Contrarily some suggest that positive feelings prior to a meal may encourage to choose healthier snacks, and support the selection of healthier next meal or salty and fat-dense snacks [18,44]. Also Christensen and Pettijohn have proved that negative feelings were associated with junk food consumption, whereas positive feelings were related to consumption of healthy meals [10]. In the current study positive emotions did not affect sweets' consumption as strongly as negative feelings, and positive mood seemed to cause food choice towards healthier snacks. ...
... R esearchers have extensively studied the influence of food on mood. Often, people seek out comfort foods when experiencing a low mood (Christensen & Brooks, 2006;Christensen & Pettijohn, 2001;Dubé, LeBel, & Lu, 2005). These comfort foods usually have high carbohydrate and fat content and frequently have a sweet flavor. ...
... Similar to the effects of a sweet flavor, carbohydrates also seem to affect mood. Christensen and Pettijohn (2001) hypothesized a relation between mood and carbohydrate cravings in the general population. They surveyed college-aged men and women. ...
... Mental disorders are behavioral, cognitive or psychological syndromes that can cause suffering, distress or even disability (Stein, 2013). Approximately one quarter of people will experience some type of mental disorders in their life time and an estimated 450 million people worldwide currently suffer from mental health problems (Christensen & Pettijohn, 2001). Nowadays, the exact etiologies of most mental disorders are large unknown. ...
Background/Objective
The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in psychological health, but the mechanistic perspective between gut microbiome and mental health remains poorly understood
Method
The present case-controlled study recruited 30 unimprisoned subjects and 31 inmates that had been detained in jail for no more than a month. The mental health status, gut microbiota and blood NH3, H2S, 5-hydroxy trptamine and dopamine levels were measured.
Results
Compared with unimprisoned controls, the fresh inmates exhibited significantly higher scores on anxiety and depression. Both phylogenetic structure and functional genes of the gut microbiota markedly shifted in inmates. Inmates was more Bacteroides-dominated, while unimprisoned subjects were more Prevotella-dominated. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producing genera were largely decreased in inmates and were negatively related to mental disorder scores, while Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were positive to anxiety and depression scores. Simultaneously, the inmates possessed reduced genes that participate in amino acids, carbohydrates and vitamin cofactors metabolism, but enriched genes that involved in the neurotransmitter-producing Shikimate pathway. Correlation analysis revealed that Anaerotruncus and Prevotella were negative to depression score, and Enterococcus was negative to anxiety score.
Conclusions
Our results revealed potential link between gut microbiota and mental health, leading further support to the microbiota–gut–brain axis theory.
... However, people with SMI may not adequately distinguish between the long-term and short-term effects of diet and appear to use food as a coping mechanism to distract themselves from worries and fears in the short term. This can lead to low mood [39], creating a cycle whereby low mood then drives cravings for highly palatable foods high in sugar, salt and fat to generate short-term pleasure and reward [44,45]. Further, the perceptions of our study participants who stated that "chocolate feels relaxing" and "I felt my nerves needed that [sweets]" underline a possible serotonin deficiency as a reason for sugar cravings, as a carbohydrate-rich diet triggers an insulin response and increases the bioavailability of the serotonin precursor tryptophan in the brain [46]. ...
The impact of poor diet quality and nutritional inadequacies on mental health and mental illness has recently gained considerable attention in science. As the opinions and experiences of people living with serious mental illness on dietary issues are unknown, we aimed to understand the role of nutrition in a biopsychosocial approach. In total, 28 semi-structured interviews were conducted with people living with serious mental illness (SMI) in Australia, Germany and Austria, and a generic thematic analysis approach was applied. Four positive (positive effects on the body and mind, therapeutic effects in treating somatic illnesses, pleasure and opportunity for self-efficacy) and three negative (impairment related to mental illness and its treatment, perceived stigma and negative effects on the body and mind) implications of diet were identified. A key issue for most of the participants was the mental burden arising from their body weight. This might indicate that negative implications, such as guilt and stigma, were of primary importance for people with SMI when talking about their dietary behavior. In conclusion, diet-related support is urgently needed for people with SMI. However, especially participants from Germany and Austria reported that this is not yet widely available in mental health settings, leading to hopelessness and resignation.
... Individuals' preferences and eating intentions for different types of food in emotional states are mainly influenced by the positive effects that the foods have on the alleviation of negative emotions [3,6]. For example, researchers have found that carbohydrate ingestion increases the secretion of certain neurotransmitters by the brain, a phenomenon that has been associated with mood improvement [36,37]. ...
Food can relieve an individual’s emotions, especially for emotional eaters. For instance, chewing alleviates negative emotions. Solid and liquid foods comprise a huge part of our daily lives, and the chewiness of solid foods is always high. Here, we explored whether people, especially emotional eaters, have higher eating intentions to eat highly chewy foods while experiencing negative emotions by comparing their eating intentions toward solid and liquid foods. To this end, we conducted a survey of 147 participants using a questionnaire (Experiment 1) to understand their eating intention toward five types of food (purple potato, maize, black soya bean, mango, and soybean; each food group contained a solid food and a liquid food) while experiencing negative emotions. The results showed that individuals exhibited higher eating intention toward solid food compared with liquid food while experiencing negative emotions. In Experiment 2, we selected 85 and 65 high-emotional and low-emotional eaters, respectively, and further explored their preference for solid foods. The results showed that individuals with high levels of emotional eating exhibited higher intentions toward solid food while experiencing negative emotions compared with those with low levels of emotional eating. In conclusion, this study proved that individuals’ higher eating intentions toward highly chewable food were pronounced among individuals with high levels of emotional eating under negative emotion conditions.
... However, different dairy foods have complex psychiatric effects based on potential interrelated influences of a range of nutrients and other characteristics such as probiotics, fermentation, and possibly homogenization [26]. On the other hand, psychiatric symptoms can be affected by events in daily life or the living environment [52]. Therefore, it is always possible that the effect observed is at least partly due to the personality/mood or the way dairy is produced or consumed [53]. ...
Background
Dairy products contain certain nutrients that are useful in mental disorders. This study aimed to assess the associations between dairy products and psychological disorders in a large sample of Iran, a Middle Eastern country.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was undertaken on 7387 adults. Data on dietary intakes were obtained using a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Psychological health was assessed by the Iranian validated version of depression, anxiety, and stress scale 21. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the association between dairy intake and psychological disorders.
Results
After adjustment for potential confounders, total milk consumption (OR for the highest vs. lowest tertile: 0.73, 0.58-0.92) and total yogurt consumption (0.78, 0.62-0.97) were associated with decreased odds of depression. An inverse relationship was found between total dairy (0.73, 95% CI 0.590.91), total milk (0.72; 0.58-0.88), kashk (0.79, 0.65-0.96), and yogurt drink (0.80, 95% CI 0.65-0.98) consumption and anxiety symptoms. Higher intake of cheese was related to greater odds of stress (1.52, 1.02-2.26). No association was found between the consumption of high-fat dairy, low-fat dairy, low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt, high-fat yogurt, cheese, kashk, yogurt drink, and depression. Also, there is no association between dairy products and stress symptoms. This association was significant among men and women and high-fat and low-fat products in the total adjusted stratified analysis models.
Conclusions
Findings of this study revealed that both high-fat and low-fat dairy products are associated with a reduced prevalence of psychological disorders. Still, more prospective studies are required to confirm these associations.
... In humans, experimental induction of stress (cold pressor test) leads to an increase in cortisol levels and consequent feelings of hunger and desire to binge eat in women with obesity and binge eating disorder when compared to women with obesity that are non-binge eaters (Gluck et al., 2004). Other stressors, such as social stress or seeing unpleasant images/videos, are also associated with an increase in food consumption and cravings in both men and women (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001;Chua et al., 2004;Laessle and Schulz, 2009;Waters et al., 2001). ...
Disordered eating is often associated with marked psychological and emotional distress, and severe adverse impact on quality of life. Several factors can influence eating behavior and drive food consumption in excess of energy requirements for homeostasis. It is well established that stress and negative affect contribute to the aetiology of eating disorders and weight gain, and there is substantial evidence suggesting sex differences in sub-clinical and clinical types of overeating. This review will examine how negative affect and stress shape eating behaviors, and how the relationship between the physiological, endocrine, and neural responses to stress and eating behaviors differs between men and women. We will examine several drivers of overeating and explore possible mechanisms underlying sex differences in eating behavior.
... Recently, macronutrients and micronutrients and their relationship to mental health have received attention in research (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001). Scientific evidence regarding the use of Talbinah has shown an effect on reducing symptoms of depression. ...
... (A) One explanation might be the existence of moderator variables. For example, previous research suggests that sex might determine specific food craving: some food stimuli rich in carbohydrates as ice cream have been found to be the most regularly craved foods among females (Christensen & Pettijohn, 2001). Based on this, Li et al. (2015) already examined female participants with food-specific stimuli and food-specific cravings to investigate the effect of value on inattentional blindness. ...
Although human perception has evolved into a potent and efficient system, we still fall prey to astonishing failures of awareness as we miss an unexpected object in our direct view when our attention is engaged elsewhere (inattentional blindness). While specific types of value of the unexpected object have been identified to modulate the likelihood of this failure of awareness, it is not clear whether the effect of value on inattentional blindness can be generalized. We hypothesized that the combination of hunger and food-stimuli might increase a more general type of value so that food stimuli have a higher probability to be noticed by hungry participants than by satiated participants. In total, 240 participants were assigned towards a hungry (16 h of fasting) or satiated (no fasting) manipulation and performed afterward a static inattentional blindness task. However, we did not find any effect of value on inattentional blindness based on hunger and food stimuli. We speculate that different underlying mechanisms are involved for different types of value and that value manipulations need to be strong enough to ensure certain value strengths.
... As with sweet drinks, if consuming foods high in refined flour is an attempt to self-medicate, it may be misguided. Although some authors have suggested an association between carbohydraterich foods and improved mood (e.g., Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001), more recent research counters this (Matantzis et al., 2019). It is possible that a craving for carbohydrate-rich foods and negative mood are mutually reinforcing, perpetuating a cycle of anxiety and unhealthy eating. ...
Psychosocial factors such as depression, anxiety, and stress are associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Health behaviors may play a role in this relationship, as individuals experiencing elevated levels of anxiety, stress, and/or depression may be less likely to engage in risk-reducing behaviors such as diet and exercise. Some evidence suggests that this relationship is particularly relevant for women. This study explored the relationship between levels of anxiety, depression, stress, and specific nutritional behaviors in a sample of 187 women at cardiovascular risk. BMI was explored as a possible moderator of these relationships. Higher levels of depression in patients with high BMI was associated with increased fruit consumption, whereas this was not seen in highly depressed patients with normal BMI. The reverse pattern was seen for consumption of sweet drinks. Anxiety was found to have a complex relationship with consumption of sweetened drinks and white bread, with higher consumption at moderately elevated levels of anxiety and reduced consumption at the highest levels. Possible interpretations of these findings, as well as their implications for lifestyle interventions with this population are discussed. These findings suggest a number of questions for further research.
... Hence patterns of food consumption and their relation to mental health have received some attention in research. 1 Some research studies have explored the effects of intake of carbohydrates on mood [2][3][4] and few studies have explored the association between stress and food selection. 5,6 People with stress reported overeating of foods, that they would normally avoid during other time and they ate these foods to feel better. ...
Background: Mental diseases are a leading cause of the global burden of disease and highly contribute to life-years lost. Acute and chronic stress is considered to be potential risk factors for mental disorders. Uncontrollable stress changes eating patterns. Degree students are particularly important as they have greater freedom and control over their lifestyles. Objective : To assess the association between food consumption pattern and frequency on perceived stress among degree students of Davangere. Material and methods: A Cross sectional survey was conducted among 2 selected degree colleges of Davangere city. Around 200 students were given a self- administered questionnaires which included a food pattern and frequency questionnaire and Cohen’s perceived stress scale. Mean and standard deviation for the continuous variables was done. Binary Logistic regression analyses were conducted for the outcome. Results: A total of 200 degree students participated in the study. Mean age of the participants was 18.8 years. 53% of them were males and 47% of them were female participants. The frequency of food consumption differed by gender. Consumption of sweets, salty junk food was generally more common among women (mean scores 8.7 and 13.6 respectively ) when compared to males (8.3 and 12.4 respectively). Eating fresh fruits, salads and cooked vegetables, milk products and cereals was only slightly more common among males. Females displayed higher scores of perceived stress than males. Conclusion: Our results showed that unhealthy food consumption was more among women when compared to males Among females perceived stress scores were also on the higher side. Key words: Food consumption, Food pattern, Perceived stress scale, students
... Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese. (WHO, 2019) Dietary habits are the major cause that is creating menace by affecting health, mortality and morbidity (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2011). Poor dietary habits and inadequate physical activity are contributing factors to the development of obesity and many noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (Lee et al., 2019). ...
Obesity is a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat. It is a major medical problem that increases the risk of other diseases and health problems such as diabetes. It is a common growing health issue among young adults in developed countries as well as in developing countries due to unhealthy life style. So, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of nutraceuticals and specific diet in healthy obese people both male and females under the age of 18 to 65 years according to preset inclusion and exclusion criteria with improve the lifestyle as well as to highlight effects of obesity on health and to express nutraceuticals have anti-obesity properties. From results in short term human efficacy trial shows that group T3 (lemongrass-diet plan) were maximum weight reduced (10.52kg) as compare to others treatments T4 (green tea-diet plan), T2 (kalwanji-diet plan), T1 (cinnamon-diet plan) and T0 (only diet plan as a control) as 9.08, 6.84, 6.54 and 4.9 kg, respectively. Same trend was observed for BMI, the treatment T3 exhibited maximum decline (4.18 kg/m2) in body mass index (BMI) than others T4, T2, T1 and T0 as 3.4, 2.56, 2.41 and 1.9 kg/m2, respectively. In addition, the same trend was also observed for anthropometric and biochemical analysis such as RFT, LFT, CBC, lipid profile and blood glucose. Moreover, all anthropometric measurements were significant while in biochemical analysis sodium and chloride were non-significant. Furthermore, in LFT, AST and ALT were significant while others were non-significant. It was deduced that nutraceuticals and dietary intervention has good point to deal with the weight management and weight reduction. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the nutraceuticals and dietary intakes of Pakistani adults with the obesity indicators.
... Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese. (WHO, 2019) Dietary habits are the major cause that is creating menace by affecting health, mortality and morbidity (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2011). Poor dietary habits and inadequate physical activity are contributing factors to the development of obesity and many noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (Lee et al., 2019). ...
Obesity is a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat. It is a major medical problem that increases the risk of other diseases and health problems such as diabetes. It is a common growing health issue among young adults in developed countries as well as in developing countries due to unhealthy life style. So, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of nutraceuticals and specific diet in healthy obese people both male and females under the age of 18 to 65 years according to preset inclusion and exclusion criteria with improve the lifestyle as well as to highlight effects of obesity on health and to express nutraceuticals have anti-obesity properties. From results in short term human efficacy trial shows that group T3 (lemongrass –diet plan) were maximum weight reduced (10.52kg) as compare to others treatments T4 (green tea- diet plan), T2 (kalwanji- diet plan), T1 (cinnamon- diet plan) and T0 (only diet plan as a control) as 9.08, 6.84, 6.54 and 4.9 kg, respectively. Same trend was observed for BMI, the treatment T3 exhibited maximum decline (4.18 kg/m2) in body mass index (BMI) than others T4, T2, T1 and T0 as 3.4, 2.56, 2.41 and 1.9 kg/m2, respectively. In addition, the same trend was also observed for anthropometric and biochemical analysis such as RFT, LFT, CBC, lipid profile and blood glucose. Moreover, all anthropometric measurements were significant while in biochemical analysis sodium and chloride were non-significant. Furthermore in LFT, AST and ALT were significant while others were non-significant. It was deduced that nutraceuticals and dietary intervention has good point to deal with the weight management and weight reduction. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the nutraceuticals and dietary intakes of Pakistani adults with the obesity indicators.
Keywords: Diet, lifestyles, nutraceuticals, obesity, weight management, weight reduction
... OR odds ratio, 95% CI 95% confidence interval *Significance level was considered as p < 0.05 a Dietary habits for all items were presented as frequency of consumption except for sugar cubes which presented as serving of intake b Adjusted for age (20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 years), education level (Secondary school and lower, High school, Diploma and Graduate diploma, Bachelors, Masters, and PhD), physical activity level (low/medium/high), history of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression and dyslipidemia), and smoking (yes/no) c Adjusted for age (20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 years), education level (Secondary school and lower, High school, Diploma and Graduate diploma, Bachelors, Masters, and PhD), physical activity level (low/medium/high), history of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression, and dyslipidemia), smoking (yes/no), and BMI findings and multiple studies could be attributed to differences in sample size, population characteristics, lifestyles, and dietary habits. It has been found that drinks containing carbohydrates, especially high glycemic index (GI) ones, could cause rapid and immediate changes in serotonin levels and consequently improve mood or even relieve psychiatric disorders [35,36]. Furthermore, we considered fruit juices, artificially or homemade sweetened beverages as sweetened drinks in our study. ...
Background:
Since an association has been found between diet and psychological problems, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between dietary habits and psychological problems among Iranian adults.
Methods:
Data on dietary habits and psychological problems among 9965 adults were provided from the recruitment phase of Yazd Health Study, a population-based cohort research on Iranian adults. The association between dietary habits and psychological problems was assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis.
Results:
After the adjustment for confounders, fast food and fried food consumptions were associated with increased depressive [odds ratio (OR) = 1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18-2.20] and stress symptoms (OR = 2.47, 95% CI 1.46-4.18), respectively. Eating breakfast had a protective role on stress features (OR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.39-0.92), while snack intake was related to higher odds of depressive (OR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.01-1.84), anxiety (OR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.55-2.56) and stress symptoms (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.23-2.54). There was also an inverse association between sweetened drink consumption and depressive (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.59-0.96), anxiety (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.62-0.93), and stress features (OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.55-0.97; OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.48-0.82).
Conclusions:
Even though an inverse relationship was found between sweetened drinks intake and psychological problems, snack consumption was associated with higher chances of them. Eating breakfast had a protective effect on stress symptoms, while fast food and fried food intakes were related to increased depressive and stress features chances, respectively.
... Así, se ha considerado que la disforia motivaría dicho craving por un déficit de serotonina, el que promovería el craving dado que la ingesta de carbohidratos aumenta la síntesis central de serotonina. Se cree que el aumento de serotonina disminuiría la disforia, explicando la conexión e interdependencia entre disforia y consumo de carbohidratos 43 . ...
Objetivos:
La relación entre diversas variaciones de la ingesta alimentaria y los trastornos del ánimo es un fenómeno bien conocido para diversos clínicos. No obstante estos fenómenos han sido escasamente estudiados a la fecha. Los métodos de evaluación del atracón o “craving” son diversos, lo que ha generado hallazgos heterogéneos y superficiales. El objetivo de esta revisión es un análisis de la fenomenología del craving y las diversas relaciones entre nutrición y trastornos del ánimo, específicamente con el trastorno bipolar (TBP).
Método:
Se realizó una revisión narrativa a través de una búsqueda no sistemática de la literatura a través de la base de datos MEDLINE, utilizando términos MeSH.
Resultados:
Los resultados en esta área a la fecha son escasos y diversos. Se evaluó la evidencia a la fecha en torno a la relación bidireccional entre TBP y nutrición, y con trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA), específicamente el trastorno por atracones (TA). Por otro lado se revisó la literatura en cuanto a la comprensión del concepto de craving (antojo o deseo intenso) por carbohidratos, su neurobiología y sus relaciones con los trastornos del ánimo, específicamente con el TBP.
Conclusiones:
A pesar de que los desórdenes analizados aquí presentan relaciones conocidas de larga data por los clínicos dedicados a trastornos del ánimo, la literatura de investigación ha sido bastante limitada acerca de tales relaciones. Considerando las importantes implicancias que pueden llegar a tener en el diagnóstico, evolución y terapéutica de los pacientes, parece necesario un esfuerzo por continuar avanzando en la comprensión de los mecanismos más íntimos de estos trastornos, sus aspectos clínicos y sus diversas relaciones.
... A growing number of evidence has revealed that food consumption would affect our feeling. (Christensen, 2001). It has been demonstrated that the consumption of carbohydrate-rich food is related to enhanced mood and may reduce anger. ...
Background: Students from metropolitan cities were more prone to stress due to their lifestyle, curriculum, availability of gadgets and many other social factors. Earlier studies also proved that stress has an impact on food intake, either hyperphagia or hypophagia. Since students are the future pillars of nation, the present study has been carried out to know the impact of stress on the students of metropolitan city like Chennai. Aim: To study the impact of stress on food intake of the study Methods and Tools: 1000 samples (500 males and 500 females) from Chennai colleges were selected using stratified and simple random technique. A pre tested interview schedule were used to collect the information. The obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis and results were discussed Results: Majority of the students (40.7) cope stress by watching TV. About 88% male and 12% female prefers to go out and eat. 47% and 29.9% subjects respectively consume more and less food during stress. About 37.5%, consumes more food at the sight of their favorite food. When reasons for the poor eating habits were analyzed, majority of the participants (57.6%) mentioned lack of time, 23.5% reported lack of money, and 18.9% mentioned taste. Conclusion: Stress impacts on consumption of caloric dense food rather than nutrient dense food. Students must be educated not to indulge in consuming energy dense food as method to cope up stress. Parents and college authorities must take responsibilities to help students to relieve from stress and make them indulge in healthy eating pattern rather than consuming junks foods to overcome stress.
... Dietary habits are the major aspects of people's lifestyles that influence health, morbidity, and mortality for a range of conditions [4]. ...
Abstract
Background
Overweight and obesity are major public health problems and the
most common nutritional disorders. The prevalence of overweight and
obesity is rising at an alarming rate in both developing and developed
countries. The main objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of
overweight and obesity and their associations with dietary habits among
students from An-Najah National University in Palestine.
Methodology
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 304 Students (50% males
and 50%females), who have been chosen by convenient sampling method
from An-Najah National University campus of two faculties; Faculty of
Arts (152 students) and Faculty of Science (152 students). Data collection
was carried out during the period between March and April 2011. Students
were asked to fill in a standard questionnaire.
Food habits of the participants were assessed by using the food
frequency questionnaire for selected food items. Body Mass Index (BMI)
was used for the assessment of overweight and obesity. Also waist
xi
circumference (WC) was measured to assess abdominal obesity. In
addition, hemoglobin level in blood (Hb%) was tested. Statistical analysis
was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software
(version 15.0). Informed consent was taken from all participants.
Results
The majority of the sampled students (70.4%) were of normal weight
(78.9% of females and 61.8% of males). The prevalence rates of
overweight and obesity among students from An-Najah national University
were 20.1% and 4.6%, respectively. Furthermore, overweight and obesity
were more common among male students compared to females (27.0%and
5.9% vs. 13.2% and 3.3%, respectively). The prevalence of abdominal
obesity among students was 17.8% and was more common among female
students (23.0%) compared to males (12.5%). The prevalence of anaemia
among university students was 13.8%. Anaemia was more common among
females (18.4%) than males (9.2%), (P< 0.05). In addition, about 5.3% of
male students were underweight compared to 4.6% of females. The
majority (68.4%) of students reported that they take meals irregularly.
There were significant differences between males and females in meal
patterns, (P< 0.05). Also there were significant differences between males
and females in physical activity (69.1% of males and 55.9% of females
practiced sports), and smoking (51.3% of males and 91.4% of females
never smoked, while 48.7% of males and 8.6% of females were current
smokers), (P< 0.05).
xii
A total of 58.2 % (57.2% of females and 59.2% of males) and 43.4%
(40.8% of females and 46.7% of males) reported daily intake of vegetables
and fruits, respectively.
Conclusions
According to results obtained, the author concluded that overweight
and obesity are a problem among Arts and Science students of An-Najah
National University, despite the low prevalence of overweight and obesity
in the studied sample as compared to prevalence in neighboring countries.
Overweight and obesity were more common among male students
compared to females. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was more
common among female students compared to males. Prevalence of anaemia
was more common among females than male students. Results indicated
that university students would benefit from nutritional and health
promotion programs to reduce the tendency of overweight and obesity,
particularly males, and to improve students' eating habits through
educational programs which encourage increased consumption of fruits and
vegetables for a good health.
Keywords
Obesity, Overweight, Dietary habits, Anemia, An-Najah National
University students, Nablus, Palestine.
... Alternatively, eating can be used in order to distract from stress, thereby alleviating perceived emotional stress (Macht, Haupt, & Ellgring, 2005). Earlier studies explored the reverse relationship mainly for affect changes after the consumption of certain food types, mainly carbohydrates, meaning that people feel better after consumption and reduce their stress level (Christensen & Pettijohn, 2001;Evers, Stok, & de Ridder, 2010;Spring, Chiodo, & Bowen, 1987;Sproesser, Schupp, & Renner, 2014;Taut, Renner, & Baban, 2012). Likewise, fruits and vegetables consumption seems to lead to higher subsequent positive affect (Conner, Brookie, Carr, Mainvil, & Vissers, 2017;Conner, Brookie, Richardson, & Polak, 2015;White, Horwath, & Conner, 2013). ...
Objectives
Physical activity and healthy eating seem to be protective against experiencing stress and negative affect as well as increase positive affect. At the same time, previous studies showed that people reduce salutogenic behaviours such as physical activity and healthy eating in the face of stress and negative affect while increasing such behaviours in the context of positive affect. Due to daily fluctuations of these behaviours, the present study examined these relationships in daily life using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).
Design and methods
Fifty‐one university students responded to six daily prompts during 7 days via smartphone‐based EMA. Items examined stress, emotional experience, physical activity duration, and healthy eating.
Results
Higher stress and negative affect, as well as lower positive affect, were related to a reduction in subsequent physical activity. Higher physical activity levels, in turn, were associated with less subsequent stress and negative affect, as well as more positive affect. No such effects for stress and affect on healthy eating or vice versa were found.
Conclusions
Engaging in physical activity is related to better mood and less stress/negative affect over the next several hours in daily life. Prevention efforts therefore may benefit by focusing on promoting physical activity, particularly when stress/negative affect is high to ‘break the cycle’ of inactivity, stress, and negative affect. Potential effects of healthy eating might be more subtle and characterized by interindividual differences or state effects.
Statement of contribution
What is already known on this subject?
• Physical activity can reduce stress as well as negative emotions and can enhance positive emotions.
• People tend to eat less healthy food during stressful times, and healthy eating can increase general health.
• Physical activity and healthy eating have been mostly assessed separately and through retrospective methods.
What does this study add?
• This is an EMA study investigating bidirectional effects of stress, emotions, and salutogenic behaviour.
• After physical activity, people felt less stressed/negative and more positive; feeling better and less stressed resulted in more physical activity.
• Healthy eating was not associated with stress or emotion level and vice versa.
... Carbohydrates increase the absorption of tryptophan, which is converted in the brain to serotonin. That's why after consuming carbohydrates people feel more calm and relaxed for a few hours (24). Carbohydrates with low glycemic index (legumes, whole grains and fruits) have a relaxing effect due to the fact that do not cause large fluctuations in blood glucose levels and allow a reduced release of stress hormones. ...
‘We are what we eat’, said the philosopher Feuerbach. In fact, the quality of the food we eat affects our mind as well: the brain, which represents 2% of our body weight, consumes about 20% of the calories we eat each day. Follow a few rules could therefore help to feed properly our brain, so it works to the best of its ability. It is important to know properties of foods especially regarding their aminoacidic composition because aminoacids are components of neurotransmitters, molecules needed for brain transmission and function. It is also possible to choose specific food to prevent or support different diseases that affects nervous system.
... These thoughts or images then motivate further elaboration and movement toward the desired food. Recent data map well onto this framework; for example studies show that food cravings predict non-homeostatic eating (Willner et al., 1998;Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001) and binge-eating (Joyner et al., 2015), and are associated with weight-preoccupation (Lafay et al., 2001). ...
Emotional and other maladaptive eating behaviors develop in response to a diversity of triggers, from psychological stress to the endless external cues in our modern food environment. While the standard approach to food- and weight-related concerns has been weight-loss through dietary restriction, these interventions have produced little long-term benefit, and may be counterproductive. A growing understanding of the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that underpin habit formation may explain why this approach has largely failed, and pave the way for a new generation of non-pharmacologic interventions. Here, we first review how modern food environments interact with human biology to promote reward-related eating through associative learning, i.e., operant conditioning. We also review how operant conditioning (positive and negative reinforcement) cultivates habit-based reward-related eating, and how current diet paradigms may not directly target such eating. Further, we describe how mindfulness training that targets reward-based learning may constitute an appropriate intervention to rewire the learning process around eating. We conclude with examples that illustrate how teaching patients to tap into and act on intrinsic (e.g., enjoying healthy eating, not overeating, and self-compassion) rather than extrinsic reward mechanisms (e.g., weighing oneself), is a promising new direction in improving individuals’ relationship with food.
... These include Emotional eating, or increasing food intake in response to negative emotions as a form of coping mechanism; External eating, or increased food intake in response to external food cues, including the sight and smell of food; and Restrained eating, or deliberately restricting food intake to lose weight or prevent weight gain . More severe depressive symptoms are associated with higher emotional eating , increased carbohydrate cravings (Christensen & Pettijohn, 2001), increased consumption of energy-dense foods in response to emotional distress (Konttinen et al., 2010) and increased food intake in response to internal and external food cues (Sevincer et al., 2017). Restrictive eating behaviours, and reduced food intake, have also been linked to depressive symptoms in previous studies (Polivy et al., 1978;Sevincer et al., 2017). ...
Background:
Appetite and weight changes are core symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and those with MDD are at increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. Leptin promotes satiety, with leptin dysregulation and resistance noted in obesity. However, the role of leptin in weight changes in MDD is not established. This study investigates leptin levels in relation to appetite and weight changes and problematic eating behaviours in MDD.
Methods:
Plasma leptin levels, psychopathology and biometrics were compared between participants meeting DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for MDD (n = 63) and healthy controls (n = 60). Depressed participants were also sub-categorised according to increased, decreased or unchanged appetite and weight. The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and Yale Food Addiction Scale were examined in a subset of participants with MDD.
Results:
Females with increased appetite/weight had higher leptin levels than those with stable or reduced appetite/weight, however males showed the opposite effect. Leptin levels were positively correlated with problematic eating behaviours. One quarter of the depressed subset, all females, met the Yale criteria for food addiction, approximately double the rates reported in general community samples.
Limitations:
The study is limited by a cross sectional design and a small sample size in the subset analysis of eating behaviours.
Conclusions:
The results provide new information about associations between leptin, sex-specific weight and appetite changes and problematic eating behaviours, which may be risk factors for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in MDD, particularly in females. Future longitudinal research investigating leptin as a risk factor for weight gain in MDD is warranted, and may lead to early interventions aimed at preventing weight gain in at-risk individuals.
... Second, previous research considers the biological sex of an individual as a central biological determinant of emotional eating (Christensen & Brooks, 2006). Research measuring emotional eating using scales has shown that women are more likely than men to make unhealthy food choices to down-regulate or decrease their negative emotions (Christensen & Pettijohn, 2001;Eddy et al., 2007;Lafay et al., 2001). The reasons for this difference in behavior have mostly been searched in the sex-related intensity and frequency of experiencing negative mood. ...
Emotional eating, the tendency to regulate negative mood through unhealthy food intake, has been widely recognized as one source of today's obesity epidemic. However, empirical evidence suggests that this phenomenon is not universal but subject to psychological, situational, and biological determining factors. To date, little is known about the relative importance of these determinants of emotional eating behavior, as no research has investigated these factors simultaneously. This study aims to close this gap and reports the results of a laboratory experiment with 179 participants from a university environment (56.98% male, mean age = 23.15 years, ranging from 17 to 63 years), in which real food choice was observed after manipulating participants' mood states (either negative or positive) while simultaneously assessing potential determinants of emotional eating. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the biological determinants (e.g., weight status) tend to loose in relative importance while psychological (i.e., restrained eating) and situational (i.e., stress) factors tend to be more relevant in explaining food choice in response to a negative affective state. These results have important implications for both research and public health practice.
... Studies on food cravings have mostly focused on carbohydrates consumption and, especially, mildly dysphoric mood. It is commonly assumed that carbohydrate craving is related to serotonin deficit (9); therefore, some people tend to overeat sugary food (carbohydrate beverages, pastries, sweets and chocolate, cakes and biscuits) to improve negative mood states (10,11). ...
Introduction:
depression is frequently accompanied by overeating and a preference for certain foods that may consequently lead to weight gain.
Objectives:
a) to determine the prevalence of depression and the consumption of unhealthy food in first-year college students; and b) to analyze the association between depression score and food consumption frequency.
Methods:
a cross-sectional study was carried out in 1,104 freshman students, 40.3% men and 59.7% women, at a public university in Mexico City. The 20-item depression scale (CES-D) and Food Frequency Questionnaire were applied to measure depressive symptoms and food consumption. Logistic regression analysis was carried out for food consumption frequency and CES-D depression score grouped in quartiles.
Results:
the prevalence of depression symptoms was 18.2% in men and 27.5% in women (p < 0.001). A considerable proportion of the students reported poor eating habits: consumption of fried food (30.3%), sweetened drinks (49.0%) and sugary food (51.8%) 2-7 times/week; and less than half the students practiced vigorous physical activity (39.7%). In women, a higher depression score was associated with a higher frequency of consumption of fast food (OR = 2.08, p = 0.018), fried food (OR = 1.92, p = 0.01) and sugary food (OR = 2.16, p = 0.001), and a lower frequency of physical exercise (< 75 min/week; OR = 1.80, p = 0.017). In men, no association was observed between depression score and food consumption variables. An association was observed between depression and low exercise frequency (OR = 2.22, p = 0.006).
Conclusions:
women vulnerable to depression may use food to cope with negative mood states. Therefore, institutional health promotion and nutritional education programs should include adequate emotion and stress management.
... Studies on food cravings have mostly focused on carbohydrates consumption and, especially, mildly dysphoric mood. It is commonly assumed that carbohydrate craving is related to serotonin deficit (9); therefore, some people tend to overeat sugary food (carbohydrate beverages, pastries, sweets and chocolate, cakes and biscuits) to improve negative mood states (10,11). ...
Introduction:
depression is frequently accompanied by overeating and a preference for certain foods that may consequently lead to weight gain.
Objectives:
a) to determine the prevalence of depression and the consumption of unhealthy food in first-year college students; and b) to analyze the association between depression score and food consumption frequency.
Methods:
a cross-sectional study was carried out in 1,104 freshman students, 40.3% men and 59.7% women, at a public university in Mexico City. The 20-item depression scale (CES-D) and Food Frequency Questionnaire were applied to measure depressive symptoms and food consumption. Logistic regression analysis was carried out for food consumption frequency and CES-D depression score grouped in quartiles.
Results:
the prevalence of depression symptoms was 18.2% in men and 27.5% in women (p < 0.001). A considerable proportion of the students reported poor eating habits: consumption of fried food (30.3%), sweetened drinks (49.0%) and sugary food (51.8%) 2-7 times/week; and less than half the students practiced vigorous physical activity (39.7%). In women, a higher depression score was associated with a higher frequency of consumption of fast food (OR = 2.08, p = 0.018), fried food (OR = 1.92, p = 0.01) and sugary food (OR = 2.16, p = 0.001), and a lower frequency of physical exercise (< 75 min/week; OR = 1.80, p = 0.017). In men, no association was observed between depression score and food consumption variables. An association was observed between depression and low exercise frequency (OR = 2.22, p = 0.006).
Conclusions:
women vulnerable to depression may use food to cope with negative mood states. Therefore, institutional health promotion and nutritional education programs should include adequate emotion and stress management.
... This process begins when depressed youth initially experience pleasure from eating unhealthy or "comfort" foods to improve their mood, which consequently reinforces motivation for eating (Weltens et al., 2014). Overeating then becomes more frequent due to a reinforced drive for food, and the cues associated with food also produce a reward response, which further strengthens the neural reward pathway associated with food consumption (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001). Over time, responses to actual food receipt diminish and may drive continued overeating in an attempt to experience the previous level of pleasure, resulting in weight gain and insulin resistance (Anthony et al., 2006). ...
Depression, together with insulin resistance, is increasingly prevalent among youth. These conditions have traditionally been compartmentalized, but recent evidence suggests that a shared brain motivational network underlies their co-occurrence. We posit that, in the context of depressive symptoms, insulin resistance is associated with aberrant structure and functional connectivity in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and hippocampus. This motivational neural circuit underlies dysfunctional behavioral responses and increased sensitivity to rewarding aspects of ingesting high calorie food that lead to disinhibition of eating even when satiated. To investigate this shared mechanism, we evaluated a sample of forty-two depressed and overweight (BMI > 85th%) youth aged 9 to 17. Using ACC and hippocampus structural and seed-based regions of interest, we investigated associations between insulin resistance, depression, structure (ACC thickness, and ACC and hippocampal area), and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). We predicted that aberrant associations among these neural and behavioral characteristics would be stronger in insulin resistant compared to insulin sensitive youth. We found that youth with greater insulin resistance had higher levels of anhedonia and more food seeking behaviors, reduced hippocampal and ACC volumes, and greater levels of ACC and hippocampal dysconnectivity to fronto-limbic reward networks at rest. For youth with high levels of insulin resistance, thinner ACC and smaller hippocampal volumes were associated with more severe depressive symptoms, whereas the opposite was true for youth with low levels of insulin resistance. The ACC-hippocampal motivational network that subserves depression and insulin resistance separately, may represent a critical neural interaction that link these syndromes together.
... Beslenme alışkanlıkları sağlık, hastalık ve hastalıklara bağlı ölümlerin görülmesini etkileyen yaşam tarzının önemli bir parçasıdır (25). Son yıllarda diyet ve kronik hastalıklar üzerine yapılan epidemiyolojik çalışmalar farklı yaş gruplarında hastalık riski ve diyet kalitesi arasındaki ilişkiye odaklanmıştır (26)(27)(28). ...
... However, these studies are limited by their cross-sectional nature and the alternative explanation of reverse causality cannot be excluded. In other words, it is quite possible that the presence of depression in an individual may cause them to alter the way in which they eat; possibly to enhance mood or because when depressed, individuals may turn to 'more convenient' foods (8) . Alternatively, a depressed individual's appetite or food preferences could be altered (9) . ...
Objective
There is evidence to suggest that individual components of dietary intake are associated with depressive symptoms. Studying the whole diet, through dietary patterns, has become popular as a way of overcoming intercorrelations between individual dietary components; however, there are conflicting results regarding associations between dietary patterns and depressive symptoms. We examined the associations between dietary patterns extracted using principal component analysis and depressive symptoms, taking account of potential temporal relationships.
Design
Depressive symptoms in parents were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) when the study child was 3 and 5 years of age. Scores >12 were considered indicative of the presence of clinical depressive symptoms. Diet was assessed via FFQ when the study child was 4 years of age.
Setting
Longitudinal population-based birth cohort.
Subjects
Mothers and fathers taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children when their study child was 3–5 years old.
Results
Unadjusted results suggested that increased scores on the ‘processed’ and ‘vegetarian’ patterns in women and the ‘semi-vegetarian’ pattern in men were associated with having EPDS scores ≥13. However, after adjustment for confounders all results were attenuated. This was the case for all those with available data and when considering a sub-sample who were ‘disease free’ at baseline.
Conclusions
We found no association between dietary patterns and depressive symptoms after taking account of potential confounding factors and the potential temporal relationship between them. This suggests that previous studies reporting positive associations may have suffered from reverse causality and/or residual confounding.
... Previous studies testing food preference and food intake in relation to mood have demonstrated increased Bsnack-type^food preference and consumption among individuals with high levels of stress (Oliver and Wardle 1999;Wardle et al. 2000). Explanatory mechanisms for this link are mixed (see Christensen and Pettijohn 2001;Leibenluft et al. 1994); however, it may be that high stress and elevated depressive symptoms are related to greater consumption of high-fat foods for emotion regulatory purposes as these foods are typically found to be rewarding and to yield a sensory pleasurable response (Berridge 2009). These explanations are speculative, and future work should consider using alternative primary rewards as well as foods with different macro-nutrient profiles to test approach to primary rewards in relation to depressive symptoms across men and women of all ages. ...
Depression is associated with blunted reward functioning. It remains unknown, however, whether depression is linked to diminished motivation to approach reward across categories of reward stimuli, or if depression is differentially related to approach motivation. The current study tested associations between depression and behavioral approach motivation to specific reward stimuli (i.e., money, social, food reward). In a two-visit study, university females (N = 122, Mage = 18.67) completed measures of depression and three behavioral approach motivation tasks (completed across visits). Differential findings emerged across behavioral reward tasks. Specifically, depressive symptoms were associated with decreased motivation to approach monetary and social reward but increased motivation to approach food reward. Results suggest a category-specific conceptualization of depressive symptomatology in relation to behavioral approach motivation, whereby women with elevated symptoms may be less likely to approach certain rewards, but more likely to approach others.
... Past research has shown that negative emotional states, such as stress and depression, are strongly related to smoking and eating behaviors. 21,22 Our exploratory aim was to test if stress and depressive symptoms accounted for the associations between smoking status and food cravings. ...
Purpose:
This study examined the relationships among smoking status and total and specific types of food cravings (i.e., high-fats, sweets, fast-food fats, and complex carbohydrates/starches) and the influence of demographic, clinical, and psychological factors on this relationship.
Methods:
Seven-hundred and twelve adults completed measures of food cravings, dietary intake, and smoking history. Heights and weights were measured. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses while adjusting for demographic, clinical, and psychological covariates.
Results:
Compared to never smokers, current smokers reported more frequent cravings for high-fat foods and fast-food fats, after controlling for depression, stress, BMI and demographic factors. Current smokers also reported consuming more high-fat foods and fast-food fats. The association between cigarette smoking and total food craving was no longer significant after accounting for depression and stress, suggesting that depression and stress may account for the relationship between smoking and total food craving. Smoking did not moderate the relationship between food cravings and food intake. Nicotine dependence was positively correlated with the frequency of general food cravings and cravings for high fats, sweets, and carbohydrates/starches.
Conclusions:
Cigarette smokers, and especially those with higher nicotine dependence, may have greater difficulties in addressing food craving and changing eating habits, particularly in the context of depression and stress.
... As mentioned before, the relationship between stress and eating patterns is complex. There is growing evidence that food consumption has an influence on how we feel (Christensen et al., 2001). The effect of carbohydrate meals on mood is most frequently reported in this field. ...
As the major aspect of lifestyle, dietary patterns are concerned with health issues in all conditions including stress. Studies on the association between stress and food choices have resulted conflicting outcomes. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of type 2 diabetic patients (n = 200) who met the inclusion criteria. A 14-item questionnaire was used to measure the perceived stress. Food recall was recorded by a trained dietitian for 24 hours over 2 regular days and 1 holiday. Liner regression results indicated that negative perceived stress had association with carbohydrate intake (B=0.246, P=0.04) which for the Positive perceived stress it was directly associated with mean protein (B=0.14, P=0.04) and fiber intakes (B=0.46, P=0.001). Based on the finding, there was a relationship between micronutrient intake and positive perceived stress. Positive perceived stress leads to healthy food choices while negative perceived stress leads to the unhealthy dietary patterns. A diet with adequate vitamin B complex, vitamin E and antioxidant minerals (selenium, zinc, copper, magnesium) may have positive effects in coping with stress and help positive interpretation of stressful events.
... It is also possible that prior mood could influence subsequent food choice. For example, negative affect may be associated with cravings for simple carbohydrates (Christensen and Pettijohn 2001). These mechanisms through which FVI and WB might be related are not mutually exclusive. ...
Prior research suggests that fruit and vegetable intake predicts psychological well-being (WB) when controlled for demographic variables such as age, income and education. Using multiple-item measures and including additional diet and health variables as covariates, the current study assessed self-reported well-being in the past week and daily fruit and vegetable consumption over the past 4 weeks for 1270 university students. Mean positive affect increased linearly as a function of number of daily servings of fruits and vegetables; the pattern of this relationship did not differ significantly for males and females. This association remained statistically significant after controlling for demographic variables (age, sex, and parent education levels); other diet variables (consumption of sugar containing beverages, coffee or tea, and fat); and other health behaviors (exercise, sleep quality and smoking). Life satisfaction and negative affect were not significantly related to fruit and vegetable consumption. Analysis of single-item measures similar to those used in past large scale surveys yielded similar results. Possible reasons for the association of fruits and vegetable consumption with well-being are discussed.
... Craving is frequently reported for specific types of food including chocolate and food high in both sugar and fat (Corsica and Spring, 2008;Spring et al., 2008;Yanovski, 2003). Carbohydrate cravers reported feeling distressed prior to their craving and satisfied, happy/good and relaxed following carbohydrate consumption (Christensen and Pettijohn, 2001;Macht and Mueller, 2007). Craving for specific macronutrients such as carbohydrate has been postulated to result from a physiological need to alter neurotransmitter 5hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; serotonin). ...
Lower levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; serotonin) in the brain elicit sugar craving, while ingestion of sugar rich diet improves mood and alleviates anxiety. Gender differences occur not only in brain serotonin metabolism but also in a serotonin mediated functional responses. The present study was therefore designed to investigate gender related differences on the effects of long term consumption of sugar rich diet on the metabolism of serotonin in the hypothalamus and whole brain which may be relevant with the hyperphagic and anxiety reducing effects of sugar rich diet. Male and female rats were fed freely on a sugar rich diet for five weeks. Hyperphagic effects were monitored by measuring total food intake and body weights changes during the intervention. Anxiolytic effects of sugar rich diet was monitored in light-dark transition test. The results show that ingestion of sugar rich diet decreased serotonin metabolism more in female than male rats. Anxiolytic effects were elicited only in male rats. Hyperphagia was comparable in both male and female rats. Finings would help in understanding the role of sugar rich diet-induced greater decreases of serotonin in sweet craving in women during stress.
... These changes occurred over a very short time, and have been proposed to be an underlying factor contributing to the obesity epidemic by compromising the ability of individuals to avoid weight-gain or maintain weight-loss [2]. The potential for changes in the food landscape to facilitate eating for reasons other than sustenance, is illustrated by studies that show stress and emotion influence food choice [3,4], food consumption can alter mood [5,6], and food consumption can be used as a coping strategy [7,8]. In obesogenic environments there are more frequent opportunities to use food beyond metabolic nourishment (i.e. for coping/comfort) [9]. ...
The economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has effected the global economy, with the main changes expected to affect human life in the future, including food consumption. However, could this pandemic be assumed as a threshold for the suspension of the usual rules behind food choices? This review highlights the changes in food choice motivations before, during, and after the pandemic that have been reported in the literature to date to answer the research question on the changes in food choice motives caused by the pandemic to consumers worldwide. The review comes up with ten key food motives important for consumers, namely health, convenience, sensory appeal, nutritional quality, moral concerns, weight control, mood and anxiety, familiarity, price, and shopping frequency behavior; these motives continue to be significant in the post-pandemic era. Our findings indicate that it is too premature to give definite answers as to what food choice motives in the post-COVID-19 era will be like. Consumers’ perceptions and attitudes toward food in the new era are contradictory, depending on the country of the study, the average age, and the sex of the study group. These controversial results illustrate that, for food consumption, motives depend on the population being searched, with changes identified occurring in two directions. The definite answers will be given in three to five years when the new conditions will be clear and a number of studies will have been published. Even though it is too early to fully understand the definite food choice motive changes, defining a “new” index of consumer satisfaction is necessary since it can alter the food sale strategies of retail managers, food companies, and the other parties involved in the agri-food chain.
Cerebral ischemia could induce depressive-like behaviors; however, the alteration of gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors type B (GABAB) receptors in these pathological processes has not been extensively investigated. The aim of the current study was to document the behavioral change and the alteration of GABAB receptors in chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. The permanent occlusion of the bilateral common carotid arteries (two-vessel occlusion, 2VO) was performed to induce chronic cerebral ischemia (CCH). The depressive-like behaviors were evaluated with sucrose preference test, novelty suppress feeding test as well as forced swim test at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after the 2VO surgery. The total, surface and intracellular expressions of GABAB subunit 1 (GABAB1) and subunit 2 (GABAB2) in hippocampal CA1 were quantified by western blot. The depressive-like behaviors were observed in rats suffered from 4, 8, and 12 weeks 2VO in sucrose preference test, novelty suppress feeding test and forced swim test. In addition, the surface and total expression of GABAB1 in CA1 was reduced at 4 weeks after 2VO rather than 8 or 12 weeks. While the surface and total expression of GABAB2 in CA1 was decreased throughout the ischemia timeline (4, 8, and 12 weeks). Taken together, our findings suggested the potential roles of GABAB1 and GABAB2 subunits involved in depressive-like behaviors caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.
Objective
Food craving, restrained eating, hunger, and negative emotions may predict and reinforce one another. However, less is known about how they interact together as a complex system in daily life. Therefore, we used a dynamic network approach to examine the associations between food craving, restrained eating, hunger and negative emotions in daily life.
Methods
Food craving, restrained eating, hunger and negative emotions were measured using ecological momentary assessment three times a day over ten days in a community sample in Israel (n = 123). A two-step multilevel vector auto-regression network analysis was used to estimate temporal, contemporaneous and between-persons networks.
Results
In the temporal network, restrained eating was the most central predictor of eating behaviors and negative emotions, predicting food craving and hunger as well as sadness and loneliness. Food craving was also predicted by hunger and stress, and hunger predicted loneliness. In the contemporaneous network, food craving was associated with hunger and feeling bored, and higher anger was associated with lower restrained eating. Stress and sadness were central negative emotions in the models.
Discussion
This study suggests possible temporal and contemporaneous relationships between food craving, restrained eating, hunger and negative emotions, emphasizing their complex interactions in daily life. Restrained eating and stress should be investigated as potential targets for interventions addressing food craving and overeating.
Amylin, a 37 amino acid peptide pancreatic hormone co-secreted with insulin, normalizes the altered eating patterns induced by chronic stress in the rat. Because these stress-induced changes are driven, in part, by brain corticotropin-releasing factor and corticosterone, and because alterations in the activity of these molecules and the stress system are commonly associated with neuropsychiatric diseases like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, we hypothesized that amylin might mitigate behavioral states associated with stress. Therefore, we tested the effects of rat amylin in rodent-based behavioral assays sensitive to neuropsychiatric drugs, including anxiolytic, antidepressant, antipsychotic, and cognitive enhancing drugs: stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH); marble burying; elevated plus maze (EPM)), forced swim test (FST), pre-pulse inhibition, and phencyclidine-induced locomotion. To assess the neural underpinnings of amylin's anxiolytic-like effects, we examined the effect of amylin on SIH after lesioning the area postrema (AP), which mediates amylin's metabolic effects. Amylin injection (IP, 0.1, 1.0, & 10 mg/kg) significantly (P<0.05) decreased SIH (97% below vehicle) and AP lesions inhibited this effect. Amylin also reduced marble burying (72% below vehicle), but had no effect in the EPM. Together, these effects suggest anxiolytic-like activity or potential. Amylin injection also enhanced cognitive performance in the novel object recognition test. When administered continuously by implanted osmotic pumps, amylin (300 mg/kg/d) blocked SIH when tested at 1 and 4 weeks. Compared to vehicle, amylin infusion (1 and 3 mg/kg/d) reduced the time immobile in the FST (P<0.05; 30% below vehicle), suggesting antidepressant-like potential. Although further testing is needed, our novel findings suggest a potential for peripherally administered amylin to access and benefit pathways that regulate memory, emotion, and mood.
Purpose
The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with weight gain in both children and adults. In addition to environmental factors, such as food availability, psychological variables, including mood states, also impact intake. In the current study, we focus on momentary associations between feelings of loneliness and craving for SSBs among adolescents and explore the moderating role of family functioning. Loneliness has been associated with a wide range of health outcomes, but to date, few studies have examined its association with cravings for SSBs.
Methods
Using an ecological-momentary assessment design, data were collected on 158 (males = 68, mean age = 15.13 ± 2.27 years) participants. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to examine the relations between the main and interactive effects of loneliness and family functioning on cravings for SSBs, independent of other negative emotions.
Results
Results suggest that loneliness in adolescents was associated with a small increase in craving for SSBs. Importantly, the relationship held after controlling for negative emotions, suggesting the unique role of loneliness. However, positive family functioning did not mitigate the relations between loneliness and craving for SSBs.
Conclusions
Loneliness uniquely contributes to cravings for SSBs. At the same time, family functioning did not buffer the influence of loneliness on cravings for SSBs among adolescents.
The chapter would principally discuss the “meaning” of sugar, its biochemistry and implications in human diet, the sugar metabolism, reasons why we veer toward the sweet taste, the interrelationship between sugar intake and cognitive behavior, sugar-affected mood fluctuations, sugar and hyperactivity, interactions between sugar, drug, and alcohol. Additionally, the chapter would also discuss the role of sugar in controlling pain.
Background & Aims
Individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) have a significantly increased risk of obesity-related conditions. The imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure is assumed to be a major risk factor for obesity in BD. This study analyzed food craving in relation to anthropometric, metabolic, and neurobiological parameters in a well-characterized cohort of euthymic individuals with BD.
Methods
One-hundred-thirty-five patients completed the Food-Craving Inventory assessing four categories of food craving (fat, fast-food, sweets and carbohydrate craving). Additionally, clinical, metabolic and anthropometric parameters were assessed.
Results
Higher levels of fat craving were observed in males, versus females, with BD. High levels of carbohydrate craving positively correlated with kynurenine and the kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio. Higher serum nitrite and neopterin levels were related to fat craving. Parameters of fat metabolism (triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein) were associated with fat and fast-food craving. Anthropometric measures of obesity (e.g. body mass index, waist-to-hip-ratio) were not related to food craving.
Conclusions
Overweight/obese individuals with BD show an increased driving of tryptophan down the kynurenine pathways, as indicated by an increase in the serum kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio. The driving of tryptophan down the kynurenine pathway is mediated by immune-inflammatory activity and stress. The correlation of increased kynurenine with food craving, especially carbohydrate craving, probably indicates a regulatory deficit in the maintenance of chronic inflammatory processes in obesity and BD. Food craving seems to be of clinical importance in the treatment of metabolic disturbances in BD, although not associated with anthropometric measures of obesity. Rather, food craving correlates with blood metabolic parameters and an increased activation of the kynurenine pathway, both of which are linked to higher affective symptomatology and the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Diabetes, depression, and obesity are global health crises that disproportionately affect people with low socioeconomic status and other marginalized identities. These diseases have high incidence and prevalence rates in Puerto Rico due to high poverty and unemployment rates, changing dietary patterns, and Puerto Rico’s political status as a U.S. commonwealth. The myriad problems on the island contribute to the flight of Puerto Ricans to the mainland in search of better education and employment; there are currently more Puerto Ricans living on the mainland than there are in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico’s political status is of particular importance, as it simultaneously contributes to and poses unique challenges to addressing the complex and myriad health crises on the island. As such, I take syndemic and critical medical anthropology approaches to maintain that depression, diabetes, and obesity are politicized in Puerto Rico. I draw on nearly a year of mixed-methods fieldwork to argue that depression, obesity and diabetes form a syndemic with the violence and political instability that are part and parcel of living in Puerto Rico. I named this syndemic the OVIDD (Obesity, Violence, political Instability, Diabetes, and Depression) Syndemic. One of my key findings is that Puerto Rico’s political status exacerbates the incidence and prevalence rates of diabetes, depression, and obesity on the island. These diseases are politically charged, and their incidence and prevalence rates are unlikely to diminish without also improving the political and economic crises in Puerto Rico. The diseases in question interact deleteriously and syndemically, contributing to the OVIDD Syndemic in Puerto Rico. Moreover, the question of Puerto Rico’s political status has remained in flux since the United States acquired the island from Spain following the Spanish-American War of 1898. Puerto Ricans report preferring either full statehood or full independence and do no want to maintain the current status quo. However, despite Puerto Ricans’ pleas to the U.S. Government to change the island’s status, the government has thus far not made any effort to heed their wishes. This leaves the island in a state of political liminality in which Puerto Rico is neither an independent nation with the power to make its own decisions, nor a full state that receives full economic and political benefits from the United States. These results highlight not only the necessity of syndemics as a theoretical framework for collecting and analyzing the data in this dissertation, but also the need for macro-level changes to the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico.
This thesis draws on theoretical orientations and conceptual models of how social networks, the quality of social relationships and stressful conditions, are linked to physiological responses which can influence health and behaviour.
The original contribution of this work was to add to the existing literature on the links between social relationships and health, by showing the degree to which couples’ relationship dissatisfaction during pregnancy is associated with the risk of infectious diseases in both mother and children. Additionally, the project provided empirical data to a relatively new theoretical contribution to this field of research, by investigating a hypothesis derived from social baseline theory.
The project includes three research articles published in peer-reviewed journals. All three articles are based on data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, a prospective population-based pregnancy cohort study conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
The first paper tested a hypothesis derived from social baseline theory. This theory gives a basis for understanding the impacts of social relationships on the regulation of metabolic resources. A hypothesis derived from social baseline theory is that relative social isolation leads to increased sugar intake. The present results supported this hypothesis by showing that perceived loneliness was associated with elevated intake of sugar-containing beverages. In contrast, high relationship satisfaction levels, marriage, supportive friends and a sense of togetherness at work were negatively associated with the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. These associations remained statistically significant after controlling for scores for body mass index, weight-related self-image, depression, physical activity, educational level, age and income. Moreover, this pattern of associations was not found when sugary beverages were replaced with artificially sweetened beverages as outcome-variables, suggesting that sugar was the key component responsible for the associations between social factors and sugar-containing beverages.
The second paper explored the association between levels of relationship satisfaction and risk of infectious diseases among pregnant women. In addition, it examined whether relationship satisfaction interacted with the association between stressful life events and risk of infectious diseases during pregnancy. The results showed that, after controlling for socioeconomic factors and stressful life events, higher levels of relationship satisfaction at gestational week 15 were associated with a lower risk for 8 of 9 categories of infectious diseases during gestational weeks 17–30. Additionally, the results showed a positive association between the level of stressful life events and infectious diseases. However, no interaction effect was found between relationship satisfaction and stressful life events on the risk of infections.
The third paper investigated the degree to which relationship dissatisfaction and stressful life events during pregnancy predicted risk for 8 categories of infectious diseases in children during their first year of life. The results showed that maternal relationship dissatisfaction was associated with increased risk for all tested infectious diseases among infants less than 6 months old and increased risk for 7 categories of diseases among 6–12-month-old children. The associations remained statistically significant after adjusting for scores for socioeconomic factors, prenatal stressful life events, smoking, maternal depression, breastfeeding, child’s sex and use of childcare. It was also found that maternal stressful life events were associated with 7 of 8 groups of diseases in both age groups of children. Finally, the results showed that pregnant women who experienced higher degrees of relationship dissatisfaction and higher numbers of stressful life events reported a higher frequency and greater variety of infectious diseases in their children.
Overall, this work supports that couples’ relationship dissatisfaction during pregnancy is associated with the risk of infectious diseases in both mother and children. Additionally, it provides support for social baseline theory by demonstrating that loneliness, relationship quality, and other social factors were associated with the level of consumption of sugary beverages. Thus, the project provided empirical data to a relatively new theoretical contribution to the field of research concerned with how social relationships are linked to physiological responses which in turn have the potential of influencing health and behaviour.
Emerging evidence suggests a positive association of diet and obesity with depression. Researchers have examined several diet-mood hypotheses, including investigating the extent to which carbohydrates may impact mood. There is limited research on how glycemic load, a characteristic of carbohydrates, impacts mood in healthy adults. Eighty-two healthy weight and overweight/obese, but otherwise healthy, adults enrolled in a randomized, crossover controlled feeding study testing low-compared to high-glycemic load diets. All participants completed self-report mood and energy level questionnaires during each arm of the intervention. Diets were isocaloric and were matched by macronutrient content as a percent of total energy. Mood was assessed with the Profile of Mood States (POMS) subscales; tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, vigor-activity, fatigue-inertia, and confusion-bewilderment, total mood disturbance (TMD), and negative affect (NA) in addition to the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression (CES-D) scale at baseline and end of both 28-day feeding periods. Linear mixed models tested the intervention effect on mood, controlling for baseline POMS and CES-D scores, diet type, diet sequence, feeding period, sex, and percent body fat classification. The consumption of the high-glycemic load diet resulted in a 38% higher score for depressive symptoms on the CES-D (P = 0.002) compared to the low-glycemic load diet as well as 55% higher score for TMD (P = 0.05), and 26% higher score for fatigue/inertia (P = 0.04). In subgroup analyses, the overweight/obese participants had 40% higher scores on the CES-D scale compared to healthy weight participants (P = 0.05). In conclusion, a high-glycemic load diet was associated with higher depression symptoms, total mood disturbance, and fatigue compared to a low-glycemic load diet especially in overweight/obese, but otherwise healthy, adults.
This chapter is dedicated to the review of available literature regarding a role of sweet taste in psychiatric research. Hedonic (pleasurable) response to sweet taste is a stable inherent trait that to a large extent depends on the activity of the brain opiate system and may be considered a marker for activity of this system, with the reduction of this activity shifting preference towards stronger sweet taste (a phenomenon that is often referred to as sweet liking). Sweet-liking individuals with dysfunction of the brain opiate system have a diminished ability to experience pleasure and an elevated sensitivity to the mood-altering effects of alcohol and sweet-tasting foods. In clinical populations, sweet liking and craving for sweet-tasting foods is often associated with negative affective states (e.g., anxiety and depression). Consumption of sweets (both natural and noncaloric artificial sweeteners) causes stimulation of the brain opiate system and produces effects similar to those of opiate agonists (i.e., morphine), albeit of lesser magnitude. These effects include feeling of well-being, sedation, reduction of negative mood states, and analgesia. As a result, sweet-tasting foods may be used to self-medicate negative mood states, which in some cases may lead to the development of eating disorders. The higher prevalence of eating disorders noted in women can be attributed to their higher sensitivity to the mood-altering effect associated with eating sweet-tasting foods. On the other hand, sweet-liking men have been shown to be sensitive to the rewarding effect of alcohol, which puts them at higher risk for having alcohol-use disorders, especially if sweet liking is combined with novelty seeking – a personality trait that facilitates excessive drinking. The reviewed literature indicates that evaluation of hedonic response to sweet taste may be an important instrument for assessment of various psychiatric conditions, including affective disorders, alcohol-use disorders, and eating disorders.
Do emotions influence the eating patterns of obese individuals? This paper reviews 30 years of clinical and experimental research in order to answer this question. The result is a picture of considerable complexity in which emotions appear to influence eating by obese subjects, but only if individual variability and several qualities of emotional eating are considered. That is, unlike Kaplan and Kaplan's (1957) simplistic anxiety-reduction model, current research indicates that individual differences in food choice and in type of emotion precipitating eating need to be considered. In addition, secrecy surrounding the eating and an episodic quality related to overall level of stress need to be taken into consideration. When these parameters are included, it appears that in certain emotional situations obese people eat more than normal-weight individuals. Such eating appears to have an affect-reducing effect, especially for negative emotions such as anger, loneliness, boredom, and depression. Problems with current research including methodological shortcomings are discussed.
This review covers three areas in which dietary components may influence brain serotonin synthesis, mood, and behavior. In the first, tryptophan-deficient amino acid mixtures have been used to lower brain tryptophan and serotonin in normal human subjects for experimental purposes. Results suggest that low serotonin can cause lowered mood and increased aggression, but that it is probably not involved in any simple way in carbohydrate craving. Low serotonin levels can block the analgesic effect of morphine in humans. The second area concerns deficiencies of folic acid, which can cause low brain serotonin and lowered mood. Folate supplements may be useful in some depressed patients. The third area concerns the effect of carbohydrate meals. Although it is well established that carbohydrate meals raise brain tryptophan and serotonin in the rat, and that protein meals lower them, any effects of carbohydrate or protein meals on human brain serotonin are likely to be negligible under most circumstances. Carbohydrate meals can have definite effects on mood and behavior in humans, and there are a variety of mechanisms, other than alterations in brain serotonin, that might mediate these effects.
Contemporary urge models assume that urges are necessary but not sufficient for the production of drug use in ongoing addicts, are responsible for the initiation of relapse in abstinent addicts, and can be indexed across 3 classes of behavior: verbal report, overt behavior, and somatovisceral response. A review of available data does not provide strong support for these assumptions. An alternative cognitive model of drug use and drug urges is proposed that hypothesizes that drug use in the addict is controlled by automatized action schemata. Urges are conceptualized as responses supported by nonautomatic cognitive processes activated in parallel with drug-use action schemata either in support of the schema or in support of attempts to block the execution of the schema. The implications of this model for the assessment of urge responding and drug-use behavior are presented.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a syndrome characterized by recurrent depressions that occur annually at the same time each year. We describe 29 patients with SAD; most of them had a bipolar affective disorder, especially bipolar II, and their depressions were generally characterized by hypersomnia, overeating, and carbohydrate craving and seemed to respond to changes in climate and latitude. Sleep recordings in nine depressed patients confirmed the presence of hypersomnia and showed increased sleep latency and reduced slow-wave (delta) sleep. Preliminary studies in 11 patients suggest that extending the photoperiod with bright artificial light has an antidepressant effect.
This study consisted of two experiments, one in rats and one in human volunteers, that used the identical progressive ratio (PR) operant procedure. In both experiments, responding was reinforced under a progressively increasing work requirement, and different groups of subjects received reinforcers that varied in sweetness. In experiment 1, rats were subjected to chronic mild stress, a well-validated animal model of depression. Performance under the PR schedule increased in subjects reinforced with conventional precision pellets (which contain 10% sucrose) or very sweet pellets, but not in subjects reinforced with sugar-free pellets. In experiment 2, volunteers were subjected to a depressive musical mood induction. Performance under the PR schedule increased in subjects reinforced with chocolate buttons, but not in subjects reinforced with with buttons made from the relatively unpalatable chocolate substitute carob. In experiment 2, depressive mood induction also increased chocolate craving, as measured by a novel questionnaire, and there were significant correlations between chocolate craving and chocolate-reinforced PR performance. These results suggest that performance under the PR schedule provides a measure of craving rather than reward, and that craving for sweet rewards is increased by depressive mood induction in both animal and human models. Implications for the interpretation of pharmacological studies using the PR procedure are also discussed.
'Craving is generally considered a significant factor in opiate addiction that is associated with drug-dependence and in relapse to drug use after treatment'-ARC expert consensus (Pickens and Johanson, Drug and Alcohol Dependence 30: 127-131). There are however difficulties in defining craving and urges to use drugs and in associating craving with drug use and relapse. Tiffany [Psychological Review 97(2): 147-168] has reviewed a considerable number of studies that associated reports of craving with consumption measures of drugs and revealed only an overall modest correlation of 0.4. These findings call into question the general assumption that subjective cravings are invariably associated with drug use. Furthermore, it led to Tiffany's provocative argument that cravings are not necessary for drug use. We have addressed these issues by using a range of complementary techniques derived from research in related fields such as the cognitive psychology of anxiety and depression, physiological response measurements and positron emission tomography (PET) neuro-imaging. Initially we developed computerized assessments to probe cognitive dysfunction in addiction that related to biased processing of automatic thoughts and beliefs about craving and drug use in opiate-dependent subjects and alcoholics. Subsequently in an attempt to develop a reliable method of inducing craving we explored an imagery-based technique that relied on the memory of craving experiences. These experiments were conducted both in opiate addicts who had achieved abstinence and in those undergoing detoxification. Finally, we have begun a study to understand the neural mechanisms of craving using imagery-based procedures at the same time as performing PET studies of regional blood flow using the O15-labelled water technique.
Do emotions influence the eating patterns of obese individuals? This paper reviews 30 years of clinical and experimental research in order to answer this question. The result is a picture of considerable complexity in which emotions appear to influence eating by obese subjects, but only if individual variability and several qualities of emotional eating are considered. That is, unlike Kaplan and Kaplan's (1957) simplistic anxiety‐reduction model, current research indicates that individual differences in food choice and in type of emotion precipitating eating need to be considered. In addition, secrecy surrounding the eating and an episodic quality related to overall level of stress need to be taken into consideration. When these parameters are included, it appears that in certain emotional situations obese people eat more than normal‐weight individuals. Such eating appears to have an affect‐reducing effect, especially for negative emotions such as anger, loneliness, boredom, and depression. Problems with current research including methodological shortcomings are discussed.
• Lifetime rates are presented for 15 DSM-III psychiatric diagnoses evaluated in three large household samples on the basis of lay interviewers' use of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. The most common diagnoses were alcohol abuse and dependence, phobia, major depressive episode, and drug abuse and dependence. Disorders that most clearly predominated in men were antisocial personality and alcohol abuse and dependence. Disorders that most clearly predominated in women were depressive episodes and phobias. The age group with highest rates for most disorders was found to be young adults (aged 25 to 44 years). Correlates with race, education, and urbanization are presented.
This study compared 40 female participants in a behavioral weight loss program who frequently reported cravings sweets to 40 who rarely reported craving sweets using 2-week behavioral eating diaries. The two groups were compared on physiological, demographic, and questionnaire measures and no significant differences were found. There were no significant differences in macronutrient intake either overall or in wide range of specific situations. The relative proportions of carbohydrate, protein, and fat consumed in association with craving sweets differed only slightly from the composition of other meals and snacks. Carbohydrate and protein intake when craving sweets was similar to breakfasts while the relative amount of fat consumed when craving sweets comparable to episodes of overeating. The two groups differed in their reporting of moods with the high-craving group reporting more boredom and less stress than the low-craving group. The relationship between situational andmood variables and reports of craving sweets did not differ between the two groups. Craving sweets was negatively associated with hunger and was not associated with meal skipping. A sequential analysis demonstrated that eating in response to craving sweets triggers an abstinence violation effect. These data are not consistent with the hypothesis that sweet craver's consume high-carbohydrate, low- protein meals and snacks in order to self-medicate depression caused by serotonin depletion. Instead, the data suggests that we should further explore the role of food palatability and food- related cognitions in order to understand cravings sweets.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) patients often crave carbohydrates when depressed during the winter. We measured dietary intake using a daily Food/Drink Frequency Questionnaire in 36 SAD patients over four conditions: when depressed in winter, during light therapy (1 h 2500 lux, morning or evening), during withdrawal, and when euthymic in summer. Carbohydrate intake (both sweet and starch) in the second half of the day was elevated during winter depression and was as low after light therapy as in summer. The medial hypothalamus is hypothesised to play a key role in coupling ‘mood and food’ in SAD.
A large clinical sample of obese men and women were asked for a self-generated list of ten favorite foods. The lists were characterized by frequent instances of foods that are major nutrient sources of fat in the American diet. While obese men listed mainly protein/fat sources (meat dishes) among their favorite foods, obese women tended to list predominantly carbohydrate/fat sources (doughnuts, cookies, cake) and foods that were sweet. There was no evidence that selective preferences for a single macronutrient, carbohydrate, were a standard feature of human obesity. Rather, preferences for major nutrient sources of fat as opposed to carbohydrate may be a primary characteristic of human obesity syndromes.
A common assumption is that dieting causes food cravings, probably as a result of food energy deprivation. This issue was investigated in a two-phase study. In phase one, 206 women completed the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire and a food craving scale. A correlational analysis showed food craving to be only weakly related to dietary restraint, but highly and significantly correlated with external eating, emotional eating and susceptibility to hunger. In phase two, ten women who regularly experienced food cravings and ten who rarely craved food kept prospective records of their food intake, daily mood and food craving episodes. There were few differences in eating behaviour, although the cravers tended to consume slightly more daily energy than the non-cravers. The cravers had higher ratings of boredom and anxiety during the day, and dysphoric mood was prominent prior to the cravings themselves. Food deprivation does not appear to be a necessary condition for food cravings to occur. Rather, food cravings are closely associated with mood, in particular as an antecedent to craving and also as a consequence of craving.
A questionnaire was administered to over 1000 male and female college undergraduates to collect self-reports regarding food cravings (defined as an intense desire to eat a specific food). Ninety-seven per cent of woman and 68 per cent of men reported experiencing food cravings. Chocolate was the most frequently reported food craved, especially among women. The majority of subjects reported that they indulged their food cravings at least half the time. Females tended to respond with more negative affect to indulging their cravings than men. Only 32 per cent of women perceived that their cravings were linked to menstrual cycles. There was no tendency for an increase in food cravings with dietary restraint. The data provided a detailed description of perceptions regarding food cravings among college-age adults, but also underscored some of the limitations of self-report measures of food craving. In spite of these limitations, however, the results challenge several assumptions regarding food craving and highlight some promising avenues for future investigation.
This study investigated the impact of the affective content of imagery scripts used in an imagery paradigm designed to elicit smoking urges in a laboratory setting. Sixty cigarette smokers were instructed to vividly imagine 10 imagery scripts that described negative affect and explicit smoking urges, positive affect and explicit smoking urges, negative affect alone, positive affect alone, and neutral affect alone. Subjects' ratings of the vividness of their images across the five script types did not differ but ratings of urges and cravings indicated that scripts containing descriptions of smoking urges elicited strong reports of smoking urges/cravings comparable in magnitude across positive and negative affective content. Among scripts that did not explicitly describe smoking urges, negative affect scripts were more effective in generating smoking urges/craving than positive affect scripts, although positive affect scripts did produce significantly stronger urges/cravings than neutral affect scripts. An analysis of subjects' reports of the distribution of their strongest urges over imagery trials and regression analyses of the variables predictive of urge/craving report provided converging evidence that the content of the imagery scripts exerted considerable control over the generation of smoking urges in the imagery paradigm. The results indicated that the magnitude of urges and cravings produced by the imagery manipulation were clearly influenced by urge and affective content of the imagery scripts.
A craving for specific foods represents one of the most common and intense experiences surrounding eating. This paper explores the phenomenology of food craving by discussing the properties, origins and determinants of the craving state. The discussion includes consideration of the use of the craving concept in the drug literature and a review of the food craving literature. It is suggested that advances in the understanding of food cravings must address the problem of the definition and measurement of the craving state and proceed with recognition of the inadequacies of the ubiquitous assumption that cravings serve to identify and redress bodily needs.
There is some evidence that food consumption changes across the menstrual cycle. However, archived studies tend to rely on self-report data and do not differentiate among types of food eaten. The present laboratory study was designed to measure women's taste preferences and specific food consumption across the menstrual cycle. Women came into the laboratory, consumed everyday foods, and rated them on taste judgment scales. The foods were weighed before and after the tasting session to determine amount eaten. After the tasting session, subjects completed several questionnaires (e.g., measures of affect, restrained eating, menstrual cycle and menstrual symptoms). Physical measurements (e.g., height, weight) were taken at the end of the session. Sweet food consumption and preference ratings were significantly higher during the premenstrual period. Consumption and ratings of other foods did not differ. There were no differences in levels of mood, obesity, or restrained eating across the menstrual cycle. Low restraint was associated with reporting fewer menstrual symptoms, in general, and slightly better mood. These results support the idea that specific taste preferences change over the menstrual cycle, and that endocrinological factors could be involved in this phenomenon.
We examined the occurrence and coincidence of depressed mood and excessive carbohydrate intake in 19 patients who claimed to suffer from severe premenstrual syndrome and in nine control subjects, all as inpatients, during the early follicular and late luteal phases of their menstrual cycles. Mood was assessed with the Hamilton Depression Scale and an addendum that evaluated fatigue, sociability, appetite, and carbohydrate craving. Calorie and nutrient intakes were measured directly. The subjects with premenstrual syndrome significantly increased calorie intake during the late luteal phase (from 1892 +/- 104 to 2395 +/- 93 kcal, mean +/- SEM); carbohydrate intake increased by 24% from meals and by 43% from snacks. Protein intake failed to change, whereas intake of fat, a fixed constituent of all of the test foods, rose in proportion to calorie intake. The Hamilton Depression Scale and addendum scores rose from 2.0 +/- 0.5 to 21.2 +/- 0.8 (Hamilton Scale) and from 0.5 +/- 0.5 to 10.2 +/- 0.6 (addendum) among subjects with premenstrual syndrome during the luteal phase but failed to change among the controls (2.1 +/- 0.8 to 2.4 +/- 0.8, and 0.4 +/- 0.3 to 0.6 +/- 0.3). Consumption of a carbohydrate-rich, protein-poor evening test meal during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle improved depression, tension, anger, confusion, sadness, fatigue, alertness, and calmness scores (p less than 0.01) among patients with premenstrual syndrome. No effect of the meal was observed during the follicular phase or among the control subjects during either phase. Because synthesis of brain serotonin, which is known to be involved in mood and appetite, increases after carbohydrate intake, premenstrual syndrome subjects may overconsume carbohydrates in an attempt to improve their dysphoric mood state.
Normal subjects were fed protein or carbohydrate breakfasts. Both meals were in the form of a chocolate pudding and had similar sensory qualities. At lunchtime subjects were allowed to select from a buffet. The protein breakfast had a greater satiating power than the carbohydrate breakfast, but there was no difference in overall selection of protein or carbohydrate at lunchtime. However, the carbohydrate breakfast did decrease selection of apple, the only pure carbohydrate food available at lunchtime. In a second experiment changes in plasma amino acid levels were studied after subjects received carbohydrate breakfasts containing 0, 4, 8 or 12% protein, or a danish pastry. Only the 0% protein breakfast increased tryptophan availability to the brain. These experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that alterations in brain 5-hydroxytryptamine, brought about by dietary alterations in brain tryptophan, regulate selection of protein and carbohydrate. The results suggest that this mechanism was not operating in our experiments.
Patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) frequently report carbohydrate craving and note that carbohydrate ingestion energizes them. Bright artificial light has been shown to reverse the symptoms of SAD, including carbohydrate craving. In this study, 16 depressed SAD patients and 16 matched controls were fed two different isocaloric meals, one rich in protein and one rich in carbohydrates, in a crossover design. Although their biochemical response in terms of plasma large neutral amino acid concentrations was identical, SAD patients reported activation following carbohydrate ingestion, whereas normal controls reported sedation. Marked ordering effects on psychological parameters were noted, suggesting that order should be taken into account as a methodological consideration in meal studies.
Carbohydrate craving can cause weight gain in affected people and is present in women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and persons with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The neurotransmitter serotonin regulates carbohydrate intake; its precursor, tryptophan, enhances serotonin release. Animal studies have shown that serotonergic drugs decrease carbohydrate consumption. Three studies of the eating patterns of over 150 obese subjects have shown that carbohydrate craving occurred at specific times, that is, at 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. A serotonergic drug (D-fenfluramine) has been shown to decrease carbohydrate consumption by 40%. Further dietary and pharmacological studies of PMS and SAD are needed to determine serotonin's involvement with symptoms of depressed mood, increased fatigue, and carbohydrate craving.
Synopsis
Seventy-six women, with a mean age of 35–7 years, who reported premenstrual craving for sweet foods in a retrospective questionnaire, were assessed prospectively with a pre- and postmenstrual eating questionnaire and daily ratings of craving, mood, irritability and breast tenderness over two menstrual cycles.
In 72 % of these women a perimenstrual pattern of food craving was confirmed. In 13 % this craving was confined to the menstrual phase. There was no consistent association between food craving and mood change, either in timing or severity. Women with more severe mood change did not report more severe craving. There was also no association between food craving and cyclical breast tenderness. Perimenstrual food craving, therefore, appears to be a cyclical phenomenon in its own right, of uncertain aetiology and worthy of further study.
The primary objective of the present investigation was to document positive changes in food cravings, food consumption, and mood changes over the menstrual cycle and to explore the relation between these factors and dieting habits. A total of 32 female undergraduates completed daily self-reports of food cravings, foods eaten, and mood, for 5 or more weeks. Comparisons of these measures in the 10 days preceding (luteal phase) and 10 days following menstruation onset (follicular phase) revealed that both food cravings and amount eaten were greater in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase. Although women also experienced less positive affect in the luteal phase, there was no correlation between mood and either cravings or amount eaten. Women rated as chronic dieters craved less than those rated an nondieters. The findings on mood and eating confirm previous research, whereas those on cravings extend such research by suggesting that carbohydrate cravings may be augmented by the luteal phase in healthy women.
One mechanism through which the brain obtains information about the composition of the diet involves food-induced changes in the plasma amino acid pattern (principally the "plasma tryptophan ratio"), which then cause increases or decreases in brain tryptophan levels, and in the synthesis of a neurotransmitter, serotonin, which is formed from the tryptophan. A carbohydrate-rich, protein-poor meal stimulates insulin secretion; this diminishes plasma levels of the amino acids which compete with tryptophan for transport into the brain (e.g., leucine, isoleucine and valine), thus increasing tryptophan's flux across the blood-brain barrier and its brain levels. In contrast, a high-protein meal contributes so much more of these latter amino acids to the blood stream than of the relatively-scarce tryptophan that it diminishes tryptophan's entry into the brain. This article reviews evidence that the brain actually utilizes the food-induced changes in brain serotonin in order to make choices about what to eat at the next meal. It also discusses the likelihood that a disturbance in this mechanism is involved in producing the "carbohydrate-craving" that is frequently associated with obesity. (This behavior which has been studied by allowing hospitalized subjects to choose freely among isocaloric meals and snacks of varying protein/carbohydrate ratios, typically manifests itself as a propensity to consume 30 per cent or more of the total daily calorie intake in the form of sweet or starchy snacks, usually at a characteristic time of day.) D-Fenfluramine, a drug that selectively enhances serotonin-mediated neurotransmission, also selectively suppresses "carbohydrate-craving" in these subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A nutritional survey, the Pittsburgh Appetite Test (PAT), was developed to study potential changes in appetite and food preference reported by patients during a depressive episode and during antidepressant treatment. We examined a group of 50 depressed outpatients who were drug-free for 2 weeks prior to treatment with imipramine and psychotherapy for 4 months. A significant increase in the desire for "sweets" (carbohydrate--fat-rich foods) was observed during a depressive episode, compared to periods when patients recalled feeling well (retrospective data). During imipramine treatment, no further changes were observed in preference for either "sweets" or carbohydrates when compared to the medication-free period. Alterations in patient self-reports of appetite and body weight change were noted during imipramine treatment.
The effect of a carbohydrate, a 20% protein, or a carbohydrate +0.3% tryptophan TRP breakfast on plasma large neutral amino acid ratios was studied in 6 healthy men. The carbohydrate-rich meal produced shifts in plasma amino acid concentrations such that plasma TRP/LNAA ratios increased from 0.13 to 0.15 (p less than 0.04) and the protein meal decreased the ratio from 0.14 to 0.11 (p less than 0.04) after 1 hour. Addition of 0.3% TRP to the carbohydrate-rich meal increased plasma TRP/LNAA ratios more than 2-fold. The TRP containing meal was thus the only one likely to influence brain 5-HT synthesis, although the difference between the plasma TRP/LNAA ratios after carbohydrate and protein breakfasts suggests that the brain may distinguish, by synthesizing more or less 5-HT, the composition of breakfast meals.
This paper reports excessive weight gain associated with craving for carbohydrates, occurring as a side effect of treatment with amitriptyline. Subjects were 51 depressed women who had responded to initial treatment with amitriptyline and remained well. Nineteen were maintained on amitriptyline for nine months; 32 had the medication withdrawn after three months. Both groups gained weight during recovery. Subsequently the amitriptyline group continued to gain weight excessively, while the drug withdrawal group did not. This difference was not due to persisting depression. Withdrawal of active drug after nine months treatment was followed by weight loss. Amitriptyline patients also reported a striking and dose related craving for carbohydrates, developing within one or two months of starting the drug. Fasting insulin and glucose, and intravenous insulin tolerance were not affected, and the mechanism of the side effect is not clear. However, in confirmation of previous work, insulin resistance was found in subjects with minor residual depression.
Based on clinical experience and following a confirmatory pilot study, a group of 300 nurses was canvassed by questionnaire concerning food cravings and men- strual periods. An association was found between the occurrence of cravings for food and/or sweets on the one hand, and premenstrual feelings of tension or depression on the other. In addition, a specific association was found between a craving for food or sweets at specific times of menstrual periods or depression and the occurrence of premenstrual fluid retention. These results suggest that it would be useful to seek a common physiological basis for food cravings, depression, and fluid retention in women.
Eating behaviour of severely depressed patients was assessed before (n = 56), after acute (n = 46) and during maintenance (n = 35) treatment and compared to matched normal controls in order to investigate the behavioural mechanisms underlying the weight gain induced by antidepressants. Assessments included food intake, appetite and food preferences. Before treatment, there was a decrease in appetite and in food intake with a relative excess of carbohydrates and a preference for sweets. Maintenance treatment was associated with substantial weight gain. All differences in eating behaviour between patients and controls disappeared, with the exception of a decrease in appetite in a subgroup of less-improved patients. These results suggest that antidepressant treatment induces weight gain by mechanisms that are largely independent of their action on mood.
This study investigated the ability of four hypnotically induced mood states (euphoria, depression, anxiety, and anger) to trigger craving and other drug-related conditioned responses in detoxified opiate abuse patients. Hypnotically induced depression produced significant increases in drug craving for opiates. Depression also tended to increase global self-ratings of opiate withdrawal. Other trends included increases in self-rated craving by induced anxiety and increases in withdrawal symptoms by induced anger. These results suggest that negative mood states, perhaps in the context of repeated attempts at self-medication, may become conditioned stimuli capable of triggering craving and other drug-related conditioned responses. The ability of depression to produce reliable effects in this particular patient group may reflect the high lifetime prevalence of depression diagnoses for this sample. The implications of these findings for therapeutic strategies are discussed.
This is the first comprehensive description of winter depression (WD), as part of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), from Norway, and one of the very few from so far north. A total of 128 media-recruited people had first been screened with the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire and were thereafter personally interviewed. The criteria for DSM-III-R mood disorder, seasonal pattern, were satisfied by 85%, whereas 73% satisfied the criteria of Rosenthal et al. for SAD. Seven percent were diagnosed as subsyndromal SAD. The main characteristics of our patient group were in reasonable accordance with other clinical SAD materials: there were 81% women; the mean age was 44 years (range: 20 to 76); the mean age for SAD debut was 24 years (range: 4 to 71); and the duration of WD was most often from October to March or April. Only 12% had ever been manic or hypomanic in summer. During their WD, most patients suffered at least one of the symptoms hypersomnia, hyperphagia or carbohydrate craving; 16% also had a craving for fatty food in winter, but this may be considered "normal" at this northerly latitude.
The authors examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and the self-reported use of alcohol, carbohydrates, and caffeine in normal volunteers and four groups of psychiatric outpatients.
Outpatients and normal volunteers were given a questionnaire asking about their use of each of the three substances in response to each of the 14 depressive symptoms on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. They also rated how much each substance improved each symptom. Twenty-six normal volunteers, 35 patients with major depression, 117 patients with seasonal affective disorder, 16 patients with alcohol dependence, and 24 patients with comorbid primary depression and secondary alcohol dependence completed the questionnaire. Test-retest reliability was established. Analysis of variance and stepwise multivariate discriminant function analyses were used to determine if diagnostic groups differed in the reported use and effect of each of the three substances.
The responses concerning use and effect of alcohol of patients with alcohol dependence with or without depression were indistinguishable from each other. The responses of the patient groups regarding caffeine and carbohydrate use did not differ from each other, but all differed significantly from the responses of normal volunteers. Discriminant function analysis distinguished alcoholics from nonalcoholics in the relationship between drinking and the symptoms of anger and anhedonia.
The relationship between symptoms and substance use varied depending on the substance. Alcoholics without depression were as likely to report drinking in response to depressive symptoms as were those who had had depression. Patients of all diagnostic groups were more likely than normal volunteers to report using caffeine and carbohydrates in response to depressive symptoms.
The study investigated the nutrient intake of depressed and nondepressed subjects.
Twenty-nine depressed subjects and a matched group of nondepressed subjects completed a 3-day food record.
Results revealed that depressed and nondepressed groups consume similar amounts of all nutrients except protein and carbohydrates. Nondepressed subjects consume more protein and depressed subjects consume more carbohydrates. The increase in carbohydrate consumption comes primarily from an increase in sucrose consumption.
The increased carbohydrate consumption is consistent with the carbohydrate cravings characteristic of the depressed and may relate to the development or maintenance of depression.
Fifty young-adult and 48 elderly Ss participated in a structured interview study on food cravings (defined as an intense desire or longing to eat a particular food). Elderly Ss were less likely than young Ss to report cravings and reported craving a smaller number of different foods. In contrast to a number of other researchers, we found a relationship between dietary restrictions and cravings. Types of food craved differed by gender and age. Women reported significantly more cravings for chocolate and for sweets than did men. However, craving for sweets declined with age among women. Cravings were not evenly distributed throughout the day, but tended to occur in the late afternoon and early evening.
This report reviews studies addressing the issue of the effect that carbohydrates have on affective behavior. The review begins with an overview of the physiologic and psychological mechanisms that have been proposed to explain a carbohydrate-induced behavioral effect. Attention is then devoted to studies that have investigated the mood-altering effect of carbohydrates on normal individuals, depressed individuals, obese individuals, and individuals with seasonal affective disorder and premenstrual syndrome. Throughout the report it is apparent that carbohydrate consumption is relevant for individuals experiencing symptoms of emotional distress, particularly symptoms indicative of depression, and that the individuals with depressive symptoms show a preference for sweet simple carbohydrates. Enduring questions permeating the diet-behavior field are delineated and future research directions are suggested.
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- H Bjorvell
- S Ronnberg
- S Rossner
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Psychobiolo-gical effects of carbohydrate and protein-rich means in patients with seasonal affective disorder and normal con-trols A sequential behavioral analysis of craving sweets in obese women Food cravings, depression, and premenstrual problems
- N E Rosenthal
- M J Genhart
- B Caballero
- F M Jacobsen
- R G Skwerer
- R D Coursey
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Depressive symptoms and the self-reported use of alcohol, caffeine, and carbohydrates in normal volunteers and four groups of psychiatric outpatients
- Leibenluft