this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2023
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How Chronic Stress Drives the Brain to Crave Comfort Food (www.garvan.org.au)
submitted 1 year ago by shreddy_scientist@lemmy.ml to c/science@lemmy.ml
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Stress can override natural satiety cues to drive more food intake and boost cravings for sweets.

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[–] cecirdr 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m up 20 pounds after starting a new job 1.5 years ago. It’s much more stressful. Plus, I’m naturally a worrier. Fwiw, I stress eat, but I also boredom eat. Ugh.

[–] Mutelogic@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

I'm in a similar situation! I have to fight my brain constantly when grocery shopping, to reach for fruit instead of processed snacks.

And from the article:

The researchers discovered that at the centre of the weight gain was the molecule NPY, which the brain produces naturally in response to stress. When the researchers blocked NPY from activating brain cells in the lateral habenula in stressed mice on a high-fat diet, the mice consumed less comfort food, resulting in less weight gain.

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