Stress and snacking: A diary study of daily hassles and between-meal snacking

The relationship between self-reports of daily hassles and number of between-meal snacks consumed and the effect of moderating variables was investigated in a sample of 60 students. Respondents completed daily diaries for a period of 7 consecutive days reporting number and severity of daily hassles and number of snacks consumed. Questionnaire measures of emotional, external and restrained eating and gender were also taken. Number of hassles was significantly correlated with number of snacks consumed (r=0.312, p<0.001). This relationship was moderated by an individual difference variable, external eating: those high on external eating show significant positive relationship between hassles and snacking, while those low on external eating show no significant relationship. We found no support for the role of average severity of hassle, emotional eating, restrained eating or gender as moderators of the hassles-snacks relationship. The results suggest the need to consider external eating in examining stress-eating relationships.