Eating behavior following stress in women with and without bulimic symptoms

Objective: This study examined the effects of an interpersonal stressor on subsequent calorie intake in females with (N = 20) and without (N = 20) significant bulimic symptomatology. Method: Subjects participated in two laboratory sessions that differed according to experimental condition (stress versus no stress), completed self-report measures of mood and anxiety before and after the experimental task, and were provided with an array of snack foods after each session. Results: Counter to the hypothesis, women with bulimic symptoms did not differentially increase their intake when exposed to stress. However results for the intake of each macronutrient indicated that both bulimic and control women increased their consumption of carbohydrates following the stressor. Thus, stress was related to increased carbohydrate consumption by all subjects but did not differentially affect the consumption of women with bulimic symptoms. Conclusions: It may be that women with bulimic symptoms are not differentially vulnerable to eating in response to stress or that current laboratory paradigms are unable to detect differences in eating following a stressor.