New research from the University of Delaware suggests that distressed married couples will often engage in unhealthy eating behaviors.
After any stressful situation, it’s natural to turn to behaviors that make you feel good -- but might not be necessarily healthy. Like, after a fight with a spouse or significant other, that slice of chocolate cake in the refrigerator probably sounds like a good way to heal.
Now scientists, including those at UD, have evidence to back up the link between marital distress and unhealthy food choices.
The study examined the hormone levels and eating behaviors of 43 couples. Among the most distressed couples, the researchers found elevated levels of ghrelin - a hormone that’s thought to signal feelings of hunger in the brain. These couples in conflict also tended to consume more calories, protein, cholesterol and sodium.
But the researchers noted that these findings were only true for couples who weren’t obese.
“So it didn’t matter for obese people if they were in a happy or not so happy marriage. They were having poor diet choices regardless of what was happening in their marriage," said Lisa Jaremka, psychology professor at University of Delaware. She says hormone and diet choices for obese people are already abnormal -- which could be why the status of a relationship might not have an impact.
While it’s not surprising to connect unhealthy eating with marital distress, Jaremka says it’s important to find evidence for these beliefs and better understand how stress is connected to diet.
“Up until now there hasn’t been much empirical evidence to suggest if that belief is true one way or another," said Jaremka. "So I think it’s important to run a study like this where we’re trying to see if there’s a kernel of truth to that idea that being stressed in your marriage might influence the types of foods that you’re eating,”
