The stress of married life would make you fat, suggest researchers from the University of Delaware and Ohio State (United States). 43 couples, married for 3 years or more, were followed for the study, published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science. To reach these conclusions, the researchers filmed the spouses eating as they tried to solve a relationship problem between them. By filming them, the researchers observed in particular how the partners communicated, and they measured the levels of hostility and tension between them.
In addition, they performed the blood tests on the participants to record their hormone levels before and after the exchanges. Weight, height, diet, BMI and typical diet of each participant were also recorded.
The results of the study show that the more hostile the exchanges between the couples, the more the levels of ghrelin, a digestive hormone which stimulates the appetite, increase in the participants after their discussions. However, this was only the case for participants with a BMI between 18 (normal BMI) and 25 (the threshold at which one is overweight).
According to the researchers, an increase in hunger after an argument could have the long-term adverse health effects. This encourages more to eat under the influence of emotions, to have cravings and being overweight.
“Ghrelin does more than just make you eat,” lead study author Lisa Jaremka of the University of Delaware told the Today website. “It creates cravings for specific foods: those that are too sweet, too fatty and too salty. »
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