Discomfort foods
OUR FACULTY | Fighting with your spouse could raise your blood pressure in more ways than you think.
A UD professor is part of a research team that found that hostile arguments between married partners often preceded a surge of the “I’m hungry” hormone, known as ghrelin, and led to the increased consumption of comfort food. The research also found the boost in appetite only affected those at a healthy weight or overweight, but not those who were obese.
That doesn’t mean arguments or hostility caused the hunger or poor dietary choices, just that there was a correlation—and a fairly strong one, said Lisa Jaremka, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences and lead researcher on the study.
Couples had significantly higher amounts of the appetite-triggering hormone after arguments if they were at a healthy weight or in the overweight category, while those who were obese (with BMI 30 or higher) showed no significant difference.
No such correlations were found with leptin, the appetite-suppressing hormone, and the results were consistent, regardless of gender.
The study broke new ground by exploring the body’s ability to regulate appetite after an argument with a spouse, and may help researchers understand how marital difficulties ultimately result in health problems.
“Ghrelin’s not just pushing you to eat,” Jaremka told The Today Show earlier this summer. “It’s creating a craving for specific types of foods: those that are high in sugar, high in fat and high in salt.”
Article by Beth Miller
