Scientists have established a link between the stress women with children experience, be it financial difficulties, unstable romantic relationships or frequent travel, and the amount of fast-food consumed.
Stress is what causes overweight and low-income mothers of young children to eat fast food and fatty foods, says a new study.
The research involved 338 participants, overweight or obese mothers between the ages of 18 and 39, with low income and with children up to five years old.
The study showed that decreased stress was the key factor influencing female participants to reduce their consumption of fast, high-fat foods. The lifestyle intervention helped reduce stress for mothers.
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Reducing a single point on the scale that measures stress was related to a nearly 7% reduction in how often women ate fat foods.
During the research, participants watched a total of 10 videos in which women like them gave unscripted testimonies about healthy eating and food preparation, stress management, and physical activity.
Many participants admitted it was the first time they realized they were stressed, according to Mei-Wei Chang, lead author of the study and associate professor of nursing at Ohio State University.
They were aware that they were impatient, had head and neck pain, and trouble sleeping, but did not know that they were signs of stress.
“If you don’t know how to manage stress, then when you are so stressed out, why would you care about what you eat?” said the scientist, quoted by a statement from the university.
According to Mei-Wei Chang, these women face a number of challenges that could cause them stress: financial difficulties, dilapidated housing, frequent moves, unstable romantic relationships and homes full of young children.
Unfortunately, many stressors in the participants’ lives are not under their control. Therefore, to manage stress, the researchers advised women to change their thinking and not blame themselves when things went wrong.
“We teach them ways to control their negative emotions – remember that this is temporary, and you can get through it. And give them confidence to look to the future,” Mei-Wei Chang said.
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The findings of the study were published in the journal Nutrients.