| Summary: | We examined the relationship between stress, dietary restraint, and the
consumption of sweet and salty foods in a female college population. Seventy-seven
subjects completed a protocol consisting of distinct baseline, stress-induction, and
recovery phases; during which blood pressure, heart rate, and self-reported affect
levels were monitored. High and low-stress conditions were created according to the
presence or absence of harassment statements delivered while subjects completed a
series of challenging cognitive exercises during the stress-induction phase. Finally,
the association between food consumption and stress recovery was explored by giving
a portion of the high-stress subjects the opportunity to express their distress following
the cognitive tasks. Our results supported two main effects: Subjects showing
greater levels of cardiovascular arousal ate significantly less of both foods, whereas
higher restraint scores were associated with increased consumption. The interaction
between restraint and cardiovascular levels did not predict eating behavior, nor did
self-reported affect. Lastly, no evidence was found to support the hypothesis that
stress recovery would be associated with food consumption. These results support
the addition of physiological stress variables in future studies of restraint and stressrelated
eating behavior.
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