Stress and Eating Habits

Stress and Eating Habits in College Students

Caroline Auwarter

00327-1: Consumer Health Decisions

JoAnne Bullard

11 March 2015

Rowan University

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Stress and Eating Habits

INTRODUCTION

For many, college can be the most stressful time of their life. Stress can build up

from academics, finances, and personal needs. Academically, stress results from picking

the right classes to passing them. Financially, paying for tuition and food, in addition to

the cost of books and supplies can add stress to any college student. Along with the stress

from these responsibilities, maintaining personal needs such as having a social life,

having intimate relationships, and staying healthy are important as well. For high school

graduates beginning their college career, the start of their new journey can be a very

stressful experience from the transition from adolescence to adulthood is a time of great

stress. Many students find their years at college to be a stressful experience and reported

being “overwhelmed” with responsibilities (Pedersen, 2011). A study that elevated the

cardiovascular health needs of college students showed that almost 60 percent of the

students rated their level of stress high or very high (Nguyen-Michel, Unger, Hamiliton,

& Spruijt-Metz, 2006). Stress has a strong effect on the body and causes individuals to

react in different ways. A common reliever to stress involves turning to food. Food may

become a comfort to some students experiencing high levels of stress and because of this,

eating habits change.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Does the stress that college students’ face have an impact on their eating habits? If

so, is this a positive or negative impact?

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Stress and Eating Habits

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM

Stress can have an affect on the body in many ways. In this case, it is important to

show that stress can alter a person’s eating habits, specifically a college student.

Conducting this research will inform students about the reasoning as to why eating habits

are affected by stress. The research will display examples and research by surveying

current college students on their stress levels and eating habits. This research will benefit

any college student whose stressors affect their eating habits. It will offer insight into the

variety of eating habits other students go through during stressful times.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Majority of college students are living in stressful environments, triggered by

many different stressors. Stress occurs when there are demands on an individual that

exceeds his or her coping capabilities (Gower, Hand, & Crooks, 2002). The most

common stressor for any college student refers to examination stress. The thought of

having to take a test and being fully prepared to achieve a good grade causes a student to

react in a stressful manner. The stress rises when studying and trying to understand the

material as well as providing enough time to prepare. Evidence suggests that the stress of

taking an exam increases elevated activity in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis,

which increases the release of cortisol. (Weekes, Lewis, Patel, Garrison-Jakel, Berger, &

Lupien, 2006). Coritsol, a hormone produced in the adrenal gland, is referred to as the

stress hormone due to its involvement in the body’s reaction to stress. Besides receiving

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high grades, other sources of stress include increasing amounts of homework, confusion

of assignments, and the awkward, uncomfortable classrooms (Ross, Neibling, & Heckert,

1999). In addition to these, relationships with family and friends, eating and sleeping

habits, and loneliness affect a student’s stress level (Ross, Neibling, & Heckert, 1999). A

study conducted to compare the relationship between stress and eating habits of college

students revealed that as stress levels increase, food consumption increases as well. The

results implied that the more stress a person feels in situation, the more likely they are to

overeat or emotionally eat. (Gower, Hand, & Crooks, 2002).

Emotional eating can be defined as the tendency of overeating in response to a

negative emotion. It is a type of reaction some people have in regards to being stressed. A

study was conducted to explore the relationship amongst stress, emotional eating, and

eating dysregulation. It was found that individuals who experienced heightened stress

levels also suffered from lower eating regulation ability (Tan & Chow, 2014). Also, high

eating dysregulation mediated the association between stress and emotional eating (Tan

& Chow, 2014).

A study conducted to investigate disturbed eating behaviors related to

psychographic characteristics in college students resulted in students engaging in a

variety of disturbed eating behaviors (Quick & Byrd-Bredbenner, 2013). It consisted of

three sections: basic demographic characteristics, eating behaviors, and psychographic

characteristics associated with eating behaviors. Negative eating habits consisted of binge

eating, restraint from eating, and only eating junk foods. It was also reported that students

were not absorbing key nutrients for their body such as folic acid, calcium, potassium,

fiber, and iron. The stress of emerging into adulthood as well as the stresses of school

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greatly impact a student’s eating habits. This study also reported that the rate of females

participating in binge eating has doubled since a previous study. The number of students

choosing unhealthy eating habits is constantly climbing. Results showed that one-quarter

of women and one-fifth of men engaged in dietary restraint. One in seven reported

regularly binge eating. One-third of students use inappropriate compensatory behaviors

such as self-induced vomiting, medicine misuse and excessive exercise, as a means for

controlling weight and shape. (Quick & Byrd-Bredbenner 2013). This study focused on

the stress college students face in regards to body image. Weight is something that

everyone stresses about but for college students it appears to be worse. Both males and

females are turning to in unhealthy eating behaviors to have the body imaged expected.

The stress of beginning college and the journey to adulthood can be associated

with the saying “freshman 15.” This saying refers to first year college students gaining

fifteen pounds throughout their first year due to all the changes in environment and

stressors. A study conducted to research the effects of freshmen students living on a

college campus showed that reasons for weight gain were due to environment and

behavior changes (Yoon, Kim, & Lee). Living on campus can be a big adjustment

because students are responsible for themselves, without any parental guidance or

supervision. Because of this, students are free to make their own decisions. For instance,

they are able to go get a bite to eat at anytime instead of waiting for dinner to be cooked

for them at home. The food provided for students on campus may not also be the

healthiest choice, but is always readily available. Colleges and universities recommend

students living on campus to purchase meal plans, which offer unlimited amounts of food

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choices around campus. Because of this female freshman who lived on-campus gained

weight 34 times faster than their non-collegiate peers (Yoon, Kim, & Lee).

METHODS

Research for this survey consisted of a survey which focused on stress related

questions and eating habits. It was offered to current college students of any class rank,

living on campus. It was important to focus on those living on campus and in a new

environment because that can be a major stressor for most. Gender and age were taken

into consideration, therefore participants were required to specify. Race was not an

important factor in the research. The survey asked these questions:

Stress and Eating Habits Survey

Age:

Gender:

Class rank (circle one): Freshmen Sophomore Junior Senior

Please rate each situation on how stressful it is in your life using a scale of 0-5.

0= no stress 2= very little stress 3= neutral 4= somewhat stressful 5=very stressful

1. Living away from home __

2. Speaking in front of a class __

3. Studying for exams __

4. Finals week __

5. Money __

6. Peer Pressure__

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Stress and Eating Habits

7. Relationships __

8. Body image __

9. Having a social life during school __

10. Getting enough sleep __

Please circle the answer that best describes you:

1. Do you tend to drink more caffeine (coffee, energy drinks) during times of many

homework assignments and tests to study for?

A. Yes B. No

2. How often do you visit the food court during the day?

A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 or more

3. During midterms and finals week, does your food consumption increase or decrease?

A. Increase B. Decrease

4. How you would rate your diet?

A. Very Healthy B. Healthy C. Somewhat healthy D. Unhealthy

5. Level of alcohol consumption per week:

A. High B. Moderate C. Low D. None

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RESULTS

The survey handed out resulted in high amounts of stress related eating habits. Of

the 10 participants, 9 (90%) rated finals week as a very stressful time in their life. Only

20% rated living at school was most stressful. 100% of participants answered yes to an

increase in food consumption during finals week. Also, 100% of participants answered

yes to drinking more caffeine during times of many homework assignments and exams.

Caffenine increase

Food Consumption increase

Living at school

Finals Week

0
2
4
6
8
10

Comparing males to females, there were some differences in what each gender thought to

be most stressful. 80% of females rated body image as very stressful, where as only 20%

of males did. 60% of both male and female rated having a social life as somewhat

stressful. 50% of males revealed high levels of alcohol consumption per week, as only

30% of females did. Both male and female increased in caffeine intake during high

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amounts of schoolwork, at 100%.

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10

6
Male

4 Female

0
Body image Having a Social life High levels of Caffiene
Alochol Consumption
Consumption Increase

DISCUSSION

The results from this research show that there are many things to stress over

during college. The most common stressor was finals week. The increased stress due to

finals week led to an increase in food consumption as well as caffeine consumption. The

impact of stress that college students face during their time in school can be one that is

negative. During stressful times, eating habits, patterns, and behaviors change. Staying up

late to finish a paper or study for an exam leads to students consuming more caffeine to

have the energy to get things done. Food consumption is an easy way to cope with the

stress of schoolwork. Along with the stress of schoolwork, other stressors have a negative

impact on college students such as body weight/image. Students are choosing to partake

in unhealthy ways in order to look a certain way. In my research, I found that females are

under a large amount of stress due to body image. Similarly, one-third of students use

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inappropriate compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, medicine misuse

and excessive exercise, as a means for controlling weight and shape. (Quick & Byrd-

Bredbenner 2013). If given the opportunity to do the study again, I would take on more

participants to gather more information. I would also investigate the difference of eating

habits between the common college student living on campus and a student living off

campus.

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References:

Adam Tanja & Epel Elissa. (2007). Stress, Eating and the reward system
Elservier Physiology & Behavior 91 449–458

Fogle Gretchen & Pettijohn Terry. (2013). Stress and Health Habits in College Students
Open Journal of Medical Psychology

Gower Brittany, Hand Christina E., Crooks, Zachariah K. (2002).

The Relationship Between Stress and Eating in College- Aged Students.
The Undergraduate Research Committee, Huntington Unviersity.

Pederson, Daphne. (2012).

Stress Carry-Over and College Student Health Outcomes.
College Student Journal.

Quick V.M. & Byrd-Bredbenner C. (2013). Disturbed eating behaviours and associated
psychographic characteristics of college students.
J. Hum. Nutr. Diet. 26 (Suppl. 1), 53–63

Tan, Cin Cin, & Chow, Chong. (2013).

Stress and Emotional Eating: The mediating role of eating dysregulation.
Personality and Individual Differences, Elsevier

Yoon, Aram, Kim, Kijeong, & Lee, Sukho. (2014).

The Effects of Residence on the Eating and Exercise Habits of College Freshman
in the US.
International Journal of Applied Sports Science

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