Nutrition and psyche
Everyone probably knows from their own experience that there are many interactions between the psyche and our diet: If you are under a lot of stress at work or with your family, you often tend to reward yourself for the stressful day with mostly unhealthy snacks, fast food or sweets.
What are the connections on a physical and psychological level behind these behavior patterns? Does the psyche influence our eating behavior or is it the other way around and does our eating affect how we feel? In the following article, we will take a closer look at the findings on this topic obtained from studies.
The most important facts in brief:
- The close connection between nutrition and the psyche is undisputed and can be felt by everyone in everyday life
- In addition to direct effects, chronic stress in everyday life has many long-term consequences, all of which promote obesity and unhealthy eating behavior
- In the therapy of obesity and also in the change of lifestyle, the psychological component must not be overlooked under any circumstances; parallel to a healthy diet, relaxation procedures should always be established, so that food is not misused as a reward in stressful times
Development of the state of eating in Germany
While there are no statistical surveys on the development of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia in Germany, the rapidly increasing number of obese people in Germany is striking: According to the survey of the Federal Statistical Office, 62.1% of male adults in Germany were overweight in 2017, i.e. had a BMI above 25, and even 18.1% of them were obese ( BMI > 30).
Within the last 20 years, the number of overweight persons in Germany has thus increased by almost 8 %. One of the most important reasons for this development, in addition to lack of exercise, is an unbalanced diet. Although there is now everywhere, in the social networks, in the form of guidebooks, magazines or podcasts, accessible to everyone information about healthy eating. So, even if currently it is no longer a hurdle to deal with the knowledge of a balanced diet, a large part of the population fails to implement it.
Effects of Corona
The Corona pandemic has also further driven this negative trend: 40% of the participants in a survey conducted by the Technical University of Munich together with the opinion research institute Forsa stated that they had gained weight since the start of the pandemic. On average, this is around 5.6 kg. In addition, according to the survey, one in two people had taken less exercise than before Corona. It is also striking that people who already had an elevated BMI before the pandemic have continued to gain weight. The head of the Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Nutritional Medicine (EKFZ) Hauner sums it up as follows: “Corona is thus fuelling the obesity pandemic”.
In addition to the loss of exercise opportunities due to temporary closures of gyms and swimming pools, stress, which citizens in Germany increasingly felt during the pandemic, is a key driver of negative eating behavior. Statistics from SwissLife show that 80% of Germans suffer from stress, while the figure for healthcare workers is as high as 91%, and for almost one in three, stress has increased since Corona. This development makes sense, because a loss of leisure activities, social contacts and a simultaneously increased workload, especially in the health sector, certainly does not contribute to relaxation. In addition, in many cases, difficulties with childcare are compounded when kindergartens close and school lessons are to be conducted online.
Stress on a biochemical level
It is interesting to take a closer look at the stress factor on a physiological and biochemical level:
Stress is a program in the body that is essential for survival in order to be able to react adequately to acute dangers: Via an activation of the sympathetic nervous system, i.e. the autonomic nervous system, the body is set to “Fight or Flight”: Fight or Flight. In the Stone Age, these reactions were essential for survival, but the stress that people feel today usually has triggers other than the threat of wild animals. However, the physical response to our stresses today, many of which are also chronic, are still designed for brief fight-or-flight scenes.
Stress leads to a variety of bodily reactions, although only one part can be discussed here, namely the effects of increased cortisol levels. In the adrenal cortex, increased cortisol is produced and released into the blood during stress. This “stress hormone” leads to the mobilization of energy stores, i.e. increased blood glucose levels and increased new glucose (sugar) formation in the body, which leads to a reduction in protein stores and thus muscle mass. In the long term, this can lead to the development of diabetes mellitus.
There is an increase in the feeling of hunger, down-regulation of the immune system, anti-inflammation, an increase in blood pressure and, in the long term, a decrease in bone density leading to osteoporosis. It also binds two different receptors in the brain: One is that cortisol can increase alertness. However, it is precisely when cortisol levels are high that they can promote the onset of bad moods, depression and learning difficulties.
Consequences of chronic stress
The bottom line is that the consequences of long-term stress are extremely problematic and exacerbate the already dramatic increases in obesity, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. In addition, depressive moods worsen and vicious circles can develop in which the constant stress and the resulting high cortisol levels lead to cravings, especially for quickly available energy in the form of simple carbohydrates such as white flour and sugar, which in turn lead to obesity. Behavioral patterns manifest themselves in which unbalanced eating is established as a reward for strenuous days, and those affected slide deeper into obesity.
So what specific conclusions can be drawn from what we know about the connection between psyche and diet?
Conclusion:
It is important to be aware of the connection between mental state and eating behavior.
Before compulsively trying to lose weight or live healthily, one should also become aware of the stress to which one is exposed in everyday life and, parallel to a change in diet and lifestyle, also think about relaxation techniques, so that the step towards a healthier life does not enter one’s life as a further stress factor and one falls back into old behavior patterns in frustration after a disciplined phase.
If nutrition is approached too compulsively and one loses all joy thereby, one threatens not only to get into an eating disorder. Then the actually enjoyable and relaxing eating process turns into a new stress factor, which leads to the problems described above.
Text-Sources:
(1) Deutzmann R. Glucocorticoide. In: Rassow J, Hauser K, Deutzmann R, Netzker R, Hrsg. Duale Reihe Biochemie. 4. Auflage. Stuttgart: Thieme; 2016.
(2) Else Kröner-Fresenius-Zentrum für Ernährungsmedizin und Technische Universität München: Corona befeuert eine andere Pandemie; 01.06.2021
(3) https://www.swisslife.de/ueber-swiss-life/presse/pressemitteilungen/newsfeed/2020/11-18.html; Stand: 19.09.2021
(4) Anja Schienkiewitz, Gert B. M. Mensink, Ronny Kuhnert, Cornelia Lange:
(5) Übergewicht und Adipositas bei Erwachsenen in Deutschland: Journal of Health Monitoring · 2017 2(2) DOI 10.17886/RKI-GBE-2017–025, Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin
(6) Statistisches Bundesamt: Entwicklung von Übergewicht und Adipositas unter Männern in Deutschland bis 2017; Veröffentlicht von Rainer Radtke, Stand: 15.06.2021
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