In times of stress, ghrelin triggers craving for pleasure foods

Scientists have conducted a study that explains the cause behind the craving for high calorie pleasure foods like chocolates, mashed potatoes and ice creams during times of stress.

A research team from the UT Southwestern Medical Center studied the impact of ghrelin, the so-called hunger hormone involved in triggering such a reaction to high stress situations in mice.

“This helps explain certain complex eating behaviors and may be one of the mechanisms by what obesity develops in people exposed to psychosocial stress,” said Dr. Jeffrey Zigman, assistant professor of internal medicine and psychiatry.

“We think these findings are not just abstract and relevant only to mice, but likely are also relevant to humans,” he added.

Scientists are aware that fasting causes ghrelin to be released from the gastrointestinal tract, following it the hormone plays a role in sending hunger signals to the brain.

The study on mice showed that the stress-induced rise in ghrelin lead to overeating and increased body weight, suggesting a mechanism for the increased prevalence of weight-related issues observed in humans with chronic stress and depression.

“Our findings show that ghrelin signalling is crucial to this particular behaviour and that the increase in ghrelin which occurs as a result of chronic stress is probably behind these food-reward behaviours,” Zigman added.

The study appears online in a future print edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.