Comfort eating ‘due to childhood stress’

OUR tendency to comfort eat is determined by childhood factors such as stress rather than genes, a groundbreaking study has found.

Researchers believe those who overeat at times of emotional upheaval develop this relationship with food early on in life.

Influences could include experiencing stress at the dinner table, or how parents implemented feeding practices. The same may be true for those who lose their appetite when they feel troubled, experts say.

The study, from University College London and published in the journal Pediatric Obesity, suggests genes are ‘ largely unimportant’ when it comes to comfort eating.

Instead, environmental factors – such as home life – have the biggest influence. Moritz Herle, who co-led the study, said: ‘This study supports our previous findings suggesting that children’s emotional over and under- eating are mostly influenced by environmental factors.... and that genes are largely unimportant for emotional overeating in childhood.’

The study is based on an analysis of data on almost 400 British twins at the age of four.

Study co- author Clare Llewellyn said the findings were unusual because many other food-related traits have been shown to have a genetic link – such as fussiness or how quickly we feel full. She added that a tendency to over-eat in response to negative emotions was a risk factor for developing obesity.