Stress eating isn't always about craving more: What to know to avoid overeating

Many Americans are really stressed out right now. But we’re probably wrong about how stress affects our eating habits, new research suggests.

Many Americans are really stressed out right now. When we’re emotionally overwhelmed, it probably feels natural to reach for a bag of chips. But we’re probably wrong about how stress affects our eating habits, a psychologist says.

What does that mean for our waistlines?

Stress eating has long been associated with overeating, but that’s a basic misunderstanding, said Dr. Kristin Javaras, an associate psychologist at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Maybe we’re not eating as much as we think.

Much of what we know about stress eating is based on cultural cliches such as TV shows, movies or social media. Research on the behavior is mostly from surveys that rely on people remembering what they ate when going through tough times.

The problem with those surveys, Jarvaras said, is people’s perceptions often change when they’re stressed, so it can be hard for anyone to accurately describe how their eating behavior was affected.