LINKING STRESS AND RISK FOR PEDIATRIC OBESITY : EVIDENCE FROM THE CHRONIC STRESS AND ACUTE STRESS REACTIVITY LITERATURES Chronic Stress Chronic stress

Abstract

A growing body of literature suggests that stress, broadly defined as an individual’s negative response to an aversive or threatening stimulus, is one contributor to the development and maintenance of obesity in youth. Stress has been associated with increased food intake and cravings for comfort foods (highly palatable, energydense foods) among adults and children. The literature on chronic stress and obesity risk, which is based on cross-sectional and longitudinal methodologies, focuses primarily on life stressors. A separate and smaller body of experimental literature has examined the effects of subjective (ie, perceived stress) and objective (eg, cortisol reactivity) acute stress response and obesity risk, including the effects of