Corticotropin-releasing factor and ingestive behaviors

Psychological and physical stress in animals and humans has been shown to alter feeding behavior. Both the type and the duration of the stressor appear to play a role in determining the effect on food intake. In laboratory animals, some stressors, e.g., mild tail pinching, will lead to overeating, while other stressors, e.g., immobilization stress or exposure to a novel environment, result in anorexia.¹ In a study conducted in humans, we found that 44% increased eating and 48% decreased eating when stressed,² Pathological stress overeating can also be precipitated by stress, as seen in bulimia, in which the eating binge tends to be precipitated by a traumatic event occurring during a period of voluntary dieting.³ Anorexia nervosa may be considered a pathological form of stress-induced undereating.