The effects of early life stress on stress induced binge eating later in life

Abstract

Research has shown that stress not only affects our food intake but early life stress can affect this stress/eating relationship later in life as well. To study this, rats were subjected to early life stressors beginning on postnatal day 28 which consist of the adolescent phase of the rats lives, stressors consisted of elevated platform, damp bedding and restraint. On postnatal day 50, when rats had become adults they were then subjected to a mild electrical foot shock, after which, their intake of high palatable food was measured. Results demonstrate that rats who received early life stress ate less after the shock ( ) than rats who had not received early life stress ( ). These results suggest that early life stress increases rats’ sensitivity to stressors, thus reducing their stress related binge eating tendencies. Results obtained in this study demonstrate a potential factor that causes rats to become stress under eaters or stress over eaters.