Exploring the effects of daily hassles on eating behaviour in children: The role of cortisol reactivity

It is well established that stress is positively associated with unhealthy eating behaviours and that cortisol reactivity to stress has been found to influence the stress-eating relationship in adults. However, there is a paucity of research that has explored the daily stress-cortisol-eating relationship amongst children. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore whether the experience of daily stressors was associated with an increase in between-meal snack consumption in children over 7 days. Individual cortisol reactivity to stress in the laboratory was explored as a potential moderator of the stress-eating relationship in the real world. Twenty 8−11 year old children completed the Trier Social Stress Test (for children, TSST-C) during which 4 salivary cortisol samples were taken. Participants subsequently completed a 7-day diary that recorded daily hassles (stressors) and between-meal snack consumption. Using multi-level modelling, the results showed there were no effects of daily hassles or mood on snack consumption. However, there were cross-level interactions, such that individuals who had higher cortisol reactivity to stress in the laboratory were found to consume more total and unhealthy snacks in naturalistic settings on days with high hassles and more negative mood compared to those who exhibited low and moderate cortisol reactivity to stress. This exploratory study provides novel evidence that cortisol reactivity to stress is an important moderator of stress-eating relationship in children and that daily diary approaches are feasible in studies investigating stress and eating in children aged 8–11 years old.