Your friend watches an exciting sports match featuring her favorite team, anxiously eating snacks due to the intense action, suspense, and her own nervousness. Her urge to eat is likely driven by this anxiety.
Health · High School · Thu Feb 04 2021
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Your friend's urge to eat while watching an exciting sports match is a response commonly referred to as "stress eating" or "emotional eating." This happens because when someone feels anxious or stressed, the body's natural reaction is to release certain hormones, one of which is cortisol. Cortisol can increase appetite and may specifically enhance cravings for sugary, fatty, or salty foods—often found in common snacks. So, as your friend watches her favorite team and experiences intense emotions, her body is responding to the stress of the moment by signaling her to seek out comfort through food.