A paper just published in Clinical Psychological Science, “Novel Links Between Troubled Marriages and Appetite Regulation: Marital Distress, Ghrelin, and Diet Quality.” Here is the abstract:
“Distressed marriages enhance risk for health problems; appetite dysregulation is one potential mechanistic pathway. Research suggests that ghrelin and leptin, appetite-relevant hormones connected to shorter and longer-term energy balance, may differentially affect people with a higher versus lower body mass index (BMI). During this double-blind randomized crossover study, both members of a couple (N = 86 participants) ate a standardized meal at the beginning of two visits. Observational recordings of a marital conflict assessed marital distress. Ghrelin and leptin were sampled premeal and postmeal at 2, 4, and 7 hr. Diet quality was measured using the USDA 24-Hour Multiple-Pass Approach. People in more distressed marriages had higher postmeal ghrelin (but not leptin) and a poorer quality diet than those in less distressed marriages, but only among participants with a lower BMI. These effects were consistent for both spouses. Ghrelin and diet quality may link marital distress to its corresponding negative health effects.”
You can read the paper here.
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