Psychiatria pre prax 6/2004

Stress, emotions and disorders of food intake

The aim of this report is to show an increase in new pieces of knowledge on mechanisms of stress in preclinical and clinical branches and their importance in disorders of food intake. Relationship of stress to somatic and psychic disease has been studied since antiquity, but in recent decades literature on this, as the one on food intake disorders, grows enormously. One of the twentieth century‘s contributions is a differentiation of general and specific aspects of stress and informations about pathophysiological and biochemical correlates of reactions to stress. In food intake disorders, an integration of clinical findings and informations from individual theoretical branches requires consolidative, conceptual work to understand etiopathogenesis of the beginning and the dynamics of development in pathological eating behaviour and mechanisms of nutrition and energy homeostasis. Literature is not consistent so far. There are some differences between clinical and preclinical branches in terminology (e.g. there is different understanding of stress tiggers – stresful life events, stress as a starter or as a complex reaction) and suitable methodological approaches for clinical research of a stress in food intake disorders are still being searched.

Keywords: stress, food intake disorders, psychological and biological and social factors.