EFFECT OF STRESS ON EATING HABITS AND BODY MASS INDEX

Background: There is a strong belief that stress levels can influence the eating habits and may affect weight and Body Mass Index. The association between stress and weight gain is less clear. Stress may lead to changes in dietary habit that lead to weight change with various effects related to sex, body mass index (BMI) in response to stress. Objective: to show the effect of stress on BMI among Saudi population. Objective: to show the effect of stress on BMI among Saudi population. Methods: This is a community-based cross-sectional study on a total of 571 random participants of Saudi population were included in this study. The study period was from October 2018 to January 2019. Participants filled the self-reported pre-designed online questionnaire after a brief introduction to explain the aim of study to them. Data was analyzed using SPSS V.16.0. Chi-square test was used to examine the association between different variables. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result: Regarding the level of daily stress, our study reported moderate stress by 47.3% followed by high level 26.4%, to level 15.4% and very high level stress by 10.9%. But regarding the body mass group, our study reported that the majority of participants were obese 40.6% followed by normal weight 31.3% and overweight 26.1%. We found that there was relation between psychic stress and Body Mass Index in 60.9% of cases and this relation was weight gain in 49.9% and weight loss in 20%. As regards reactions to stress 30.6% of cases deal with stress by sleeping, 24.7% by eating and 12.4% by drugs. Regarding the preferred meals our study reported, carbohydrates 52.7%, protein 27%, fat 10.3% and fibers 10%. Conclusion: in our study, there is an evidence that stress can influence the eating habits and may affect body weight and Body Mass Index.