Stress-induced eating: an alternative method for inducing ego-threatening stress.

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a modified Stroop test as a method of inducing ego-threatening stress in dieters. Twenty females completed a Stroop task and watched a fearful film, and then consumed ice cream, ad libitum, under the guise of a tasting-test. It was predicted that the Stroop task would trigger greater consumption of ice cream than a fearful film, and that this effect would be more pronounced for binge-eaters than non-binge-eaters. More ice cream was consumed following the Stroop task, however both binge-eaters and non-binge-eaters consumed more ice cream after the Stroop task than the film-task. This data suggests that the ego-threatening Stroop test has potential as a standardized method for use in studies of stress-induced eating. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.