A recent study has found that women who suffer severe symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are twice as likely to be addicted to food compared to women who have no symptoms.
PTSD is a psychological condition that develops when a person is exposed to one or more traumatic event such as sexual assault, warfare, violence, among others.
According to one of the researchers, weight status is not just a matter of education and willpower, but also a matter of psychological condition.
This new study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, has found that there is a link between PTSD symptoms and psychological food dependence, also known as food addiction. However, the study does not conclude that overeating and PTSD have a direct connection.
Susan Mason of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, says that their research team does not know if such link is causal, although it proves an interesting relationship and is worth following up.
The researchers first carried out their methodology in 2008 by initially asking 49,408 female nurses about PTSD symptoms. After one year, they asked the same group about food addiction tendencies.
Results revealed that the more PTSD symptoms a woman had, the higher the tendency for her to be addicted to food.
The study's report says that such findings could be instrumental in helping and treating women with eating disorders. "Clinicians may be able to look for that information to deliver better care," Mason said.
Meanwhile, the researchers admit that their data does not explain what causes what and what comes first- PTSD or food addiction. Hopefully, their study could help fill in this gap of knowledge and encourage more studies to investigate on this, they said.
Mason emphasized that people's weight status does not simply reflect willpower or attitude, but is a product of something for complex, with psychological factors in play.
