Survey study, 2019
Does the big hormonal surge at ovulation affect emotional eating later in the cycle?
No clear link was found between the sudden hormone changes at ovulation and later emotional eating. Overall hormone levels mattered more than the sudden changes.
What they did
375 twin sisters aged 15-25 tracked emotional eating daily for 45 days straight and provided saliva samples. Researchers measured changes in estradiol and progesterone around ovulation.
What they found
No significant associations were found between the drops in estradiol and rises in progesterone at ovulation and changes in emotional eating in the later cycle phase. This remained true even for women with binge eating episodes or the biggest hormone swings.
What it means for you
Overall hormone levels, not the sudden changes at ovulation, seem to matter for emotional eating. This suggests focusing on hormone balance rather than cycle changes might be more useful.
375
women studied
45
days of tracking
15-25
age range
About the study
- Original title
- Associations between ovarian hormones and emotional eating across the menstrual cycle: Do ovulatory shifts in hormones matter?
- Authors
- Fowler N, Keel PK, Burt SA et al.
- Journal
- The International journal of eating disorders
- Year
- 2019
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 375
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/eat.22985
Topics
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