---
title: Do genetic influences on emotional eating change across the menstrual cycle?
description: Yes. Genetic influences on emotional eating were two times higher after ovulation compared to before ovulation. Before ovulation, environmental factors played
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/changes-in-genetic-risk-for-emotional-eating-across-the-menstrual-cycle-a-2015/
---

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- Do genetic influences on emotional eating change across the menstrual cycle?

Cohort study, 2015

# Do genetic influences on emotional eating change across the menstrual cycle?

Yes. Genetic influences on emotional eating were two times higher after ovulation compared to before ovulation. Before ovulation, environmental factors played a larger role.

 Moderate study design

460 female twins (230 twin pairs) from Michigan State University Twin Registry

## What they did

230 female twin pairs (460 twins total) from Michigan State University completed daily measures of emotional eating for 45 consecutive days. Researchers tracked menstrual cycle phase using dates and hormone levels.

## What they found

Genetic influences on emotional eating were two times higher in the post-ovulation phase compared to pre-ovulation. Before ovulation, environmental influences were stronger, including shared environmental effects that had not previously been detected for eating patterns in adult women.

## What it means for you

A woman's tendency toward emotional eating may be driven more by genes after ovulation and more by environment before ovulation. This helps explain why emotional eating changes across the cycle. The study is the first to examine this question, so larger studies are needed to confirm the findings.

460

female twins studied

230

twin pairs

2

times higher genetic influence post-ovulation

## About the study

Original title Changes in genetic risk for emotional eating across the menstrual cycle: a longitudinal study Authors Klump KL, Hildebrandt BA, O'Connor SM et al. Journal Psychological medicine Year 2015 Study design Cohort study Participants 460 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1017/s0033291715001221](https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291715001221)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Appetite and food cravings](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-food-cravings/)[Eating disorders](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-eating-disorders/)

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