Researchers Say PTSD and Food Addiction May Be Linked

Image Source White/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and food addiction may be linked, researchers say.

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, researchers surveyed 49,408 women who found that those women who self-identified as having PTSD symptoms also had the highest rate of self-reporting food addiction symptoms.

Approximately eight percent of respondents reported having many PTSD symptoms, about 73 percent had some symptoms and 19 percent reported none. Among those women with the highest number of PTSD symptoms, 18 percent also self-identified as having food addiction symptoms.

The study’s authors have theorized that those people suffering from PTSD may be using food to cope with psychological stress.

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