USDA Studies Probe Connections Between Stress Hormone, Decision Making And Dieting

USDA researchers are conducting studies to find out why some dieters succeed at losing – and keeping off – weight, while others fail miserably, time after time. One study is looking at patterns of decision making,another is evaluating the levels of a stress-associated hormone known as cortisol during dieting. They found that volunteers who lost the most weight had the highest scores in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which tests decision making, differentiating good from bad, awareness of future consequences of current actions, and resisting short-term rewards in favor of longer term benefits. They also found that cortisol levels were the highest among those with the lowest IGT scores, indicating that dieting was probably a stressful activity.