Stress vulnerability and Night Eating Syndrome in the general population

Aim. Night Eating Syndrome (NES) is an eating disorder characterized by the clinical features of morning anorexia, evening hyperphagia, and insomnia with awakenings followed by nocturnal food ingestion. The core clinical feature appears to be a delay in the circadian timing of food intake. Energy intake is reduced in the first half of the day and greatly increased in the second half. In particular, NES is clinically relevant because of its association with obesity. The aim of the present study was to determine the vulnerability to develop NES in the general population and to investigate the hypothesized role of acute and chronic stress in the pathogenesis of dysfunctional eating behaviors. Methods. The Night Eating Questionnaire (NFQ) and the Stress Vulnerability Scale (SVS) have been administered to 531 adults attending the Department of Science of Health at the University of L'Aquila. Socio-demographic and anthropometric features were collected through a specific questionnaire. Results. 9.3% of patients reported evening hyperphagia, while 2.7% reported nocturnal food ingestion. A negative relationship was instead found between NEQ scores and SVS "lack of social support" subscale. Conclusions. The study confirms the strong association between perceived stress, altered eating behaviors and obesity.