Physical Activity, Stress, Sleep, and Measures of Food Cravings in Adults: An Exploratory Analysis

Background: Food cravings may be influenced by some lifestyle factors. The purpose of this study was to specifically examine how physical activity, stress, and sleep affect food cravings. Data from Phase II of the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effect of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) study were used in this exploratory analysis. Methods: The CALERIE study randomly assigned healthy adults (BMI 22-27.9 kg/m2) to either a treatment (25% caloric restriction) or control group for two years. Participants were assessed for numerous variables. For this analysis, the following measures were used: Food Craving Inventory (FCI), Food Craving Questionnaire - State (FCQ-S), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The Proc Mixed procedure in SAS was used to determine the effects of physical activity, sleep, and stress on cravings, using both the FCI and FCQ-S as the response. Results: Data from two hundred and eighteen participants were used. The overall model included physical activity (MET hours), sleep (quality and quantity), and stress levels for both the treatment and control groups. There was no significant group effect for food cravings; therefore, we combined groups for subsequent analysis. Physical activity had no significant effect on food cravings. There was a significant positive effect for stress with both the FCI (F = 16.20; p < 0.0001) and FCQ-S (F = 44.62; p < 0.0001), demonstrating that as stress increases so do cravings. There was also a significant sleep effect for FCI (F = 4.45, p = 0.0356) but not FCQ-S (F = 3.08, p = 0.081). Conclusions: Stress and possibly sleep were related to food cravings in this sample. Focusing on modifiable lifestyle factors such as sleep and stress levels may promote reduced food cravings, which could influence subsequent energy intake.