WASHINGTON (USA Today) -- Many people say they eat more when they are under stress. Others eat less.

But people under chronic stress are more likely than others to say they eat fattening foods and feel that their eating is out of control, according to a study presented at a recent meeting of the Obesity Society.

In one of the largest surveys ever to examine the relationship between chronic stress and eating behaviors, researchers at the University of California-San Francisco questioned more than 600 women who were overweight or obese about their eating habits and life stressors.

The women were categorized as having chronic stress if they had ongoing stressful situations such as being unable to pay their rent or mortgage; feeling stuck in a job they don't like; having a spouse or partner who expects too much of them or doesn't understand them; having a child who isn't doing well in school; or acting as a family caregiver for someone in poor health.

The researchers found that people who had greater chronic stress were more likely than the other survey participants to say they ate high-fat foods and felt they lacked control over their eating and hunger.

Those who were chronically stressed also were more likely to rely on "rigid restraint" to try to control their weight, including vowing to avoid fattening foods and skipping meals, says psychologist Elissa Epel, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the UCSF. "We know from other research that these techniques tend to backfire and people end up overeating and gaining weight," she says.

"Chronic stress really taxes people's ability to self-monitor their eating behavior. In our current environment of abundantly rich food, we need every ounce of conscious effort to manage our eating, because eating is an automatic behavior we can do too easily and too often if we're not mindful."

Lisa Groesz, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF, says people under chronic stress should try to notice the difference between emotional hunger and true physical hunger. By being more mindful of their hunger and stress, they can better regulate when, what and how much they eat and keep it more in line with their bodies' needs, she says.

Stress eating

Almost half of people in the USA say they overeat or eat unhealthful foods to help manage stress. Here's what they say they consume:

Chocolate and candy 65%

Ice cream 56%

Chips 53%

Cookies/cakes 49%

Fast food 46%

Source: 2007 survey from the American Psychological Association

(c) USA TODAY