People often questioned that why they tend to overeat when they feel stressed?

Now, a recent study conducted by the Texas researchers revealed that it’s because of "hunger hormone" ghrelin that also has an "anti-depressant" effect.

The empty stomach releases Ghrelin into the bloodstream before moving to the brain, where it actuates feelings of hunger.

It is known that fasting causes ghrelin to be produced in the gastrointestinal area, and the hormone then plays a vital role in sending hunger signals to the brain.

A research group at the University of Texas has discovered that the level of ghrelin increases during chronic stress, which in turn sends hunger signals to the brain -- however, behaviors linked to anxiety decrease when the "hunger hormone" levels rise.

Study’s lead researcher Jeffrey Zigman said, “Our findings suggest that chronic stress causes ghrelin levels to go up and behaviours associated with depression and anxiety decrease when ghrelin levels rise. An unfortunate side effect is increased food intake and body weight.”

The researchers have based their decisions on a study of rodents. They limited the food consumption of the mice for 10 days, thereby causing the ghrelin levels of the animals to increase fourfold.

Compared with rodents who had free access to food, their calorie-restricted counterparts showed inferior levels of anxiety when being subjected to mazes and other behaviour examinations.

The study findiggs are published in the journal ‘Nature Neuroscience.’