---
title: Do hormone changes during the menstrual cycle cause increases in emotional eating?
description: Yes. Changes in estrogen and progesterone together predict changes in emotional eating, with the highest emotional eating occurring during the midluteal phase
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-interactive-effects-of-estrogen-and-progesterone-on-changes-in-emotional-2013/
---

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- Do hormone changes during the menstrual cycle cause increases in emotional eating?

Study, 2013

# Do hormone changes during the menstrual cycle cause increases in emotional eating?

Yes. Changes in estrogen and progesterone together predict changes in emotional eating, with the highest emotional eating occurring during the midluteal phase when progesterone peaks.

 Moderate study design

196 women

## What they did

196 women tracked their emotional eating daily and provided saliva samples for hormone measurement for 45 consecutive days.

## What they found

Changes in estrogen and progesterone together predicted changes in emotional eating. Emotional eating was highest during the midluteal phase, when progesterone is at its peak and estrogen has a secondary peak.

## What it means for you

Hormone fluctuations during the menstrual cycle directly influence emotional eating. This is the largest study of this topic and used daily measurements, making findings more reliable than previous much smaller studies. A limitation is that the study does not explain the underlying mechanisms.

196

women studied

45

consecutive days tracked

## About the study

Original title The interactive effects of estrogen and progesterone on changes in emotional eating across the menstrual cycle Authors Klump KL, Keel PK, Racine SE et al. Journal Journal of abnormal psychology Year 2013 Study design Study Participants 196 What was tested None (observation with hormone and eating tracking) Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1037/a0029524](https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029524)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Appetite and food cravings](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-food-cravings/)[Eating disorders](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-eating-disorders/)

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Randomised trial, 1995

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