Nature Vs. Nurture: Female Stress Eating

As I mentioned in my last post, my husband has been stuck at home recently while he recovers from his appendectomy.  This had provided he and I with ample time to discuss the particulars of life.  One of our most recent topics of discussion, and subsequently our most recent topic of disagreement, has been on the matter of female stress eating.

Much to my worry, my eleven month old daughter began tripling her food consumption last week amidst the family drama.  She had started eating more in the weeks prior, but last week in particular, her eating skyrocketed.  She rarely slept and wanted to eat every hour or so.  It seemed she was consuming more than would be possible for a child her size.

My husband was not worried, nor was he surprised.  Of course she's gorging, he says.  She is anxious.  And when females are anxious, they eat.

No, no, no, I said.  She's 11 months old.  Stress eating doesn't start that young.  It's a cultural thing, not a biological one.

This can't be true, he replies, or else what you've told me in the past isn't true.  You've told me before that you can't help but stress eat because you're a female.

At first I thought he was just playing me so that I would finally admit that I was making excuses for my frequent gorging when I'm stressed.  Alright, I thought to myself, you win.  But truly, he was being serious.  He has decided that it is a perfectly female thing to do and that it is most certainly a biological trait.  No matter how much I love the idea that I would have a solid excuse to eat ice cream on a bad day, it just doesn't seem like my genetic code is also encouraging me to do so.

These are the times when my interest in anthropology kicks in and I'm wondering if this is as typical an event in other areas of the world as it is here in America.  And, please do note that I'm not saying every woman has this response to stress.  And certainly my husband isn't either.  But at this point, it does bring up some intriguing questions....  Is this as common in other countries as it is in America?  If so, is it because there is a biological element to it that to a degree cannot be avoided?  And if so, does this speak to present "dieting" fads and practices....??

Well, there's your question for the day.  Interesting to think about, no?  What do you think?