Stress, time distortion, and failure to recover among obese individuals: Implications for weight gain and dieting

Abstract

The present study evaluated the pattern of time perception distortions for 31 obese and 30 nonobese individuals when stress was induced and then removed. A 2 × 3 repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate group differences in time perception for baseline, stress, and postsress conditions. At baseline, no between-group differences were found. However, obese subjects showed a significant increase in internal clock rate over nonobese subjects during the stress period which was maintained throughout the postress period. These findings suggest that obese individuals perceive time as passing more slowly when under stress and maintain this time distortion after external stress has been removed. Implications for weight gain and failure to sustain dieting behaviors for obese individuals are discussed along with suggestions for future research.