Stress as a newborn leads to adulthood anxiety and a preference for 'comfort foods' according to the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behaviour Stress in first days of life means you're more likely to crave unhealthy food Poor eating habits are often an attempt to 'self-medicate' the stress away By Charlie Mccann Trying to shed a couple of pounds but bedeviled by your fridge? Stop blaming yourself and start blaming your parents. A new study shows your predilection for unhealthy food may be due to the way you were treated in the first few days of life. Research suggests that exposure to stress as a newborn not only leads to increased anxiety in adulthood, it means you're more likely to crave 'comfort' food. It is thought that this occurs as an attempt to self-medicate - eat warm, cosy food to unwind and distract yourself from your problems and anxieties. Blame your parents: New research shows that newborns who experience stress indulge in comfort food when adults The study, conducted by the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, a U.S. group that researches aspects of eating and drinking behaviour, examined litters of rats to see whether they preferred comfort food as adults after being given less material to nest with as newborns. The rodents who experienced a harder time nesting - in other words, endured greater stress levels - bee-lined for unhealthy food as adults. Lead researcher Tania Machado said, 'To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that comfort food preference could be enhanced by such an early stress exposure.' The study could have implications for approaches to primary care and childhood nutrition, especially in 'vulnerable' populations - those from poor backgrounds with less resources at hand. But for the moment, it means that neonatal treatment - rather than simply a sweet tooth and lack of discipline - may account for the tendency of some to 'eat their feelings'. A massive 65 per cent of dieters say that skipping breakfast increased the likelihood of snacking later Many of us reach for a biscuit or chocolate bar when we're feeling a little fed-up, but when are the biggest dieting dangers? Sunday evening, with its pre-Monday blues, has been identified as the time we're most likely to comfort eat The other dieting danger zone is between 3pm and 5pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the worst days for dieting Skipping breakfast and a bad day at work are key factors in comfort eating; 65% of people saying they raided the biscuit barrel if they have had a bad day at the office Most over-eating happens at or after dinner time: 65% of people are most likely to overeat at dinner time, while only 3% do so at breakfast On average, we eat two extra snacks after a meal. A third of comfort eaters scoff two units after succumbing to hunger pangs - one unit being a packet of crisps, a biscuit, a piece of toast or a chocolate snack. Survey by Forza