Overweight and Stressed

[WavyDavey]

I ran across an interesting study that looked at the relationship between social stress and being overweight.

Points:

Stress has long been associated with changes in dietary preference, food intake, weight gain, and fat accrual.

Common psychosocial stressors include low socioeconomic status, personal conflicts with friends and family, stressful work environments, lack of adequate social support, poor self-esteem, trying to balance home and work life, or caring for a sick loved one.

Because these are chronic types of stressors, they contribute to increased weight gain and visceral adiposity.

In addition to the metabolic effects, stress can also affect appetite and influence dietary preference. These effects are not always consistent—many people report that they tend to gain weight when they are stressed, whereas others report loss of appetite.

Another factor is pre-existing weight: men and women that are overweight or at the upper limits of “normal” weight are more likely to gain weight in response to stress than those that are of lower weight.

Many people who increase food intake in response to stress report craving foods high in fats and sugar. This “comfort food” effect is thought of as non-homeostatic feeding and is proposed to activate brain reward systems and dampen stress responses.

One recent follow-up found that men and women who reported long-term conflicts within, or lack of support from, their closest relationships were more likely to have had an increase in waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) over the study period.

[WendyB]

Thanks! This is good info!