In a recent American Journal of Epidemiology report, Jason P. Block and colleagues report that stressing can cause overweight people to gain more weight.
Subjects with higher BMIs at the start of the study who reported greater “psychosocial stress” – related to job, family, and social life – gained weight over the course of this 9-year study. Participants were 1,355 individuals between the ages of 25 and 64.
Women and men differed in their reactions to stress. Women found job demands, family strains, difficulty paying bills and “perceived constraints” as more stressful. Men reported lack of decision-making power at work and lack of opportunity to learn new skills as more stress-provoking.
Researchers related the weight gain to different hormone interactions within the body. One possible cause could be increased levels of a hormone called cortisol, with levels that rise when a person feels stressed. Another mode of weight gain could affect many hormones involved in appetite regulation, potentially causing individuals to feel more hungry when stressed.
Whatever the implication, increased stress did not affect those participants with normal BMIs, who were not overweight, during the study.
The question from these results is: What can I do about stress?!? One important thing is not to stress over the feeling! Sounds contradictory, but finding little ways to relax yourself when anxious can help offset stress hormone levels and help you beat the tendency to gain weight!
A few things to try:
1. Get up from your desk and take a 10 minute walk – this will help relieve tension and restlessness
2. Close your eyes and breath deeply through your belly – this will trigger a relaxation response to help decrease stress and overall tension
3. Make a list to take action – prioritize those activities, events or issues that are causing you to feel stressed, and take action directly. This will help eliminate the source of the stress…but may take a little longer than belly breathing.
Do not hesitate to seek out social support or therapy if your stress becomes overwhelming. That is what caring clinicians are here for!
Tags: Relaxation, Stress, Weight Loss