Got Stress? Watch Out for Weight Gain

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A Stressed Body Stores Fat

Unfortunately, high levels of cortisol negatively affect your weight. For one thing, there is a greater number of cortisol receptors in the abdomen. These receptors respond to the hormone by increasing fat stores. Second, cortisol has a complex relationship with insulin, which can compound the effects of stress on weight.
           
“Under acute stress, cortisol is catabolic, providing muscles with fuel and energy to run. Insulin is anabolic, storing energy for times when it is needed,” says Tanya Adams, a researcher at the University of California–San Francisco studying the effects of stress on emotional eating and metabolic health. “Under chronic stress, this complex interplay gets disturbed. With insulin and cortisol being increased at the same time, lipid mobilization is inhibited and fat accumulation is favored instead.”

In other words, when you are chronically stressed, your body turns to storing fat—particularly in your belly—rather than breaking it down. Compounding matters further, the cortisol your body is pumping out because of stress can lead to insulin resistance, decreasing your metabolism and increasing your risk for type 2 diabetes and other ailments.

The health toll
The detrimental effects of chronic stress on your weight don’t stop there. Other researchers have found equally worrisome links to the toll stress takes on your health.

Stress wreaks havoc on your diet. If your method of dealing with stress is to find ways to dull it (eating junk food or drinking excessively, for instance), you’re more apt to gain weight. And there’s a reason salty potato chips or a pint of ice cream look so enticing after a bad day: Recent studies have shown that high levels of stress increase cravings for fat, salt, and sugar. These comfort foods literally calm the body’s stress hormones, returning them to a normal level. The problem is, the next time you’re stressed, your body craves fatty, salty, and/or sugary foods and sabotages your eating goals.

Stress interferes with your workout. Along with ruining your diet plans, chronic stress can pull you away from the gym. Researchers have found that increased stress messes with your blood sugar, leading to fatigue, mood swings, and sometimes hyperglycemia. In this state, the thought of hitting the treadmill makes many want to curl up on the couch.

Stress makes you sick and ages you faster. Your driver’s license may say you’re 41, but if you experience chronic stress, your body might say you’re closer to 50.
           
One study, tracking how cells behave in women who are under severe stress, found that the rate of cell division and reproduction was significantly lower than in nonstressed women. Cell division and reproduction are vital for maintaining a strong immune system and replenishing your body with healthy, active cells. The less cells divide and reproduce, the faster you age (because older cells aren’t being replaced). Your immune system is also less responsive. Neither condition is good for sustaining a healthy weight.          

"Excess stress is clearly unhealthy, both physically and mentally,” says Norman Pecoraro, who is studying physiology at the University of California–San Francisco. “It changes the body, and it can cause wholesale changes in brain structure.”