Stress May Give You a Belly and Heart Disease
I hate stress, I don't handle it well. I usually just bash my head against the wall--the concussion gives me a break from whatever is bothering me!
Stress has a nasty little side-effect too. For some people, stress leads to belly fat, which experts believe greatly increases the risk of heart disease.
Not good. Building up fat around your gut leads to accumulation of plague in your arteries, which if you don't know by now, can give you a heart attack.
For the study, appearing in the journal Obesity, researchers fed female monkeys a Western-style diet (lots of fat and cholesterol), and housed them in a way where they would develop a social pecking order.
Typically, monkeys low on the totem poll are subject to aggression, and excluded from social grooming sessions. Scientists found these monkeys have more abdominal fat, and fewer hormones that protect against it.
Now, I'm not a girl monkey, but this happens to me--when I'm stressed and frazzled, I'll put on a pound or two.
Anyone else have that problem?
Via ScienceDaily.
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ReplyI think some of this is true. I have read all the studies on this for a few years now. I have seen a slight truth to this with my own personal experience & I think some of it is how little sleep you get under stress. BUT I have also found that HOW I EAT makes the biggest difference. I have had some significant stressful situations in the past few years & I kept to my food program & I think that has made all the difference.
I think that how you deal with your stress is a big factor in weight gain associated with it. When I'm stressed, I make sure I still work out...working out seems to help me calm down and be able to deal with the stress more effectively. And like Jody, I also stick to my healthy way of eating when I'm stressed out so I don't gain weight.
ReplyStress is a definate indicator of when I gain weight quickly. Just recently (last week), dealing with some financial stressors, I gained 11 lbs. But, after working the financial situation out, and getting rest, I lost 10 of the lbs, in 4 days. I was still eating healthy, but I did cut down on my exercising.
Its important to learn how your body handles stress, and how you can correct it.
ReplyPeople react to stress differently - some gain weight, some lose weight due to a loss in appetite. What's disturbing is the realization that the fat accumulates around the gut.
ReplyFor the stress thing, I definitely agree. Think about it from an evolutionary standpoint. When times get harsh, and it's hard to find food, stress levels go up and you pack on as much fat as possible so you can make it through the times when food is thin.
Also, I can't believe that people still think that dietary cholesterol is some how bad for them.
Anyways, I really wish these sites would post links to the actual studies on the web for free (this one would cost over $30 (!!!) to get), as things tend to get minimized and magnified as they move through the media outlets.
For example, the Science Daily page, never mind the actual study, says "female monkeys were fed a Western-style diet containing fat and cholesterol". Gerry, who thinks that fat is bad, magnified this very vague statement by adding a qualifier, "lots of". Most diets around the world contain fat and cholesterol and we don't know what the actual macro-nutrient composition of the diet fed to the primates was, or how it's different from their natural diet.
Not to mention that as species, while we are all primates, we and the chimps have had few million years of divergent evolution.
ReplyMy first reaction to stress is to want to bite something and tear it up with my mouth. I had to quit having a candy bowl in my office for my clients because of that. I have yet to learn how to deal with my work related stresses in a way that is not bad for my health.
ReplyYes, I agree about the stress.
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