|
HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Effect Of Stress Eating On Heart Disease Stress, with the hormones it releases, and the effects of high-fat, high-sugar comfort foods could simply push people toward overeating. That is why scientists have linked weight gain to stress. In the short term, stress can simply shut down appetite because of the production of corticotropin-releasing hormone by hypothalamus (a structure in the brain). Messages are also sent by the brain to the adrenal glands atop the kidneys to pump out the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). Epinephrine helps trigger the body's fight-or-flight response that temporarily suppresses eating. However, if the stress persists, the adrenal glands release another hormone called cortisol that increases appetite. Cortisol levels should fall once the stressful event is over, though it might stay elevated if the stress does not go away. Overeating is not the only stress-related behavior that might lead to weight gain. People who are stressed can also have sleep deprivation, exercise less, and drink more alcohol, all of which can contribute to excess weight.
Men and women cope with stress differently. Some research suggests that women are more likely to turn to food and men to alcohol or smoking. A Finnish study that looked at more than 5,000 men and women indicated that obesity was linked to stress-relating eating in women but not in men. A study conducted by researchers from The Ohio State University found that women who experienced one or more stressful events the day prior to eating just one single high-fat meal could potentially had an 11-pound weight gain over the course of a year. The paper was published in the journal ‘Biological Psychiatry’. 58 healthy women, 38 of whom were breast cancer survivors and 20 of whom were similar in terms of demographics, were included in the study. Their average age was 53. During 2 occasions, the participants received either a meal high in saturated fat (bad fat) or a meal high in sunflower oil, a monounsaturated fat that is linked to various health benefits. The meal itself was a whopper (930 calories with 60 grams of fat), about the same as a double-deck burger and medium fries. Standardized clinical tools were used to rank stressors and to assess major depressive disorder. Metabolic rate, or how efficient these participants were at burning calories and fat, was measured after their meal. Blood sugar levels, triglycerides, insulin and the stress hormone cortisol were also assessed. Analyzed results showed that on average the study participants who reported one or more stressors like arguments with co-workers or spouses, disagreements with friends, trouble with children or work-related pressure, during the previous 24 hours burned 104 fewer calories than non-stressed women in the 7 hours after eating the high-fat meal. Such difference could end up with an 11-pound weight gain in a year, and they also experienced less fat oxidation in which so-called large fat molecules are converted into smaller molecules used as fuel. Other studies indicated that people are more likely to eat the wrong foods when they are stressed. Turning to high-fat-high-sugar foods because of stress can put many people at higher risk of overweight or even obesity. The researchers did find that a history of depression alone did not affect metabolic rate. It is the depression combined with previous stressors that led to a steeper immediate rise in the form of fat called triglycerides. High triglyceride levels are a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Being small, the study has limitations. First of all, self-reported stressors can be squishy despite efforts to control the differences. Secondly, most study participants were breast cancer survivors, which can add even more stress. Some health experts believed the impact of stress on weight gain is just a small fraction of the picture. Instead, they blamed overeating for causing the most weight gain. But the good news is that a 30 minutes walk can always offset the extra 100 calories a day. This can mean the difference between weight stability and weight gain.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright
2007-2012 © HowToPreventHeartDisease.com . All Rights Reserved.d........ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
