Stress & Obesity

Everyday stress can cause metabolic changes that, in the long run, contribute to obesity, 


according to a recent study by the departments of psychiatry and biomedical engineering at the 


University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Science has long documented that during extreme stress, such as in the experience of war or traumatic grief, victims tend to decrease their food intake, resulting in lower body weight. Recent studies, however, suggest that everyday social stress—tests, public speaking, job and relationship pressures—may have the opposite effect, resulting in overeating and weight gain. With obesity on the rise, scientists have increasingly focused on the causes and effects of weight gain, including the contributions of stress.

Stress

Stress plays a major role in Obesity.  Emotions and environment stress affects a person's overeating pattern significantly.

Emotional status generally plays upon the mind of the consumer of the food while he/she is eating something. When people are not in an emotional stable position due to some stress they tend to fall back to over eating.

It is seen that overeating is considered to be a means of diminishing anxiety, relieving frustration and deprivation, sedating oneself, diminishing guilt and handling anxiety. Theorists Rakoff and Garetz describe overeating as a means of coping with emotions such as anxiety, anger, despair, and depression all of which are associated with stress.




Children and adults alike who are obese or overweight are more likely to feel stress, and overweight children are more likely to report that their parents were often or always stressed over the past month. Children, regardless of weight or age, say they can tell that their parents are stressed when they argue and complain, which many children say makes them feel sad and worried. Parents, however, are not fully realizing the impact their own stress is having on their children

Scientists led by Randall Sakai, PhD, professor in UC’s psychiatry department, and Susan Melhorn, of UC’s neuroscience graduate program, found that stressful experiences can lead to recovery periods marked by overeating and larger, less frequent meals—a pattern that has been linked to weight gain.