Apart from contributing to heart disease, stroke, poor immunity, and, in general, a pretty bad day, chronic stress is linked with weight gain and obesity, per research released today in the journal Obesity.
For the study, researchers at the University College London examined levels of the stress hormone cortisol in 2,527 men and women over the course of four years. The found that people who had higher levels of cortisol—a physical biomarker for stress—for several months at a time tended to have greater BMIs (body mass indexes) and waist circumferences compared with those whose cortisol levels weren’t elevated for extended periods. Those men and women who were obese (based on their BMI or waist circumference) had cortisol levels that were especially high.
The findings add to the list of previous studies that have found a link between stress and weight. However, as both the study authors and Susan K. Fried, Ph.D., professor of medicine, endocrinology, diabetes, and bone disease at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (who was not involved in the study) are quick to point out, this study doesn’t show if chronic stress causes weight gain, or if it’s the other way around.
Chicken vs. Egg Situation or One Viscous Cycle?
“As indicated in the paper, measurements of hair cortisol reflect exposure over the past several months. But the obesity in the people studied likely developed many years earlier,” Fried says. She notes that you don’t have to look very hard on the interwebs to realize that being overweight is hella stressful. Plus, physiological stress may actually be the result of obesity-related conditions, she says.
However, many obesity-related conditions, such as heart disease, are a result, at least in part, by chronic stress. What’s more, past Canadian research shows that women who have low levels of job control (aka work for an ass-hat) are twice as likely to develop diabetes compared with those have workplace autonomy.
Perpetually elevated levels of stress, whether physical or emotional, contribute to widespread inflammation throughout the body. Chronic inflammation is linked with poor insulin control, weight gain, and as you already know, heightened cortisol levels. A catabolic hormone, meaning it breaks down molecules (like protein/muscle) in the body for energy, cortisol works in direct opposition of anabolic hormones such as testosterone and human growth hormone. The Big T and HGH help to promote healthy levels of lean muscle mass and increase basal metabolic rate; both are spiked by heavy lifting protocols.
It’s also worth noting that research from the American Diabetes Association shows that mental stress can significantly increase blood sugar levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Whether or not you have diabetes, cortisol triggers your body to release excess glucose into your bloodstream for a quick hit of energy. (After all, if you’re stressed, you probably need to fight or flee… or so your body thinks.)
So even if the stress-weight gain connection isn’t totally clear-cut, it’s obvious that chronic stress doesn’t do anything good for your attempts to stay at a healthy weight. And that’s before you even factor in things like stress eating and skipped workouts.