He Stress can get fat In some people due to changes in the neuroendocrine system that cause an increase in appetite. In addition to the release of hormones such as adrenaline, corichotropin or cortisol, in the stress can be learned behaviors such as ingesting food constantly.
"Stress"is a term used in a widespread and colloquial way by most people to refer to a state of anxiety, to what we feel When we are overwhelmed to have many tasks and little time to carry them out.
What is Stress?
The popular term was coined in 1936 by Hans Selye, a physiologist and Austro-Hungarian physician, who defined stress as"an unspecific Body before any demand for change".
Any stimulus that poses a challenge or threat to our well-being may be a state of stress. Stressors, which are the stimuli that cause stress, can be both physical and psychological or emotional.
For example, we can feel Stressed by a situation that we find difficult to predict or control, as in a first date, a job interview or at times of examinations. Other stressors can be loud noises, excessive cold or heat, an unpleasant person...
What happens in the body when we have stress?
Before a stimulus that can pose a threat (real or perceived) for our organism, our brain is prepared biologically to make a Very fast decision: fight or flight.
This mechanism has been inscribed in the human species since the beginning of time, when man lived in a Hostile environment, full of dangers. The human brain was developed so that when prehistoric man encountered an animal that could To do him harm, to quickly assess the risks to decide, unconsciously, whether it was more convenient for his survival to wrestle with the animal or To flee from it.
To achieve the necessary resources to make this decision and flee or fight effectively, many bodily functions, such as digestion, Are slowed down and chemical changes are seen in the body. Our body produces greater amounts of the hormone cortisol, the heart rate increases, the Muscles become tense, alertness is increased and breathing becomes faster.
This response, which is so old in our species, is still present today, when, in fact, the kind of danger that made it necessary to develop It does not happen very often anymore.
In today's society most of the stressors are more psychological than physical, but the effects on the organism are the same. A certain level of stress is normal and healthy in people; The problem comes when the stressors are chronic and the normal functions of the Permanently affected.
Does it fatten stress?
While the immediate response to a stressor may be loss of appetite, for some people, chronic stress may be linked to an increase in Appetite that causes, in turn, an increase of weight. The problem is caused by our neuroendocrine system, which connects the brain To the rest of the body In a way that helped our ancestors survive, but not us.
One of the hormones released in times of stress is adrenaline, which gives immediate energy, along with corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) And cortisol. A high level of adrenaline and CRH in the body temporarily decreases appetite, but these effects do not last long.
He Cortisol , for his Part, serves to help the body to recover after having struggled to fight or to flee and remains much longer. At present, in Reality we do not fight or physically escape situations that stress us, but cortisol is released anyway, making our Body"believes"that we need to recover lost calories and increasing appetite. When stress is chronic, this can lead to an increase in Important weight.
In addition to the physiological reasons just explained, eating more when we are under chronic stress can also be learned behavior. In Stressful situations, we have the urge to move, to do something, and eating is an activity that can be carried out quickly and that Comfort immediately.
Do all people get fat with stress?
However, long-term stress can lead to weight gain in some people and weight loss in others. On the one hand, as we have Seen, elders Cortisol levels Can increase food intake but, on the other hand, stress can inhibit appetite through activation Of the sympathetic nervous system.
Animal studies provide an opportunity to examine the effect of stress on food intake by controlling more factors than Studies with humans. In these investigations it has been generally seen that animals eat less when the intensity of the stressor is high, but when The intensity is reduced, eat more quantity.
Interactions between genes and environmental factors are also relevant in this subject. Stable differences between individuals may Determine which pattern of reactions (gain weight, lose it or neither) would prevail for each individual under stressful conditions.
A Field study, whose participants were middle-aged men and women who carried diaries of stress and daily food intake, identified Three reactions to stress.
Some subjects ate more consistently during periods of stress, others ate less and there were subjects in whom There was no change in their stress-related eating patterns. Consistent with this, an investigation with students of College found both a tendency to eat more reported by the same students and another to eat less during testing periods.
Some dimensions of the personality have also been related to a tendency to gain weight. It has been found that depressive symptoms, stress Psychological and a low level of life satisfaction are more common among obese subjects than among normal weight subjects.
Stress-induced events Vital negative and depressive symptoms have been identified as risk factors for short- and long-term weight gain. It has also been Since obese subjects are more extroverted than normal weight control subjects, but no differences were found in the levels of Neuroticism of both.
Most of these investigations, however, focus on stress associations with these short-term traits. A published study In the International Journal of Obesity (Korkeila, Kaprio, Rissanen, Koskenvuo & Sörensen, 1998) aimed to examine whether certain variables of Personality predict a significant increase in weight during two relatively long follow-up periods (6 years and 15 years).
The observations Main suggest that a higher level of stress at the beginning of the research predict the greater weight gain in the following 6 years in men; A low level of life satisfaction and a high score in neuroticism also tend to be risk factors for gaining weight in the following 6 years in older women; And higher levels of extroversion were associated with a lower risk of weight gain in young men. The Most of these findings, however, weakened over the longer follow-up (15 years).
Another study published in the International Journal of Obesity (Kivimäki, Head, Ferrie, Shipley, Brunner, Vahtera & Marmot, 2006) studied the association Between work stress and body mass index focusing on the following hypothesis: chronic stress at work may induce a loss Of weight in some individuals and an increase in others.
The results suggest that if these individual differences are stable and accumulate in the Time, it is likely that the tendency to gain weight when there are stressful situations is more common among people with a high body mass index, While those with a low body mass index tend to lose weight.
Other interactions between diet and stress
Continuing with the topic of losing weight, experts say that we should not go on a diet when we are under chronic or severe stress. In a study Published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2001, researchers at the University of British Columbia found that greatly limiting intake of Calories could produce a series of biochemical events in the body that would not only increase the level of stress but could also do That we feel more hungry.
The researchers studied 62 women for three days. Of this group, 33 were following a diet of 1500 calories daily, while the Another 29 consumed about 2200 calories each day. After analyzing urine samples, it was found that women who had consumed less Food had the highest cortisol levels.
It was not a surprise that these women also reported having had more stress during Researchers called"daily food-related experiences." In short, the more food they restricted, the higher their Hormones related to stress and, therefore, more eager to eat.
Tips for practice: fight stress and not fat
The effects of stress in our body need not be entirely unavoidable. Here are some recommendations that can help To lower stress levels and maintain weight.
- On stressful days, eat little and often. This will keep your metabolism active throughout the day. Have breakfast, even if you are not hungry Or you think you do not have the time. Having breakfast helps make your metabolism work and keep your blood sugar levels stable, Which reduces stress.
- Add to your diet foods that speed up your metabolism. Some foods have been shown to increase the metabolic rate and, although the effects Are astronomical, can counteract some decline in metabolism caused by stress. Chillies, coffee, green tea, food Whole grains (bread, pasta) and lentils are some examples of this type of food. Also make sure you drink an adequate amount of water; The metabolism can slow down if we are dehydrated.
- The fuel our muscles need to carry out the fight or flight response is sugar; That's why when we have stress We feel more like sweet foods or with carbohydrates. Be careful with buns, cakes and other sweets.
- Do exercise. In addition to many other things, exercise is useful for reducing stress. When starting a physical activity, the Organism releases a stream of biochemicals that can counteract the negative effects of those released when there is stress. By On the other hand, if we exercise too much, stress levels may increase; Do some sport that you like and with a moderate frequency.
- Make sure you sleep well and long enough. To do this, moderate your caffeine consumption. Sleeping slightly increases cortisol levels, Making us feel hungry and less satisfied with the amount of food we eat.
- Avoid caffeine, tobacco and alcohol. According to the American Institute of Stress, tobacco and caffeine can cause cortisol levels Increase, as well as stress, that the blood sugar level will decrease and we will be more hungry. The institute also warns that drinking too much Alcohol can affect your blood sugar level and your insulin levels.
- If you find yourself under chronic stress, before undertaking a diet, you should do your best to reduce stress. Then make sure you follow a balanced diet that does not increase your body's stress.
- Do not skip meals. Many people argue that they do not have time for breakfast or even lunch. Skipping meals, far from making Lose weight, can slow down your metabolism and make you later hungrier than normal.
- Spend some time relaxing. A massage, going to a spa from time to time, doing meditation... is shown to lower the levels of Cortisol. You will feel more relaxed and increase your productivity at work.
Bibliographic references
- Kivimäki, M., Head, J., Ferrie, J.E., Shipley, M.J., Brunner, E., Vahtera, J. & Marmot, M.G. (2006). Work stress, weight gain and weight loss: evidence for bidirectional effects of job strain on body mass index in the Whitehall II study. International Journal of Obesity , 30, 982-987.
- Korkeila, M., Kaprio, J., Rissanen, A., Koskenvuo M. & Sörensen, T. I. A. (1998). Predictors of major weight gain in adult Finns: stress, life satisfaction and personality traits. International Journal of Obesity, 22, 949-957.