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Revealed -- how stress can make you fat!

Stress makes you overeat, yes it does. Know why here.

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Written By: Shraddha Rupavate | Published : December 4, 2014 5:41 PM IST

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Ever found yourself indulging in food when stressed?

If your answer is 'yes', you're probably suffering from a condition called 'stress eating' or 'emotional eating.' You may think that eating under stressful situations is a normal thing for anyone to do. But, it is actually a documented condition that overtakes your mind, resulting in binge-eating, overeating and ultimately an unhealthy lifestyle. (Here are 5 natural remedies to beat stress)

It's not completely your fault that you indulge in overeating when you're emotionally disturbed. It's your brain which links your emotional state to your eating habits and makes things worse for you.

Also Read

Here's how your brain works under stressful situations

Whenever you're stressed about something, negative emotions like fear, anger, frustration and anxiety are evoked, creating an imbalance in your mind at an emotional level.

Your brain has an in-built mechanism that causes the release of a hormones to restore that balance and guard your emotional well-being. Once the balance is restored, the brain switches off this system and the hormone levels drop. However, in people who are under chronic stress, the brain does not switch off the system. This causes a rise in blood level of stress hormones.

One of the key players of stress response is the hormone cortisol that is released by the adrenal glands. This hormone is the main culprit for increased appetite and cravings in people who are stressed.

Cortisol is a hormone that performs the function of regulation and mobilisation of energy to the cells requiring it. Ideally, under temporary stressful situations (for example: just before appearing for an exam or attending a meeting with the boss), the cortisol levels drop soon after the stressful episode ends. But in case of long-term stress (for example: relationship issues, breakups or a failing career) the brain continues to signal the production of cortisol. With elevated levels of cortisol in the blood, every single time you express a negative emotion, you will end up eating a pile of junk food. Here's why:

  • Cortisol controls what you eat: Some studies suggest that cortisol not only increases appetite but also induces cravings for sugary and salty foods, causing weight gain. It directly influences your food choices by binding to the receptors in the brain that stimulate you to eat food high in fat and sugar.
  • Cortisol regulates other chemicals to increase appetite: Cortisol also regulates the levels of other hormones like corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH), leptin and neuropeptide Y that are released under stress. These hormones, too, stimulate appetite and cause you to overeat.
  • Cortisol makes you fat: While cortisol mobilises energy to the needy, high cortisol level causes your fat stores and circulating fat to be deeply deposited into the abdomen. Moreover, it helps naive fat cells to grow into fully mature fat cells, making you obese. A thick fat layer, in turn, induces food cravings, completing the vicious cycle of mindless eating. Here's a detailed account on how stress can affect your weight loss goals.

In order to get over emotional or stress eating, you need to make efforts to restore your emotional balance before your brain takes over. So, the next time you get a craving under stress, think for a moment before you grab something unhealthy to eat. Here are some tips to control mindless eating.

Also try these 20 expert tips to beat stress.

Image source: Getty

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References:

  1. Cavagnini, F., M. Croci, P. Putignano, et al. Glucocorticoids and neuroendocrine function. International Journal of Obesity 24: S77-S79, 2000.
  2. Grace Mignott. Emotional Eating: How to Beat Food Addiction: How to Stop Overeating; Speedy Publishing LLC, 2014; p37
  3. Jane Ogden. The Psychology of Eating: From Healthy to Disordered Behavior (2nd edn); John Wiley & Sons, 2011; p392
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Shraddha Rupavate

Shraddha Rupavate

Combining her Biotechnology background and sheer passion for reading and writing, Shraddha entered the field of scientific and health reporting in order to expand her knowledge base and communicate scientific information in the simplest form to millions of readers. ... Read More