Lorn Healthy Options health tip: Stress and weight gain - making the connection

Fast forward to our modern world where many people lead stressful and busy lives, meaning the same cortisol response is engaged on a long-term basis.

This presents a problem. Financial worries, work problems, marital issues, childcare concerns and sleep deprivation all cause stress - leading to elevated cortisol and glucose levels.

However, none of these forms of stress are associated with a period of high intensity activity to burn off the glucose.

Higher blood glucose levels result in a higher secretion of insulin and long term this can lead to insulin resistance within the muscle tissue and liver.

Insulin resistance means even more insulin must be released to lower blood sugar levels and we know this situation is one of the main drivers of obesity, especially when combined with poor food choices.

Elevated cortisol levels can also increase your appetite and cause cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods.

Over time, this situation can lead to Type 2 Diabetes and elevated blood pressure which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.  
 
An added problem may lie in the fact elevated cortisol levels will lead to the body producing less testosterone, which can result in a reduction of muscle mass. Therefore, the number of calories which you burn daily takes a dip and we lose strength and power.

Obviously, if we are consuming more calories than we are burning we face a challenge to maintain a healthy weight whether we are stressed or not.

However, if we are experiencing long term stress we exacerbate weight gain via our hormonal response to it.

Instead of prioritising dietary control at this time, perhaps a more effective solution would be to combat the source of the stress to create a better foundation for future behaviour change.

Tried and tested ways of reducing stress include regular exercise, talking therapies, mindfulness, creative hobbies and meditation.

Our physical and mental health are intrinsically linked and one cannot flourish without the other. 
 
If long term stress and weight gain have become an ongoing problem in your life, it may be worth a conversation with your GP about a referral to Healthy Options and perhaps we could help to turn things around with specialist guidance.