Action4Balance

STRESS CAN MAKE YOU FAT AND RUIN YOUR OVERALL HEALTH

Chronic stress can cause cravings for cookies, candy, chips and other high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods.

The stress-driven appetite for these foods leads to dangerous weight gain, primarily around the waist. 60 percent of American adults are overweight or obese, many due to stress-related food cravings. Over 20 percent of American adults are obese with a stress-related condition known as "metabolic syndrome." This condition is characterized by a beer belly, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol readings and high blood sugar.

According to Dr. Pamela Peeke, a former scientist at the National Institutes of Health and associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, people with an apple-shaped figure are at greater risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer. "It's not just what you weigh; it's where you weigh it," says Dr. Peeke, author of Fight Fat After Forty .

The individuals who are high reactors to the stress hormone called cortisol, consume more calories and more sweet foods under stress. Their recent study also demonstrated that greater food consumption occurred in high cortisol reactors when they were in a negative mood.