Why Overeating When You're Stressed is Bad for Your Heart
We all know that mental strain can spell weight gain-just think of how many times you've reached for a pint of Häagen-Dazs when life got a little too hard. Now a study suggests that overeating triggered by stress sends extra pounds straight to your belly--with potentially damaging consequences for your heart.
Researchers at Yale University assembled 59 premenopausal women with varying shapes; some were "apples," with more fat around their waists, while others were "pears," carrying more weight in their hips. They then put the women through nerve-racking tests, such as subtracting large prime numbers and convincing a mock committee that each was the best applicant for a job. They also measured the women's levels of the stress hormone cortisol. It turns out the apple-shaped women secreted more cortisol, did worse on the tests, and reported more day-to-day stress than did the pears.
Study leader Elissa Epel, a psychologist now at the University of California at San Francisco, believes there is a direct relationship between the way these women respond to pressure and their apple shapes. So-called visceral fat is located deep within the torso, packed around the organs; the surfaces of its cells have more receptors for cortisol than do other kinds of fat. When cortisol meets these cells, it can activate an enzyme that causes them to get bigger.
This isn't just a problem when it comes to buying pants. Plumped-up visceral fat cells are more likely to release fat into the bloodstream, where it can clog arteries, hike up triglycerides, and raise bad cholesterol.
To lessen your chances of a dangerous bulge, Epel suggests meditation, exercise, and plenty of sleep. "You can't prevent stressful events," she says. "But you can control how you cope with them."
REFERENCES
Elizabeth Berg; Women's Health Wisdom 2002
Cheers,
Eve :-)
Researchers at Yale University assembled 59 premenopausal women with varying shapes; some were "apples," with more fat around their waists, while others were "pears," carrying more weight in their hips. They then put the women through nerve-racking tests, such as subtracting large prime numbers and convincing a mock committee that each was the best applicant for a job. They also measured the women's levels of the stress hormone cortisol. It turns out the apple-shaped women secreted more cortisol, did worse on the tests, and reported more day-to-day stress than did the pears.
Study leader Elissa Epel, a psychologist now at the University of California at San Francisco, believes there is a direct relationship between the way these women respond to pressure and their apple shapes. So-called visceral fat is located deep within the torso, packed around the organs; the surfaces of its cells have more receptors for cortisol than do other kinds of fat. When cortisol meets these cells, it can activate an enzyme that causes them to get bigger.
This isn't just a problem when it comes to buying pants. Plumped-up visceral fat cells are more likely to release fat into the bloodstream, where it can clog arteries, hike up triglycerides, and raise bad cholesterol.
To lessen your chances of a dangerous bulge, Epel suggests meditation, exercise, and plenty of sleep. "You can't prevent stressful events," she says. "But you can control how you cope with them."
REFERENCES
Elizabeth Berg; Women's Health Wisdom 2002
Cheers,
Eve :-)
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