Stress and Weight
How Does Stress Impact Weight?
You’ve probably heard that stress can have negative health consequences. This includes weight management, as stress can impact us psychologically and physiologically in ways that can lead to weight gain.
Stress and comfort foods
Stress can play a role in weight gain, particularly when it is chronic. One of the ways in which stress can contribute to weight gain is through ‘emotional eating,’ or using comfort foods that are typically high in energy and fat to cope with stress. Indeed, there are both physiological and psychological mechanisms underpinning emotional influences on food choice. Eating will typically reduce irritability and increase calmness, with high fat or sweet foods often mitigating effects of stress via release of feel-good chemicals such as dopamine. These eating habits over time, however, can result in weight gain.
Stress and hormone health
Stress can also lead to weight gain by way of the hormone cortisol. When under stress, the adrenal glands produce cortisol, which leads to a surge of energy by stimulating fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism. However, cortisol also increases appetite and cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods. With chronic stress, this overexposure to cortisol can lead to weight gain. Cortisol secretion also promotes abdominal fat accumulation.
Impact on exercise
Through my work with clients, I have noticed that stress can impact weight because it can reduce the desire to exercise or engage in physical activity. The benefits of exercise on health are innumerable; the direct impact of exercise on weight management is known, but exercise can also improve mental health. Exercise can actually help lower stress and decrease anxiety, yet when people are stressed they may feel unmotivated to exercise, which can ultimately impact their weight.
Evolutionarily, cortisol spiked when we saw a bear or were faced with danger. The surge of cortisol allowed us to run and escape danger. These acute increases in cortisol weren’t harmful, however, today we are experiencing chronic stress due to modern day life and work. This is the type of stress which leads to detrimental impacts on weight.
Stress and sleep
Another point to mention is that stress can have an impact on weight through its effect on sleep patterns. The relationship between stress and sleep can be cyclical, wherein stress can result in poor sleep quality and quantity, which can in turn negatively impact stress levels. Poor sleep can lead to increased calorie intake and weight gain, potentially through changes in the appetite regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin.
Chronic stress can impact your weight, whether through increased appetite, caloric intake, decreased physical activity, or hormone changes. Working on some mindful ways to manage stress, such as through meditation, time with loved ones, journaling, or anything that works for you can have wide ranging benefits.