|
Food:
Emotional Rescue?
 |
 |
|
According
to a study by Mary Dallman, we crave high-energy
foods like sugar and fat during
times of high stress. |
|
Scientists
aren't sure exactly how, but it appears that emotions
play some role in the development of obesity. Many people
eat when they are depressed, bored, angry or stressed
out. Studies suggest that approximately 25-50 percent
of those who are obese binge eat. Many binge eaters
say that being angry, sad, bored, or worried can cause
them to binge.
Though
it's not clear which comes first, obesity or depression,
there does seem to be correlation between the two. According
to a study conducted at Duke University Medical Center
by Sarah Mustillo, boys who remained obese during childhood
and adolescence were four times as likely to experience
clinical depression compared with normal-weight boys
or those who were overweight only during childhood or
their teen years.
|
|
|
|
Boys
who remain obese are four times more likely to experience
clinical depression.
|
| |
|
|
Chronic
stress — already pinpointed as a potential source
for health problems such as hypertension and increased
risk of heart attack — now appears to also be adding
to Americans' growing waistlines. When we are under
chronic stress, our bodies release cortisol, which increases
the flow of glucose, protein and fat into our muscles
— immediately increasing energy levels in response
to a perceived threat.
Though
this isn't unhealthy in the short run, over the long
term, these elevated levels of cortisol and the responses
they generate are associated with increased storage
of abdominal fat, as well as diabetes, heart disease,
a weakened immune system and depression.
A
study by Mary Dallman at the University of California
San Francisco may help explain this link. When we experience
a stressful event our bodies direct us to eat high-energy
foods. We crave "comfort foods" — loaded with fat
and sugar — to help restore the body's equilibrium
after the events set into motion by elevated cortisol.
If we maintain a high level of stress and are constantly
looking to restore our bodies' energy balance through
comfort foods, we will inevitably gain weight as we
ingest more highly caloric food.
-
- - - - - - - - - - -
4
pages: | 1 | 2 | 3
| 4 |
|
