How Stress Leads to Weight Gain and How to Combat It Effectively

 Why Does Stress Cause Weight Gain?

Chronic stress can disrupt our routines, affecting sleep, work, relationships, and even eating habits. By throwing daily habits and life out of balance, stress can turn eating into an emotional escape. What can be done about this?

Various studies have provided valuable information about stress, confirming its impact on emotional aspects and its ability to cause alterations in the body, including weight gain.

Stress is a natural bodily reaction that serves as a form of adaptability or defense mechanism against life's demands and changes. It can be "good" when it alerts us to unexpected situations, helping us act positively under certain pressure.

However, many people ignore high levels of stress. Depending on the conditions and situations, stress can cause us to lose or gain appetite. This can lead to weight gain and greater emotional frustration, even in response to other life events.

These changes can trap us in a vicious cycle. But before diving into why stress increases weight, let's understand what stress is.

Stress: What Is It and Why Does It Affect Us?

Stress is described as an adaptive and physiological reaction that helps individuals face situations perceived as threats or critical. This "natural reaction" is a response to daily demands that generate various emotional or physical stimuli.

As mentioned, stress can be manageable and controllable depending on the situation's demands or dangers. However, when stress causes a significant impact, it can lead to elevated stress levels, resulting in considerable discomfort. For some, this includes mental health problems.

There are various disorders associated with acute and/or chronic stress. Stress can increase or trigger other physical and emotional pathologies that significantly affect a person's life. But why can stress cause weight gain?

Why Stress Causes Weight Gain

Research has shown that short-term stress is associated with weight loss. In contrast, chronic or acute stress can lead to prolonged weight gain.

While stress can sometimes be considered a "normal tension," it's not healthy to be constantly stressed. This is partly because the relationship between stress and the risk of developing heart problems has been established, indicating that stress affects us not only emotionally but also physically.

It has been proven that stress causes weight gain through the release of certain hormones and metabolic changes. Conversely, it can also cause weight loss by inhibiting appetite.

Which Hormone Contributes to Weight Gain?

For some people, genetic predisposition, combined with stress, leads to weight gain. Cortisol, a hormone essential for survival, becomes problematic when it exceeds necessary levels.

Cortisol is secreted in response to stress, causing an increase in abdominal fat when present in excess.

Fat can also release cortisol. If stress leads to weight gain through cortisol release, the opposite can happen: body fat can produce and release cortisol, creating a cycle of chronic stress.

Chronic or acute stress affects other behaviors that alter lifestyle, leading to weight gain due to poor sleep quality, inactivity or a sedentary lifestyle, and increased appetite.

This increased appetite often leads to overeating, particularly unhealthy foods high in sugar and fat. High cortisol levels drive the consumption of high-calorie foods, resulting in undesired weight gain.

How to Avoid Unnecessary Tension and Combat Stress Effectively

Many people today experience high stress due to their lifestyle. Psychological stress factors increase depression problems, affecting mood and influencing weight loss or gain. Additionally, unhealthy behaviors associated with stress include:

• Compulsive eating due to emotional disorders
• Skipping meals or eating quickly due to lack of time
• Sleeping less
• Avoiding exercise

Each of these actions provides temporary relief from tension episodes.

Insomnia is closely related to a slow metabolism. Less rest and poor food quality strain the body, significantly influencing weight gain.

What Can Be Done to Avoid Stress?

There are ways to avoid tension, minimize, and control the discomforts it causes. Some recommendations include engaging in relaxing activities like meditation, practicing breathing exercises, regularly exercising, and maintaining a balanced, nutritious diet.

Additionally, reduce pending tasks in your daily life. Ask for help from family, friends, or coworkers, depending on the tasks at hand.

Make time for recreational activities or hobbies you enjoy, such as crafting. You can get relaxing massages or engage in any other activity that helps you distance yourself from tension, worries, or current situations.

Stress can lead to weight gain due to multiple factors, ranging from genetics to any diagnosed anxiety or tension. It is crucial to control stress to avoid physical and mental health risks.