Stress and Weight Control

What is stress and why is it so important?

Stress is an animal’s protective response to a challenging situation, whether that’s running from a tiger or public speaking. No matter what the cause, your brain kicks in the stress response when it intuitively thinks you’re under threat.

The brain activates the body’s stress response via the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which are the fast and slow arms of the stress response. This means that heart rate and breathing rate increase, blood pressure rises, digestion slows, blood pressure rises and more, all with the goal of preparing the body for vigorous activity.

Most of the stress we experience today is psychological stress, such as work deadlines or conflicts with friends, family, or a partner. Up to a point, experiencing stress is normal and healthy, but too much stress or the wrong type of stress can undermine your weight and health goals.

The impact of a stressor depends on whether we think we’re in control of it. If you feel like the stressor is beyond your control, it does more harm your mind and body. This might happen to someone who is caring for an elderly relative with dementia. If it feels within your control, it does less harm and can even be invigorating. This might happen to someone with a tight work deadline on a project that’s within their abilities.

What negative consequences does a high-stress life have on my brain and body?

Excessive stress can cause headaches, fatigue, digestive upset, insomnia, irritability, cravings for comfort foods, and overeating. And aside from these specific symptoms that some people experience, it just makes you feel bad!

How can stress affect my ability to lose weight or manage my weight?

The impact of stress varies from person to person. For instance, when stressed, about 43 percent of people overeat while about 36 percent are more likely to skip meals. Yet, just about everyone who is stressed gravitates towards more fattening “comfort foods” like ice cream, pizza, and mac and cheese. The reason is that these foods calm the brain’s stress response.

Another way stress can affect weight is by increasing levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is produced when the brain activates the HPA axis. This may increase appetite and belly fat.

What are the best ways to manage stress and its impact on your eating?

Here is a list of concrete steps you can take:

Are you a stress eater? Refer to your Weight Insight Score questionnaire if you’re unsure.
Identify what drives your stress, such as work, relationship conflict, traffic, finances or other factors.
Mitigate as many of these factors as possible. One way to do this is to figure out ways to feel more in control of them.
Learn constructive coping, such as meditation, exercise, gardening, sex, talking with a friend, or taking a hot bath.
Control your food environment, keeping unhealthy and fattening foods out of reach, since stress lessens your ability to resist them.