A Santa Claus Belly Is Not Always Jolly
When it comes to the impact of excess weight, new research is showing that it is not only how much extra you have, but also how and where you store it.
For many, that excess weight, often created as a result of "unresolved stress," is stored in the midsection or belly. The ensuing apple shape is an ominous sign of fat accumulation around the internal organs, raising the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain types of cancer.
SELF-MEDICATING WITH COMFORT FOODS
To learn more about the stress-comfort food-belly fat connection, I consulted Mary Dallman, PhD, professor of physiology at the University of California in San Francisco.
In their research, Dr. Dallman and her colleagues found that healthy rats who were deliberately subjected to stress chose to eat less of their normal food (chow pellets) and ingest more comfort food (sugar-water, saccharin and lard).
Soon the rodents began to put on more belly fat, and as this happened, their level of stress hormones went down. The more belly fat, the less stress. That sounds good, right? Not so fast.
Although people are not rats and the mechanism by which the human belly accumulates fat is no doubt more complicated, the UCSF research gives us insight into the complex relationships that exist between stress, comfort food and belly fat.
According to Dr. Dallman...
The body responds to stress by producing glucocorticoid steroid hormones.
In rats -- and most likely in people too -- glucocorticoids act on the brain to influence eating behavior. Together with insulin, they increase the preference for comfort foods rich in fat and sugar, promote the breakdown of fat and protein in the extremities, and encourage the selective storage of abdominal fat.
This is likely a result of our societal evolution in which humans needed quick energy available for fight or flight situations. A still unidentified signal from increased belly fat seems to slow down the stress response, suggesting that eating comfort food is a form of self-medication to relieve stress.
WHAT YOU MUST DO
If you're an average man with a waist size greater than 40 inches, or an average woman with a waist circumference of more than 35 inches, your abdominal fat is putting you at greater risk of health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. You need to trim down and manage stress -- plain and simple.
Besides eating less and exercising more, consider stress management options that include meditation, tai chi, yoga or just a good, old-fashioned walk in the park.
Interestingly, as I wrote this article, still another study came out looking at belly fat, this one linking it with cigarette smoke. According to research published in the August 1, 2005, issue of Circulation, exposure to cigarette smoke among teens put them at higher risk of metabolic syndrome, a disorder associated with belly fat that increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Proof once again that an all-around healthy lifestyle -- not only doing the right things but also avoiding the bad -- is the key to maintaining good health.
This article is for education only and isn't medical advice. Please talk with your physician before making changes to medications or treatment. Originally published by Medea Galligan.
