Stress and Weight Gain: What Science Reveals
Have you ever wondered if your stress level has an effect upon your weight and on your ability to lose weight? Well, scientists have been doing their research so they can answer this question for you. Keep reading to learn what science has revealed thus far regarding the connection between stress and weight gain.
Stress Can Make You Weigh More
The truth is that being stressed can cause you to gain more weight. But even if you know this fact, it may not be enough to help you lose the weight. You have to understand why stress and weight gain are related.
The Role of the Adrenal Glands
Stress causes you to gain belly fat. When you get stressed, chemicals are released by the brain, and the adrenal glands are put to work in order to send chemicals that will speed up your heart. This changes the way that your belly fat grows, causing it to increase. In other words, when you’re stressed, your body is reacting in a way that causes the development of belly fat that can be difficult to get rid of.
The Role of Betatrophin
In addition to adversely affecting the adrenal glands and causing the release of stress hormones that cause belly fat to increase, stress can also stimulate the production of a protein known as betatrophin. This protein actually inhibits an enzyme that helps with fat metabolism. Put simply, betatrophin will reduce your body’s natural ability to break fat down, further proving the connection between stress and weight gain.
The Role of a Gene
Researchers have even located a gene that causes you to crave fatty and sweet foods whenever you’re under stress. So if you find that you want junk food when you’re feeling frazzled and not in control, just know that this is a natural response and that you are not alone. Referred to as the “comfort eating gene,” it will boost your appetite and affect how full you end up feeling, and it is also linked to type 2 diabetes.
Once you look at the research, it is clear that stress and weight gain are definitely related. Find ways to reduce your stress levels or cope with stress more effectively so that it will not get in the way of your weight loss and fitness goals, but also consider taking a product like Phentramin-D to counteract the effects of stress on your weight.
