Is stress making us fat?

What’s even more worrisome is the type of weight gain this cycle encourages. Cortisol, along with adrenaline, travels to the body’s fat cells, allowing them to open and release fat – what the body knows as fuel – into the bloodstream, to the liver and then to the muscles to use as energy. In an interesting twist, Peeke’s research has found that fat cells deep inside the belly are especially good at attracting cortisol. Simply put, the cascade of responses caused by stress encourages the accumulation of excess ‘stress fat’, the layer of fat below the abdominal muscle. ‘This creates “toxic weight” – or extra fat inside the abdomen – which is the only type of fat on the body associated with death,’ she says. She adds that this type of fat has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

So how to break the vicious cycle of midlife weight gain and stress? Peeke suggests, among other things, a combination of healthy eating, regular exercise and stress management techniques.

Diet
One of the best ways to combat stress and anxiety is to eat foods that give you long-lasting energy, such as whole grains. Peeke advises avoiding foods that release sugar into the bloodstream too quickly, such as highly processed foods made with white, refined sugars and white starches – pasta, white rice, potatoes, and white bread. These increase the amount of insulin, another hormone that plays an important role in weight gain and appetite. In fact, Peeke calls elevated cortisol and elevated insulin levels a ‘lethal duo’ that creates an insatiable appetite for carbohydrates and fat.

This stress-busting sample menu will give you some tips:

Breakfast
Porridge with skimmed milk and chopped banana
Glass of cranberry juice
Wholemeal toast with low fat spread
Herbal tea

Mid-morning snack
Low fat yoghurt with muesli sprinkled over the top
Water with slice of lemon

Lunch
Leafy salad served with pumpernickel or multigrain bread
Orange
Herbal tea

Mid-afternoon snack
Pear and a couple of plums
Glass of juice

Early dinner
Baked cod with peppers and onion
Wild rice
Tomato, avocado and grapefruit salad with lime and oil dressing
Water with slice of lemon