Is stress making you fat?
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The hormone cortisol is produced as your body's perfectly healthy response to stress. But now we're not running away from wild animals or trying to catch one for dinner, the appetite-stimulating effects of cortisol can mean we simply end up eating more food than we need.
What's worse, some experts believe we're more likely to lay down fat around our middles when we're stressed because there are more cortisol receptors in your abdomen than other areas. Extra abdominal fat is linked to an increased risk of diabetes, and heart disease.
What you can do
- Get moving: exercise lowers cortisol levels and raises endorphins, the feel good hormones that counteract stress. Try cycling, running or walking 3 - 5 times a week for at least 20 minutes.
- Build relaxation into your schedule - even if it's only taking a soak in the bath, doing some deep breathing exercises or listening to calming music
- Find alternatives to traditional comfort foods like a big bowl of fruit salad or just chewing sugar free gum.
By Angela Dowden, nutritionist
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