85A - Fit and Well Column for August 29th, 2004
85A - TITLE: "Stress and Fat"
Dear Trish and David,
I recently read a magazine article about how stress effects metabolism. It really confused me. I always thought that being stressed would actually BURN more fat, because of the anxiety and tension that I feel.
I have what is often described as a "high stress job". Besides just making me anxious, is this job actually making me get fat?
HELP?
Cassandra in Severna Park
Dear Cassandra,
I feel your pain (oh, I hate that expression!). Truly, I do understand your frustration, and concern. And to make matters worse, it turns out that your concern is well founded. Let me explain…
Millions of years ago, our cavemen ancestors needed to react swiftly to any perceived threat. This flight or fight response was designed to provide quick energy for five or ten minutes, enabling our forefathers and foremothers (is that correct) to either do battle or run. At the first sign of a dangerous situation, the human brain releases a substance known as CRH. CRH travels to the adrenal cortex and stimulates the release of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol.
This added adrenaline improves many of the senses, including eyesight and hearing, while lung capacity jumps, and thinking becomes more focused. The digestive process is temporarily slowed down, and blood is redirected from the internal organs for emergency use elsewhere. Heart rate and blood pressure climb, and due to the increased cortisol levels, more stored fuel (fat and glucose) is mobilized for quick action. Production of insulin, the fat storage hormone, is also dramatically increased. Insulin overrides signals from adrenaline to burn fat, and instead, encourages the body to store fat (for future use) in the abdominal region.
This life-saving, emergency response plan was appropriate to an era when surviving the day was the biggest concern. But when was the last time you reacted to a stressful situation by actually fighting or running away? If you did that at work, you certainly would forgo your Christmas bonus, and more!
The fact is this. The human brain simply cannot distinguish between a valid physical threat and ordinary, day-to-day, also known as chronic, stress. For many stressed-out individuals, the flight or fight response is triggered on an almost continuous basis. And it sounds like Cassandra is one of those unfortunates!
As you sit in your car and stew over the wall of traffic in front of you, the deadlines at work you'll never meet, and the bills you can't pay, or even watch CNN while doing your obligatory cardio workout, your brain begins to sense the onset of a threatening situation and sets the flight or fight response into motion.
You feel this as nervous tension or just plain anxiety. Your heart pounds and you want to jump out of your skin, but there's really nowhere to go, and nothing to do. All that extra fuel (in the form of fat and glucose) that's designed to provide you with emergency energy, is now being mobilized for action, but goes unused and left behind, only to be re-deposited as fat -and to make matters worse, usually belly-fat.
High cortisol levels are associated with increased appetite and increased fat deposits, typically around the trunk and abdomen. Some researches theorize that this unused fuel (or fat) is generally deposited in abdominal area because of its proximity to the liver (where it can be quickly converted to a usable form of energy, glycogen).
As part of the body's short-term protective measures, Cortisol acts like the adrenaline antidote. Upon removal of the stressful stimulus adrenaline levels quickly dissipate, but cortisol levels remain high, causing insulin production to surge as well.
In the face of prolonged or chronic stress, cortisol levels can remain constantly high, keeping you in a state of perpetual hunger. We can easily see how elevated cortisol levels can promote weight gain due to an overabundance of insulin. Insulin resistance, which affects 25 per cent of all Americans, is a major risk factor for Type II Diabetes and heart disease.
The average caveman was well served by a system that signaled him to eat after every emergency, and where total energy expenditure was not uncommon. Thankfully, today, true physical emergencies are rare, but this short-term protective system, although somewhat outdated, still works. The stress response is hardwired into the fabric of our lives. Ask the average man or woman off the street if he or she gets stressed out on a regular basis, and you'll most likely hear an emphatic, "Yes!" So if we can't eliminate stress, how can we combat the effects of the flight or fight response and stop making ourselves fat?
One of the most obvious ways to combat fat and the ravages of stress is with exercise. Exercise represents a triple threat to body fat. First, exercise burns calories and utilizes stored body fat as fuel. Second, working out increases the amount of lean muscle mass your body must provide with fuel on a 24 hour a day basis. More muscle means less fat.
Moderate to vigorous exercise, such as lifting weights, circuit training etc., can offset the negative effects of cortisol and insulin. With as little as ten minutes of strenuous exercise the brain begins to produce beta- endorphins that calm you down and decrease levels of the stress hormone. Strenuous exercise actually mimics a typical caveman-like physical reaction to a threat, and is the modern-day version of an appropriate reaction to the flight or fight response. So instead of just being STUCK with the stress, it actually GOES SOMEWHERE! Oops there goes another fat deposit… kerplop!!!
Stress Relief Tools
Common sense dictates that you eat right, get plenty of sleep, and exercise, but now we have another weapon in the battle of the bulge. Stress management through education, exercise, therapy, or just plain fun is a necessary ingredient in fitness and weight loss, as it is in a healthy, well-balanced life. Don't ignore the signs of being overstressed, of which being over weight is just one symptom. Recognize symptoms and do something today. Whether with exercise or other types of stress management techniques such as psychotherapy, hypnosis, taking up a hobby, or even meditation, do something.
Stress can make you put on the pounds. And, eventually, stress can shorten your life.
EDITOR: PLEASE BOX THIS:
FIT TIP
Instead of using bread to make your sandwich, try other options. Unprocessed flour tortilla (wraps) is a good choice. Even better, try to use cabbage or lettuce as your "wrap". It's crunchy, nutritious, and contains hardly any calories, unlike bread which is typically loaded with carbs just looking for a place to live (like around your posterior!).
END