Why does stress drive weight gain?

We’re likely to have all felt or experienced ‘stress’ in one form or another. But do you know what it is, and how it can impact our body? Today, we’re focusing on the relationship between stress and weight gain, so if you feel your stress levels might be weighing heavy on your mind and your scales, keep reading.

What is stress?

Put simply, stress is a natural reaction in the body to feeling under pressure or threatened. It can result in many different emotional, physical and behavioural responses. This is because the stress response is mediated through hormonal balances and immune responses that help the body handle the challenges it’s faced with.¹

Stress is an umbrella term that can be broken down into seven key forms: acute stress, episodic acute stress, chronic stress, traumatic stress, environmental stress, physiological stress and psychological stress. The definitions for each range from short term ‘fight or flight’ stressors or a prolonged period of stress, to exposure to traumatic events or adverse conditions like overcrowding or noise.²

Each one can cause strain on our systems, and may even lead to maladaptive responses that result in anxiety, depression and even cognitive impairments.³ This is where stress and weight gain come in.

How does stress impact our bodies?

Prolonged exposure to stress can negatively impact the major systems in our body, including the gastrointestinal, respiratory, musculoskeletal, immune and reproductive systems. Over time, exposure to stress can result in:

• Compromised immune function and delayed wound healing
• Increased risk of respiratory infections
• Exacerbation of gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome
• Prolonged recovery from musculoskeletal injuries
• Increased risk of developing musculoskeletal conditions
• Chronic inflammation
• Reproductive dysfunction, including infertility, menstrual irregularities and erectile dysfunction⁴
• Increased risk of cardiovascular disease⁵

So, it’s imperative to manage stress levels to keep in top physical condition, which leads us to our next focus, stress and weight gain.

How does it drive weight gain?

Have you ever felt that despite doing everything ‘right’ with your diet and exercise, you just don’t seem to be able to reach your goal weight? This may be because you’re not managing your stress levels effectively.
Studies have found a clear relationship between stress and weight gain. This is largely as a result of a few key factors:

1. Disruption of blood sugar levels: The group of hormones known as catecholamines that are released during stress can raise blood sugar levels, and enhance the requirement for insulin. In the long-run this can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.⁶ This can then increase the body’s tendency to store fat, making it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it.

2. Stress eating: Roughly 40% of us experience an increase in appetite when stressed.⁷ For many, it can lead to increased cravings for junk food, as studies have found that increased cortisol (the stress hormone) can result in a higher desire for high calorie food and a lower desire for healthy foods.^{8 9}

3. Depletion of nutrients: Studies suggest that stress can affect micronutrient concentrations and lead to nutrient depletion. This is potentially due to stress reducing blood flow to the gut, and weakening gastric secretions that would ordinarily break down food to extract key vitamins and minerals.¹⁰ So although you may be hitting nutritional targets, if you don’t have a handle on your stress levels your body might not be making use of all that goodness.

5 ways to reduce stress

If you want to focus on tackling stress and weight gain, there are a few key ways to bring a little more calm to your life.

• Go for a daily walk: If you can, leave your phone at home and get outside for a daily walk. The fresh air and act of walking are sure to boost your mood, with science telling us that physical activity can increase stress resilience.¹¹ 
• Prioritise sleep: Less sleep means more cortisol-fuelled stress, and therefore more weight gain. Studies have found powerful connections between sleep and stress, so ensure you’re aiming for eight hours of sleep per night. Head here to read more about the connection between how to lose weight by sleeping more.¹²
• Give mindfulness a try: Research shows time and time again that mindfulness and meditation reduces stress.¹³ It’s even been suggested to be as effective as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) in treating depression and anxiety, so give mindfulness a go next time you want to calm your nervous system.¹⁴ 
• Connect with others: Studies have found that loneliness may have a greater effect on mortality than some other risk-factors like alcohol consumption, with more sociable adults having increased longevity compared with isolated individuals.¹⁵ This is in part due to the fact that positive social relationships have stress-buffering effects.¹⁶ Our exclusive Online Community in our Programme was designed with this in mind, giving our members a space to connect with others who have similar goals and interests.
• Prioritise high-fibre foods: Boosting your gut health is known to improve your mood because happy hormones like serotonin are created in the gut. Our Programme houses plenty of tasty fibre-rich recipes to put a smile on your face.

The evidence linking stress and weight gain is irrefutable. Get started on your journey towards a happier body and mind by signing up to your 7-day free trial of The Fast 800 Programme. There you’ll find helpful meal plans, fibre-rich recipes, exercise guidance, an Online Community, and a library of mindfulness resources to help you keep calm, lose weight, and keep it off for good.