High Cortisol Levels Increase Calorie Intake

Cortisol is an important hormone produced by our adrenal glands.  Under normal circumstances, cortisol plays an important role in blood sugar health, maintenance of healthy immune function, and much more. However, stress can cause a chronic elevation of cortisol, which then can have a variety of negative health effects.  Chronic stress has also been implicated in the risk for obesity. 

A recent nutrition study explored the relationship between cortisol levels and dietary habits in overweight and normal weight women.  In this study, 127 overweight women and 21 normal weight women had their cortisol excretion rate measured over a 24-hour period.  The relationship between the cortisol levels and information collected on dietary intakes were then analyzed.  The researchers reported that:

• Obese women excreted substantially higher levels of cortisol than women maintaining a normal body weight.
• Regardless of the volunteers' body mass index, higher levels of cortisol were linked to larger waist sizes. 
• Higher consumption of carbohydrates, fats, and overall calories was linked to higher cortisol levels in obese women.

These research results continue to suggest a possible link between chronic stress and obesity.  Because the study summary did not discuss stress, it is unclear whether stress might have been involved in the poor dietary choices of the overweight women.  Since long-term elevations in cortisol can be a sign of stress, it is possible stress might be one of the factors related to the study observations.  Nonetheless, this study indicates that elevated cortisol levels, whether from stress or some other reason, might have a major impact on our dietary habits such that we tend to eat more foods high in calories, high in fats, and high in carbs.  These foods, particularly those high in fats and calories, can have a major negative impact on our efforts to maintain a healthy body weight.  Keeping cortisol levels within a normal range, perhaps be reducing stress, might be one way to help maintain a healthy body weight. 

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De-Stress To Fight Body Fat

Stress... we are all subject to it.  We live in a fast-paced world that includes many daily stressors such as traffic snarls, discord in families, financial problems, illness, employment worries and more.  Unfortunately, stress can potentially lead to all kinds of health-related issues.  Stress has also been implicated in weight gain.  While we each handle our daily stress in our own particular way, some individuals find comfort in food, particularly high-fat foods.  Research suggests that chronic stress can alter metabolism and appetite hormones, which can lead to altered eating behaviors.

A new obesity research study explored this phenomenon further.  For this study, adult female rats were fed either a regular chow diet or a high-fat diet and exposed to either their stress-free home environment or exposed to chronic variable stress for 4 weeks.  The results of this study showed that:

• Animals fed a high-fat diet, regardless of their environment, gained weight, total body fat, and abdominal body fat.
• Body weight gain in stressed rats eating either the chow or high-fat diet was similar to unstressed rats fed the chow diet.
• Rats exposed to chronic stress and fed a high-fat diet became more fat, despite not having a different body weight compared to control rats.

These are interesting study results due to discrete differences in how the animals responded to high-fat diets and chronic stress.  First, a high-fat diet on its own, as one might expect, led to a gain in body weight and a gain in body fat.  In comparison, stressed rats fed a high-fat diet did not gain any more body weight than control rats, but became fatter.  The authors of this study suggest that chronic stress appears to increase the number of calories burned, keeping body weight gain similar to the control rats.  Despite this, stressed animals had altered levels of some hormones and a preferential increase in body fat.  Therefore, while stress might not always cause us to gain weight, it might cause us to gain body fat.

Minimizing the amount of daily stress to which we are exposed might be one way we can reduce our risk for overeating and obesity.  While there are probably hundreds of ways to combat stress, I've outlined a few ideas below:

• Focus on the positive - focusing on the negative can lead to constant worrying and additional stress.
• Exercise – exercise helps you get your mind off whatever is stressing you, making it a great stress reliever.
• Find ways to relax – enjoy nature in a quiet spot, work on a hobby you like, talk and laugh with trusted family members and friends, listen to your favorite music, or read a good book.
• Add a few “I want to’s” into your daily or weekly routine.  It’s ok to treat yourself every once in a while.
• Learn to say “no” - saying “yes” to all requests might make you feel that others are taking advantage of you, causing undue stress.
• Laugh out loud - laughter can relieve stress and lighten one's mood.
• Take a day or a half day and do something for yourself.
• Take a nap - naps may help reduce stress and increase alertness and productivity

Stress can come from many sources and can sneak up on us before we realize it.  So, be proactive and incorporate some stress-relieving activities into your daily routine. 

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Vigorous Exercise Reduces Cellular Aging

Telomeres are complexes composed of protein and DNA that cap the ends of the chromosomes in our body's cells.  Because telomeres shorten as we age, they have become a cellular marker of biological age.  Additionally, short telomere length has been linked to a number of chronic diseases and possibly early death.   Interestingly, telomere length appears to be modified by a variety of factors including diet, body size and stress.  A number of studies have reported that greater amounts of perceived stress are associated with shorter telomere length.  However, few studies have evaluated the ability of stress-reducing interventions to protect telomeres.

In a new anti-aging research study (full paper is free to read), investigators examined the effect of exercise on stress and telomere length.  Previous research has suggested that stress has a negative impact on human health and that this might be due to a link between chronic stress and telemore length. Other studies have shown a positive link between exercise and longer telomere length.  This new study was conducted to more clearly define the possible relationships between stress, exercise, and telomere length. 

For this new anti-aging study, investigators divided 63 postmenopausal with different stress levels into either Sedentary or Active groups based on their level of physical activity.  The women classified as Active met the CDC-recommended amount of daily activity.  The odds of the study subjects having long or short telomeres were calculated based on their amount of exercise and their perceived stress level.  The study investigators reported that:

• Volunteers with high perceived stress levels were less active and had shorter telomeres.
• Among non-exercisers, each increase in perceived stress increased the odds of having shorter telomeres by 15 times.
• Among volunteers who exercised, telomere length was not affected by stress levels.
• Analysis of different levels of physical activity indicated that the benefits of exercise on telomere length were achieved by at least 15 minutes of vigorous activity per day.

These are fascinating research results, which suggest an anti-aging benefit of short periods of vigorous physical activity.  This study suggests that (1) high levels of chronic stress are linked to shorter telomeres and therefore a shorter cellular lifespan and (2) short periods of physical activity can protect our telomeres from stress-related shortening.  It is thought that exercise might protect telomeres by increasing the enzyme needed to prevent or slow telomere breakdown, though this theory requires additional testing.  While exercise appears to have an anti-aging benefit, stressed individuals are reportedly less likely to exercise.  This makes it imperative to develop physical activity programs targeted towards highly stressed individuals, individuals who might possibly derive some of the greatest benefits from exercise.

Exercise is an important aspect of any healthy weight management plan,  My easy diet plan recommends 30-45 minutes of walking or other physical activity you enjoy 6 days per week.  Visit us at www.drtabor.com to learn more.