Financial woes may cause weight gain

Being under stress, including worrying about paying bills in today's economy, may make overweight and obese people gain more weight, although stressed-out normal-weight individuals don't have this problem.

While psychosocial stress may increase people's risk of many health problems, from high blood pressure to cancer, less is known about how it might influence weight gain over time.

To investigate this, researchers from America looked at data on 1,355 men and women aged between 25 and 74 years who were followed for nine years as part of the Midlife in the United States Study. All had completed a telephone survey to assess their levels of psychosocial stress and identify psychiatric problems at the study's outset.

The study found that psychosocial stress was associated with greater weight gain among both men and women with higher baseline body mass indexes, a measure of the ratio between height and weight, if they experienced job-related demands, had difficulty paying bills, or had depression or generalized anxiety disorder.

The effects also varied by gender. While having trouble paying the bills and experiencing heavy job-related demands were linked to weight gain for men and women, lack of control over one's life and strained family relationships influenced weight gain in women, but not men. For men, having less autonomy on the job and less opportunity to use skills and learn new things also boosted the likelihood of gaining weight.

Both men and women with anxiety or depression and those who were heavy at the beginning of the study put on more weight over time than heavy people who weren't anxious or depressed.

The researchers attributed the above findings to the fact that social subordination and stress in people increase levels of the so-called stress hormone cortisol, whose high levels are also associated with abdominal obesity. As eating causes the brain to release feel-good chemicals called endogenous opiates, some people rely on eating as a way to soothe themselves and release stress, the so-called ''comfort food'' or ''emotional eating''.

The researchers recommended people to make sure they have some time to themselves each day to meditate, exercise or even just have a break from family and work demands; and be sure to get enough sleep to prevent stress and weight gain during the time of economic instability.