How Stress Causes Weight Gain

Stress causes the human body to tense up as it releases hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine, which encourage fat formation. In primitive man, these "fight or flight" chemicals were of great service in times of occasional threat, when the fat was quickly utilized. But under toda's societal stress, modern man feels constantly "threatened,"and so constantly builds fat.

"In primitive man, after a surge of fight or flight hormones, he relaxed and his body went back to normal, but today, continuous stress with no relief is common," said Moulavi. People subjected to stress, the doctor said, tend to sleep less, which increases cortisol secretion. Exercise could improve this whole scenario.

However, "stress can make you tired and cause sore muscles," said Lani Kee, manager of the Center for Health and Healing at Martin Memorial Health Systems, in Stuart, Fla."When you hurt and have no energy, you're less likely to exercise."

De-stressing can be accomplished by setting time aside for walking, bathing, listening to music and the like; writing down one's core values and focusing on them in daily life; and consciously avoiding negative people and situations that produce stress.