Obesity in girls may be triggered by stress, a new study suggests.  Depression can increase hormone levels in teenage girls, leading to weight gain and obesity. Read the full story

Stress, specifically chronic stress, can lead people to take comfort in eating high-fat foods, according to a new study. Get the details in this report from WLS News. Read the full story

Watch this week’s WLS News to find out what effect obesity has on cancer rates, learn about the link between chronic stress and comfort food, and discover what researchers have to say about the high number of people who have been hospitalized for swine flu … and are also obese.  Plus, learn about new efforts in Asia to prevent diabetes– starting with children in infancy. All of these stories and a quick trip to the World Wide Web are in this week’s report. Read the full story

Belly fat might be more likely for those facing social stress, according to new research. And that’s bad news for people facing financial difficulty, because increased belly fat can lead to other, more serious health conditions. In addition, stress can have a negative impact for women who want to have children,  research shows.

Read the full story

Does Stress Cause Childhood Obesity?

Obesity is a complex metabolic disease. While its origins are uncertain, researchers are gradually zeroing in on the factors that can trigger obesity in otherwise healthy people – and it’s becoming more and more obvious that one factor – stress – is likely a direct contributor to childhood obesity.

Data from a new Iowa State University study confirms this. The study has found that adolescents exhibiting four or more of five specific “stress markers” have a greater likelihood of becoming overweight or obese.

The research results, to be published in the August issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health, are derived from data obtained from an in-depth study of more than 1000 adolescents and their mothers living in Boston, Chicago and San Antonio. The study subjects were all from low income families, as the lack of security concerning food and money are initial stressors.

The adolescents were first measured and classified according to their individual body mass index, which revealed that 47% of the teenagers were overweight or obese.

The study subjects’ data were then correlated with five stress factors that the researchers theorized to be related to the onset of obesity:

• Academic problems
• Drug and alcohol use
• Depression or other mental health problems
• Inappropriate aggression or other behaviors
• The inability to focus on the future

The correlated data showed that more than 56% of the adolescents who exhibited at least four of these five factors were overweight or obese. In other words, this study indicates that an adolescent who is stressed by poor grades, mental health problems, drug and alcohol use, or some combination of these is likely to develop weight issues.

The upshot, say the researchers, is that obesity care and prevention efforts for adolescents need to focus more on the big picture rather than on diet and exercise alone. By treating obese and overweight students holistically, including addressing stress and home-life factors, we may hope for better results in our battle against childhood obesity.

Behavior Modification and Weight Loss Surgery Equally Effective

A new study published in the International Journal of Obesity shows that people who lose weight by adopting healthy diet and exercise habits can keep it off over the long-term just as well as those who have bariatric surgery.

The two-year study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, compared the lifestyles of a group of 315 obese patients, each of whom had lost and kept off an average of 124 pounds – some by behavior modification, some by weight loss surgery – and kept it off an average of five-and-a-half years. At the beginning of the study, researchers assessed each patient’s weight, along with his or her food intake, activity level, and psychological factors, like depression, then measured each of the markers one year later and at the end of the study.

Interestingly, the researchers found no significant differences in the amount of calories that each group took in, or the amount of weight they regained over the two year period.  However, the bariatric surgery patients had eaten more fat and more fast food than the non-surgical patients.

They also reported less conscious control over their eating and higher incidences of depression and stress.

And, only one-third of the surgical group reported engaging in the recommended level of physical activity, compared with 60 percent of the non-surgical group.

Doctors concluded that no matter how you lose the weight, good diet, physical activity, and psychological health are important parts of your recovery process. So guys, even if you’ve dropped the pounds, it’s important that you still go to the gym to keep your heart healthy, and that you stay plugged in with your doctor and a local support group.