Stress + “comfort” foods = excess weight gain

While these scientists have discovered the neurotransmitter and receptor in fat tissue that are activated during stress, (and therefore the chemical receptor blocker); it is great to know that ultimately here is more scientific proof that reducing stress is a powerful method for reducing weight gain, as well as supporting weight loss. It is helpful to note that the rats studied were "stressed," as well as given high-fat foods. The defining outcome is that the stressed, poor-diet fed rats gained more than they would have on the same diet without (or reduced) stress.

Washington, D.C.--In what they call a “stunning research advance,” investigators at Georgetown University Medical Center have been able to use simple, non-toxic chemical injections to add and remove fat in targeted areas on the bodies of laboratory animals. They say the discovery, published online in Nature Medicine on July 1, could revolutionize human cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery and treatment of diseases associated with human obesity.

Investigators say these findings may also, over the long-term, lead to better control of metabolic syndrome, which is a collection of risk factors that increase a patient’s chances of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Sixty million Americans were estimated to be affected by metabolic syndrome in 2000, according to a study funded by the Centers for Disease Control in 2004. In the paper, the Georgetown researchers describe a mechanism they found by which stress activates weight gain in mice, and they say this pathway (which they were able to manipulate) may explain why people who are chronically stressed gain more weight than they should based on the calories they consume.

“An accumulation of chronic stressors, like disagreements with your boss, taking care of a chronically ill child, or repeated traffic road rages, could be acting as an amplifier to a hypercaloric diet when protracted over time. Depression may also be acting as a stressor.” Not only were the stressed mice much fatter, they began to exhibit the metabolic and cardiovascular consequences of obesity, Kuo said. “They had the glucose intolerance seen in diabetes, elevated blood pressure, inflammation in the blood vessels, and fat in their livers and muscles.”

“We are hopeful that these findings might eventually lead to control of metabolic syndrome, which is a huge health issue for many Americans,” she said. “Decreasing fat in the abdomen of the mice we studied reduced the fat in their liver and skeletal muscles, and also helped to control insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, blood pressure and inflammation.
Complete article is posted here:

Scientists Discover Key to Manipulating Fat - Pathway also explains stress-induced weight gain