Studies have shown that stress and overweight and obesity are closely related, interact, and can be the cause and effect of each other. A person who is stressed often eats a lot of sweets and becomes obese. On the contrary, obese people often feel self-conscious about their appearance, so they are easily stressed. And both of these conditions cause many negative consequences for health and spirit, so do not be subjective.

Stress is a problem that almost everyone encounters at least once when facing difficult situations or tasks. Stress is the driving force that motivates each person to move forward faster, however, if not handled quickly and appropriately, it can cause many dangerous problems for both physical and mental health.

Studies have proven that there is a close relationship between stress and overweight and obesity. A person can become stressed because of obesity, as well as a person can become stressed due to prolonged stress, leading to uncontrolled weight gain. Both of these problems are common and directly affect each person’s health, spirit and life.

How does stress cause overweight and obesity?

People who are stressed often have two tendencies: not eating, not wanting to eat or drinking, or overeating. People under stress often crave sweets such as milk tea, cakes, cream cakes or snacks. And this is also one of the reasons why people with prolonged stress often gain weight and are susceptible to diseases. rapid overweight and obesity.

According to research at the University of Cincinnati – USA, hormones that lead to stress, glucocorticoids, can be reduced when eating sweets. That’s why when feeling stressed or worried, many people will feel more comfortable and excited when eating foods with high sugar content. People with prolonged stress even tend to be addicted to sugar, especially at night.

A study also shows that stress causes the body to produce more of the fat storage hormone, the hormone cortisol. This hormone stimulates the formation of fat that can surround internal organs (called visceral fat) and cause obesity.

The foods we crave when stressed often tend to be low in nutrients but high in calories, making it easier to accumulate fat. On the other hand, people who are stressed are often quite lazy and inactive because their bodies are too sluggish or simply because they are too busy. However, regardless of the reason, consuming too many calories without exercising will cause us to gain weight and become obese quickly.

Some factors related to stress and overweight and obesity are caused by insomnia. Many people often think that lack of sleep will make us thin and emaciated, but in reality, lack of sleep makes us easily gain weight and if we need to lose weight, it will be difficult to succeed. The reason is that due to lack of sleep, the body’s metabolism is less effective, causing excess fat to still accumulate. At the same time, the hormones Ghrelin and Leptin are produced more, causing the body to feel hungry the next day.

Stress and anxiety stimulate the body to produce more peptides – the cause of fat masses, especially in the abdominal area. Many surveys have been conducted and the results show that despite the same diet, people who often live under stress always have a higher rate of overweight and obesity than people with a healthy, spiritual lifestyle. happy, optimistic.

How does overweight and obesity cause stress?

Stress and overweight and obesity are always closely related. Because of stress, a person becomes obese and vice versa, overweight and obese people also tend to be more stressed or stressed. The cause may be related to an unscientific diet or appearance problems.

As mentioned, diets that cause obesity are often very unhealthy. Greasy foods and fast foods often make your body feel heavy, your brain works less effectively, so you easily feel more stressed. The digestive system’s ineffective functioning and fatigue are also factors that cause insomnia, especially if you eat too much at night.

On the other hand, the connection between stress and overweight and obesity is also related to the fact that these people often want to lose weight quickly and choose to fast, eliminating starch or sugary foods suddenly. Suddenly cutting sugar in the diet can cause panic, especially for obese people because they tend to be addicted to sweets. The most obvious symptoms are feeling tired, irritable, and always in a state of anxiety.

Besides, stress factors in overweight and obese people are also related to appearance. These people are often teased and pointed at because of their oversized appearance. Obesity also interferes with work and relationships, leading to more serious stress and tension. If this condition is not quickly resolved, the risk of psychological problems in obese people is very high.

It can be clearly seen that overweight and obese people are often lazy to exercise. The reason may be because exercise can make them tired, because they are lazy, or because they are afraid of the eyes of people around them. They tend to stay indoors a lot, lie down right after eating, and rarely play sports. And of course these factors will also increase the risk of stress in people with overweight and obesity.

Consequences of stress and overweight and obesity

The relationship between stress and overweight and obesity is also related to the dangerous complications that it can cause. A stressed person is not necessarily overweight, however, most obese people are stressed or at least have become more stressed at some point.

The effects that stress and overweight and obesity cause are not only mental but also increase the risk of many other physical problems, if not promptly controlled. Include

• Increased risk of psychological problems such as depression or anxiety disorders. Because stress inherently makes these people mentally depressed and more negative, when people around them tease, bully, or commit violence, they will easily enter the stage of depression. Most obese people easily become self-conscious, so even though they have great strength, they rarely fight back and are often easy victims of violence.
• Increased risk of bone and joint problems. The musculoskeletal system is subjected to too much pressure from the body, so it easily becomes weaker. On the other hand, unhealthy factors in the body’s organs are also the reasons why overweight and obese people are susceptible to bone and joint diseases, such as synovitis and osteoarthritis.
• Increases the risk of blood pressure, cardiovascular, and blood fat diseases, increasing the risk of stroke, especially in the elderly. Some other diseases that stress and overweight and obesity cause such as stomach diseases, diabetes…
• Obese people who are stressed often have bad skin, easily darken, get acne, and many other problems that make them even more self-conscious about their appearance.

The effects of stress and overweight and obesity are very dangerous, so absolutely do not be subjective. This condition persists, causing the quality of life of these people to seriously decline, so it is necessary to have control as soon as possible.

Prevent the consequences of stress and overweight and obesity

Stress and overweight and obesity are closely related, so parallel measures are needed to eliminate them. It is very difficult for you to lose weight effectively if you eat poorly and often lose sleep; On the contrary, if your weight improves, your spirit will also become much happier, more positive and optimistic.

Some measures that can help people who are stressed at the same time as being overweight or obese can improve, such as:

• Make sure to get enough sleep every day, go to bed before 11pm and wake up earlier, maybe from 6-7am. This is a very suitable time for you to tackle work or exercise
• Change your scientific diet, avoid suddenly cutting starch and sugar. Increase green vegetables, nuts, and foods low in bad fats. If you crave sweets, you can use fruits or foods that are naturally sweet, such as honey or some weight loss sugars.
• Do not eat at night, have a full breakfast and lunch, in the evening you should prioritize simple, light, and easy-to-digest dishes. You should prioritize preparing dishes at home to control spices and appropriate portions
• Priority should be given to steamed, boiled dishes or simple soups that do not use a lot of fat. Replacing animal fats with vegetable oils, such as olive oil, for daily cooking also brings many benefits to health and weight loss.
• Stay away from foods that are too greasy, fried foods, fast foods, junk foods, cakes, coffee or even alcoholic beverages if you want to lose weight effectively.
• Maintain a daily exercise routine, you cannot lose weight effectively if you do not exercise. Yoga or gym training both bring many benefits to people who need to lose weight. In addition, for those who are too busy and do not have much time to go to the gym, they can also combine it with daily walking, such as climbing the stairs to the company instead of taking the elevator as usual.
• Spending time sunbathing every day is also good for your mood
• Practice mental relaxation measures, such as warm baths, aromatherapy, and meditation to relieve stress more effectively.
• Always aim for optimism, joy, and positivity. You can participate in sports activities such as mountain climbing, volleyball, and badminton that are both good for your mood and help you lose weight scientifically.

There is a close connection between stress and overweight and obesity, affecting both the mental and physical health of each person, so there needs to be a solution as soon as possible. Scientific weight control, healthy eating and active daily exercise will be the most appropriate solutions that each person needs to take from now on to prevent