Belly Fat and Stress

Do you feel like absolutely everything you eat goes right to your belly? That thought may be truer than you think. Much of the extra fat in many people who are overweight is centered in the abdomen area, and that fat behaves differently than fat on other parts on the body. When researchers at the Wake Forest University fed trial monkeys a typical American diet which was high in fat and cholesterol, they gained weight and those who were socially stressed developed much more belly fat. Monkeys that were fed a high fat and cholesterol diet and housed in a natural setting showed subordinate as well as dominant personalities. The subordinate monkeys were less likely to be invited to join in group activities, such as grooming. Scans noticed more abdominal or visceral fat in the socially stressed monkeys than the others. “The monkeys that have excess abdominal fat have the metabolic syndrome, just like people with a lot of abdominal fat,” said lead researcher Carol A. Shively. “Suppressed ovarian function is a very serious condition in a woman,” Shively said. Compared to the unstressed monkeys, the researchers found that the stressed monkeys had abnormal menstrual cycles and therefore much less likely to ovulate.