September 29th, 2011
Large numbers of Americans are resorting to unhealthy habits like overeating in order to cope with stress. Their response to feeling under pressure also includes a lack of exercise. This lethargy is creating further health problems such as excess Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) weight gain and obesity, which, in turn, increase stress levels.
A survey of 2,000 adults by the American Psychological Association (APA) reported that 47% of participants said they were concerned about levels of stress in their lives.
Women were more likely than men to say they were affected by stress. Both men and women who were experiencing stress were less likely to say they were in good health and reported higher rates of obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure) and depression.
Women under stress said they felt nervous, wanted to cry or felt drained of energy. Men reported trouble sleeping and feeling angry or irritable. About one third of women said they turned to food for comfort and roughly a quarter of the men said the same. Those who did seek comfort in food were twice as likely as the average American to be diagnosed with obesity, said researchers.
If left unchecked, obesity can lead to the cluster of cardiovascular diseases called Metabolic Syndrome (Syndrome X), which is a significantly increased risk factor for heart attacks and stroke. Obesity can also be an underlying case of reversible Pre-Diabetes, which, if neglected, may develop into Type 2 Diabetes. This latter disorder can only be managed for the rest of the victim’s lifetime and raises the risk of blindness, amputation and severe kidney disease.
“What’s surprising and alarming is the fact that too many people weren’t taking active steps to do anything about the stress they’re feeling,” said Russ Newman of the APA.”People don’t really appreciate how detrimental stress is, and the ways they’re trying to manage stress can be as detrimental, if not more so.”
Participants who reported higher stress levels were more likely to smoke and less likely to exercise, which might relieve their feeling of stress in the short term but would exacerbate it in the long run, said researchers.
Such habits are hard to break, however, says Tajita Sinha, Director of the Research Program on Stress, Addiction and Psychopathology at Yale University School of Medicine. When a person is stressed, the need to feel better “takes precedence over impulse control,” said Dr. Sinha. “We tend to choose a response based on what we know, based on habit. We will be looking for things that calm us down but they may not be the best thing for us.”
Various forms of stress release the steroid cortisol and this process may result in severe weight gain, quite aside from eating fattening, high carbohydrate “comfort” food.
Insulin sensitivity decreases after certain stressful experiences such as work-related mental and emotional pressure. As glucose levels in the body rise, they stimulate increased insulin production, which has a number of negative effects. In particular, it raises levels of noradrenalin, a stress response hormone released under conditions of emotional upset, which, in turn, can induce Insulin Resistance. This latter disorder is a reversible imbalance of glucose and insulin in the bloodstream, which can become an underlying cause of PCOS weight gain and obesity.
Insulin Resistance and its side effects may promote the build-up of fat throughout the body as well as a rise in cholesterol and blood pressure levels and the formation of artery-blocking plaque.
Excess weight and obesity-linked Insulin Resistance also contributes to the development of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), the hormonal imbalance which is a major cause of female infertility, as well as skin conditions, excess facial and body hair and male pattern baldness in women.
But don’t despair! Switching to a balanced, nutritious diet can help reverse weight gain, while regular exercise has been proved to have a positive psychological effect on stress-related emotions as well as helping people to return to a healthy weight.
September 27th, 2011
As well as helping Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome weight loss and improving overall PCOS health, just 30 minutes of brisk activity like walking can immediately boost the mood of depressed people. A short workout has the same “pick-me-up” effect as caffeine or binge-eating, according to a study.
So, if you ever feel down and tempted to reach for some unhealthy comfort food, take a walk instead of eating a fattening snack. Better still, invite a friend to accompany you and enjoy a pleasant chat while enjoying the benefits of exercise.
Researchers at the University of Texas in Austin found that patients suffering from depression who walked on a treadmill for half-an-hour reported feeling more vigorous and having a greater sense of psychological well-being for up to an hour after the workout.
These patients and another group, who just sat quietly for 30 minutes, all reported reductions in negative feelings such as depression, tension, anger and fatigue. But only those who had exercised said they felt good after the session.
Lead researcher John Bartholomew said the study, which involved 40 people aged between 18 and 55, was among the first to show that exercise can have an immediate positive effect on depression.
“You should derive a benefit very early on in the process and hopefully that is the kind of thing that will motivate people to continue to engage in this behavior,” said Professor Bartholomew.
The positive effects from walking were sizable, says the study, lifting participant’s feelings of vigor to near-normal levels. But researchers warned that the results were short-lived and declined over the following hour.
Regular exercise is crucial to reversing Insulin Resistance, an imbalance of blood glucose and insulin levels which can be an underlying cause of excess weight gain and obesity leading to depression. Many overweight people become depressed because the social stigmatization of excess weight gain causes embarrassment, shame and guilt.
There is a neuro-biological link to obesity because low levels of the mood-elevating neuro-transmitter called serotonin in depressed people cause them to eat meals high in carbohydrates. These, in turn, raise insulin levels and cause PCOS weight gain while stimulating production of tryptophan, an amino acid essential for the production of serotonin.
It is easy to become trapped in a vicious cycle because overweight and obese individuals report that they crave high-carbohydrate meals when depressed, anxious or alone. Consuming this kind of food can result in extremes of mood changes.
September 26th, 2011
Half the battle when it comes to losing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome weight and enjoying better PCOS health and well-being is developing the right approach to what you want to achieve.
First of all, try to focus on living healthier before concentrating on PCOS weight loss. Learn to eat in a way that makes you feel well and gives you more energy. Get regular exercise, manage stress and try to think positively at all times. Tell yourself that you’re a success in so many other areas of your life, like being good at a job or raising a family, and weight loss is going to be no exception.
Focusing on your weight all the time can often lead to impatience and frustration, which may tempt you to adopt quick fixes. These desperate measures are more than likely to lead to failure. So start from a perfectly reasonable desire to improve your health and appearance, not from a feeling of low self-esteem and anger at a lack of will-power.
Find a healthy PCOS diet program that suits you, not someone else. Don’t be afraid to fail every now and again as you experiment with different eating habits and taste experiences. Explore new fruits, vegetables and foods high in omega-rich fatty acids such as salmon and walnuts.
Create a realistic image in your mind of how you want to look. Make gradual changes in your weight and they’ll soon add up. It doesn’t have be torture, either, if you allow yourself time for your body to adapt to less weight.
Persistence is the key. There may be setbacks along the way, like giving into a particular craving. But don’t beat yourself up if that happens! You’re allowed to have some pleasure en route to your healthy new way of life. So have the occasional treat and find a way of exercising that you enjoy. How long is it since you last went swimming, for example?
A key factor in PCOS weight loss is the ability to reverse Insulin Resistance, an imbalance in blood sugar and insulin levels, which, if left unchecked, can lead to obesity. This latter condition has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. and other Western countries via unhealthy diets and lack of regular exercise.
September 21st, 2011
A study identified eight factors in early life – including watching a lot of television – that put children at a greater risk of obesity.
Certain aspects of a child’s early development have long been thought by experts to influence weight in later life. Now researchers have highlighted key influences that can lead to obesity.
The study involved 8,234 British youngsters aged seven, plus a further sample of 909 children who were taking part in a large general U.K. survey. Researchers from Scotland’s University of Glasgow studied the children’s health history and everyday habits, as well as measuring their BMI, or body mass index, which is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters.
The team concluded that the following eight factors were associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity at the age of seven:
- Birth weight
- Obesity in one or both parents
- More than eight hours spent watching TV a week at the age of three
- A short amount of sleep – less than 10.5 hours a night at the age of three
- Size in early life – measured at 8 and 18 months
- Rapid weight gain in the first year of life
- Rapid catch-up growth between birth and 2 years of age
- Early development of body fatness in pre-school years – before the age at which body fat should be increasing at the age of 5-6.
Researchers said the ways in which these factors might increase obesity risk were complex. Parent obesity, for example, may influence a child’s weight through genetics. Or weight gain in children could also be linked to living in the same environment and eating the same types of food as their parents.
“Duration of night-time sleep,” said the survey, “may alter later risk of obesity through growth hormone secretion, or because sleep reduces the child’s exposure to factors in the environment that promote obesity, such as food intake in the evening. Children who were more physically active may sleep longer at night and this might explain the link between duration of sleep and being overweight. Television viewing could be linked to obesity because it is an activity which does not use up much energy and can also mean youngsters eat more while they are watching their favorite programs.”
Since the 1970s, the number of overweight kids and adolescents in the United States has more than doubled. Today, 10% of 2-5 year olds and more than 15% of young people 6-19 are overweight. If you combine the number who are overweight with the percentage of those who are at risk of becoming overweight, one in three American young people is affected.
Regular exercise and a balanced, nutritious diet are crucial ways to help reverse Insulin Resistance, an imbalance of glucose and insulin levels in the bloodstream, which, if left unchecked, can lead to weight gain and obesity. Excess weight can, in turn, result in the onset of a number of dangerous conditions, including the cluster of cardiovascular disorders called Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X and the hormonal imbalance known as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of female infertility.
