"Stress causes the same signals that famine does. Stress makes us hungry. Stress turns on the brain pathway that make us crave dense calories," notes Elissa Epel from the Center for Obesity Assessment, Study and Treatment, University of California, San Francisco in the 7-part video series called “The Skinny on Obesity” (Episode 6). Read the entire article | Email this article

"[W]hen we are stressed, we tend to choose less healthy choices, high-fat, high-sweet food… or high-salt, and it is those 3 that rewards the brain, and to a stressed brain, they are even more rewarding," notes Elissa Epel from the Center for Obesity Assessment, Study and Treatment, University of California, San Francisco in the 7-part video series called “The Skinny on Obesity” (Episode 6). Read the entire article | Email this article

A study that helped people reduce stress, reduced belly fat notes Elissa Epel from the Center for Obesity Assessment, Study and Treatment, University of California, San Francisco in the 7-part video series called “The Skinny on Obesity” (Episode 6).

The program they followed is described below.

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There are a number of nutritional supplements being sold for weight loss which claim that excess belly fat is caused by elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and their product will help you lose belly fat by reducing cortisol levels. This may be nonsense in the overwhelming majority of cases because "chronic stress or [diet-induced obesity] is rarely associated with [excess cortisol levels]" according to a recent paper about stress and obesity. Read the entire article | Email this article