Losing weight can improve your health but can it also make you less stressed?
August 28, 2018
Our next blog is by Dr Susan Torres, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University. Dr Torres discusses the recent findings of her research on the effect of weight loss on stress.
Obesity is linked with many chronic diseases and is also associated with higher levels of stress. Many individuals who are overweight or obese go on energy restricted diets to fight the bulge, so could this also have a beneficial effect of reducing stress?
We all experience stress in our daily lives and a common type is psychological stress which is found in the workplace. When we are faced with stress our body responds with the “fight or flight” response and physiological changes such as elevation of blood pressure, increases in heart rate and mobilisation of energy stores. All of these changes help us deal with stress. However, exposure to chronic stress has been linked to the development of diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression and anxiety.
Obesity is a global epidemic and is also linked to the development of diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. We also know now that higher body weight is associated with higher levels of stress. In a review where they examined studies that followed participants over a long period of time, relationship stress and perceived stress was associated with the development of weight gain.
Going on a weight loss diet if you are overweight or obese can improve many conditions like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and even high blood pressure. But what about your stress levels? To lose weight you need to be in negative energy balance. This means that the amount of kilojoules you consume from food needs to be less than the amount of energy you expend in your daily physical activity or the energy required to just keep your body functioning. Going on a weight loss diet long term can be hard. Inevitably it will mean you are going to be hungry and you may need to give up some of your favourite treat foods. Restricted energy diets have been found to increase fatigue and tension and decrease vigour, most probably because of feeling hungry and being deprived of food.
We conducted a meta-analysis where we looked at 10 studies that all investigated the effect of weight loss by decreasing dietary intake in overweight and obese adults. Across all these studies we found that weight loss did not appear to either increase or reduce stress.
There are many health benefits for losing weight in those who are overweight or obese, but it does not appear to have a beneficial or detrimental effect on stress.
Susan Torres, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Registered Nutritionist Senior Lecturer Nutrition
Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences