Stress and Abdominal Fat in Women
Abdominal fats have been a challenge for women everywhere, especially with the society’s pursuance of flat and washboard abs. Women of all sizes and shapes have sought after such feature in their body. There are diets, exercise and some alternative forms of weight loss programs that women use to achieve this facet.
Some of the main reasons that abdominal fats in women include post –menopausal period, lifestyle and stress.
Post -menopausal stage in women due to sex hormonal changes tends to stack up fats in the midsection area. Some new studies also states that genetics also contributes as to where the fats store up during post menopausal period.
Lifestyle also contributes to these abdominal fats. Unhealthy habits like excess alcohol consumption, smoking, too much eating and physical inactivity or the lack of regular exercise contributes of the development of abdominal fats.
Stressful conditions at home and at work has proven its grave consequences, and to add to the list is its ability to put on abdominal fats. Stress in women is related to cortisol secretion, thus, development of fat in the mid section area. Cortisol is a body chemical that is secreted during stressful episodes. Higher stress episodes results in more cortisol secreted in the body.
Higher amounts of cortisol affect the fats in the central region of the body, these reacts by putting on more of these fats. And the bad news is that even if one is exposed to the same stressful episode, the body does not develop immunity, this means every time the same stress is encountered, the body will secrete cortisol. And when cortisol hormone is building the fats, this actually increases the chance for some other diseases like high blood pressure and heart diseases.
There is also a difference in the reaction of the body to cortisol. Lean, slender bodies are actually more sensitive to the stress hormone cortisol. To say, overweight women have lesser reaction to such. Now, we know why models are very sensitive to other controllable factors, because stress and cortisol release is uncontrolled. These results may also be applicable to men, however, this is more related to women.
At the end of the day, stress may be uncontrolled due to environmental factors but cortisol may be lowered by adequate sleep and enough exercise. Adequate sleep gives the body a change to relieve the stress thus, lower cortisol level. Exercise with its feel good hormones may also lower stress and cortisol release.