Had a 73 percent bigger chance of becoming obese...

Apparently being under stress or anxiety could be a cause of obesity according to new research that was done at the University College of London’s Medical School. The lead researcher of this new project Dr Brunner claims that the more stress that people are put under at work increases the likelihood that will become obese. Doctor Brunner also claims that stress can mean that you end up with a lot of fat around your stomach which is noted to be one of the more unhealthy places to stock excess fat.

It is a documented fact that high stress levels can cause heart disease and metabolic problems and coupled with an excess of fat around your stomach can lead to diabetes and all sorts of cardio problems. The study was extremely thorough and involved nearly 7,000 men and three and a half thousand women and was carried out over a period of nearly twenty years.  The study volunteers were between the ages of 35 and 55 years old at the beginning of the research. The participants were asked about their work, the demands that their employers made on them, whether they had a high level of responsibility and whether they were given good support at their workplace.

The statistics showed that both the men and women who reported elevated levels of stress on three separate occasions had a 73 percent bigger chance of becoming obese than those people who said that they had very relaxed and chilled out jobs.  They were also seen to be 61 percent more likely to have stomach fat meaning a waist measurement of more than 102cm in men or 88cm in women. The men and women who reported stress only twice in the study period also had higher levels of obesity risk at 24 percent and a bigger risk of having a large stomach at 41 percent. Men and women who only reported stress on one occasion were seen to have a seventeen percent bigger risk of becoming obese.

The researchers took into account other things that may have influenced the results such as smoking and their economic and social levels.  The research makes interesting reading for those people who study obesity could encourage employers to implement activities and initiatives such as getting employees to wind down by going to the gym and get exercise in order to have a less stressed, thinner and healthier workforce.