Tag: cortisol

Married couples may be healthier than single, divorced or widowed adults, at least in part because they have lower levels of a stress hormone associated with a variety of medical problems, a recent study suggests.

Previous research has linked marriage to a longer life and other health benefits, which could be due to the relationship itself or to other factors like higher household income, better medical insurance or improved access to care. The current study, however, offers fresh insight into another possible benefit of marriage: less stress.

People who are already battling the bulge seem to really pack on the pounds when they experience stress. Jason Block, MD, whose Harvard research was published in The American Journal of Epidemiology, implicates stress as a trigger for weight gain. Apparently the stress response is gender specific. Men get stressed over workplace hierarchy, difficulty paying the bills, the inability to learn new skills along with workplace demands.

However, women have broader categories when they experience stress; they are hit hard by strained relationships and feeling limited by life’s circumstances, according to Dr. Block.

The holidays are filled with festivities and beautiful rituals, yet they bring along the dread of dietary demons, the meals, the parties and office snacks, which sabotage the weight we have worked so hard to lose or maintain during the year. These days, everyone wants a fast metabolism and flatter abs. However, what really weighs us down in life is the resentment we carry.

This is not metaphorical. Resentment actually causes us to put on the pounds. Cortisol, a stress hormone, increases with negative emotions and deposits fat around the abdominal region.