Cortisol and Weight gain

AbhishekDas08

Does cortisol hormone increases body fat?

sollyn23l2

Yes, it can. Primarily because it causes you to stress eat.

neanderthin

No, overconsumption does that. One of the many symptoms of chronically elevated cortisol levels is weight gain. It basically has an effect on our food intake, energy expenditure and one of those hormones it effects other than adrenaline for example are glucocorticoids, which other than work with our immune system effects food metabolism, and increases hunger signaling. It happens that some people that are overweight and especially obese have elevated cortisol levels. Short answer. cheers

cmriverside

It happens that some people that are overweight and especially obese have elevated cortisol levels

But I have to wonder, which came first? The elevated cortisol or did the extra weight increase cortisol?

neanderthin

cmriverside wrote: »

It happens that some people that are overweight and especially obese have elevated cortisol levels

But I have to wonder, which came first? The elevated cortisol or did the extra weight increase cortisol?

It's basically observational data. I would suspect mostly from blood work drawn across all demographics, in other words, after. We are talking chronic levels in that demographic. Chronic levels would show up before weight gain if cortisol came first, right? Cheers

LifeChangz

i have also heard - cortisol makes you fat (because the body uses it to metabolize fat). If I understand what Neanderthin is saying is that it makes us hungrier, we eat more and because we eat more, our body stores the extra food as fat. In other words, this would be a chemical response in the body that increases appetite?


@neanderthin ~ this would bring me to a question - is there a clear reason for elevated cortisol? is it a physical response to (emotional or physical) stress such as when adrenalin rises as a 'fight or flight' response? Is there a correlation with/because of increased prolonged weight gain - the more you gain/remain overweight, the higher the cortisol levels rise? Guess I'm trying to figure out if it is something we can lower with emotional calmness, exercise or weight loss.

LifeChangz

sollyn23l2 wrote: »

Yes, it can. Primarily because it causes you to stress eat.

@sollyn23l2 ~ that is almost exactly what 1 of my doctors said a few years ago - and her reason to prescribe an anti-depressant. I told her I was not depressed and her reply was 'but you are still stress eating."

to this day - i can totally see the cycle - stressed then eat, or smoke cigarettes heavily, or drink more or do drugs or release stress with other things - gambling, shopping.... my thought was, well, need to figure a better way (life skills) to cope with life stresses - drugs/anti-depressants would be 'medicate the problem....' how does that change coping skills. I declined the medication.

if I understand what @neanderthin is saying - then the cortisol hormone/chemical in our body triggers a physical increase in hunger - well, no wonder there's a bit of a physical circle going on there.

cmriverside

neanderthin wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

It happens that some people that are overweight and especially obese have elevated cortisol levels

But I have to wonder, which came first? The elevated cortisol or did the extra weight increase cortisol?

It's basically observational data. I would suspect mostly from blood work drawn across all demographics, in other words, after. We are talking chronic levels in that demographic. Chronic levels would show up before weight gain if cortisol came first, right? Cheers

Thanks, this is what I thought. Being overweight is so stressful to all the body systems, and the endocrine system is entirely and completely out of balance with obesity, so I've always figured that the cortisol increase is just yet another symptom of overweight. In my understanding cortisol is anti-inflammatory and if there's one thing that does happen with overweight it's got to be chronic inflammation so it is the body's way of trying desperately to keep things running.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5507106/

cmriverside

@LifeChangz

Here's a (different) good one for you about stress and cortisol and appetite. It also touches on addiction and food etc. I know that's an interest of yours.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5373497/

LifeChangz

chicken. egg.

@neanderthin so? we're not seeing elevated levels in people who are not overweight?

@cmriverside - posting same time - good questions... clarity...

neanderthin

LifeChangz wrote: »

i have also heard - cortisol makes you fat (because the body uses it to metabolize fat). If I iunderstand what Neanderthin is saying is that it makes us hungrier, we eat more and because we eat more, our body stores the extra food as fat. In other words, this would be a chemical response in the body that increases appetite?


@neanderthin ~ this would bring me to a question - is there a clear reason for elevated cortisol? is it a physical response to (emotional or physical) stress such as when adrenalin rises as a 'fight or flight' response? Is there a correlation with/because of increased prolonged weight gain - the more you gain/remain overweight, the higher the cortisol levels rise? Guess I'm trying to figure out if it is something we can lower with emotional calmness, exercise or weight loss.

Yeah, haven't gone down that rabbit hole too much but I suspect cortisol is controlled by other hormones and I suspect that there's a specific hormone that triggers the adrenals to produce cortisol more so in obese individuals but that's just a guess.

LifeChangz

thank you @neanderthin - i was just thinking 'haven't i heard this with respect to adrenal something something like adrenal fatigue'

the upshot for me is there is a physical response in the body (to whatever _______) that increases appetite. this seems to be part of that. That 'physical hunger' is the bane of my life - have been trying to tell docs most of my life - but doc, i get 'crawl the wall' physical hunger - i'm not crazy, i'm hungry!' same for 'I'm not stupid, lazy, uneducated or whatever 'moral ineptitude' is implied. I'm "Hungry!.!!!"

LifeChangz

Thank you @cmriverside - it's not like I want to say 'hey, food addiction is real and impacts me' - it is the quest to understand why I am physically driven to eat - in combination with bad coping skills. It's not like we start out intending to gain weight - i did so much 'dieting' that I gain only maybe 5 lbs a year - but over 20 years, that's 100 lbs - over 40, that's 200 lbs - all the while with a stupid underlying phsyical drive component - that so many people dismiss and disregard as a real issue. That dismissal is sorrowful. I'm not crazy, I'm hungry - combined with 'I like to eat socially' well, here we are. I don't think this 'combo condition' is a reason to be treated like a dirty dog by anybody for any reason - we are all worthy of the same respect, irrespective of our height, eye or hair color, or weight. I will /end rant... and continue to advocate for more compassion, empathy and treatment paths for people dealing with excess weight, whatever the underlying reasons.

edit to add - i kind of remain permanently ticked on this matter - which probably raises cortisol, eh? lol little bit of irony in that..... illustrating why judgement is so damaging and treatment paths would be better!

neanderthin

LifeChangz wrote: »

thank you @neanderthin - i was just thinking 'haven't i heard this with respect to adrenal something something like adrenal fatigue'

the upshot for me is there is a physical response in the body (to whatever _______) that increases appetite. this seems to be part of that. That 'physical hunger' is the bane of my life - have been trying to tell docs most of my life - but doc, i get 'crawl the wall' physical hunger - i'm not crazy, i'm hungry!' same for 'I'm not stupid, lazy, uneducated or whatever 'moral ineptitude' is implied. I'm "Hungry!.!!!"

Yes it's complicated and most practitioners don't think in a holistic way where the brain and body have a symbiotic relationship that pretty much controls everything and dish out the status quo doctrine of eat less and move more and/or here's some medication. Cheers

cmriverside

@LifeChangz

I'm on your side, remember? I'm WITH you -not against you on the food addiction thing.

...and yeah, don't stress yourself out. Those two links I posted are interesting...


**Edit** that second one is really interesting regarding human tests, stress and cravings (small test sample size/of course done naturalistically so errors could be relative)

"Stress, cortisol, and other appetite-related hormones: Prospective prediction of 6-month changes in food cravings and weight"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5373497/

LifeChangz

@neanderthin wrote: "Yes it's complicated and most practitioners don't think it a holistic way where the brain and body have a symbiotic relationship that pretty much controls everything and dish out the status quo doctrine of eat less and move more and/or here's some medication. Cheers"

/end quote (bold is mine)

exactly! i have had the advice 'eat less and move more' given to me out the ying yang - as if that solves all... still here... same problem.

however, the emerging information to me is significant because it demonstrates this issue of mine is real - so therefore is truly serious for me - and needs my significant attention to deal with it - for me, it is a multi-factor approach physical & mental, similar to other difficult problems such as leaving off drugs, alchohol, and for me personally parellels cigarettes.

LifeChangz

lol @cmriverside - yes, i remember! it's quite why methinks u can understand my rant!
-- i don't understand why so many people so many places are determined to quash even the idea/discussion of food addictions as an issue & related treatment paths. imho, exceedingly harmful to those suffering.

ty for the articles - will read & ponder.

LifeChangz

blargh - these studies are the techno stuff that makes my eyeballs spin & roll back into my head - i am thankful for people who can do/read & understand them and the issues - i am interested in the upshots - that emerging information clearly shows that there are powerful hormones/chemical responses in our bodies that drive physical appetite/cravings which triggers Excess eating in some people combined with other attitudes, beliefs and behaviors around eating. It can be way more complex to change/unravel than simply deciding to put down the fork and never be an issue again, for some/many? people. Of interest to me is an honest conversation that these physical factors are real - and from there, appropriate interventions/therapies can develop - whether it is framed in whatever language/terminology. Consensus on the problem and language is needed, so people can know what is meant by the terminology.

OTOH - in coloquial terms, by just people in general - is it no wonder or unusual to say things like 'sugar is the devil?' ~ i don't think so - i don't understand the need to dis-abuse people of coloquial expressions of their personal difficulties.... particularly when there are other un-dis-abused threads like - what food is your current obsession? Isn't that the same thing - what food are you fixated on? fixation being part of dis-ordered/abuse and use of substances that are harmful? it's like circular semantics - if a person is to change and improve, acknowledging they have a problem is simply a place to start - and the underlying things like cortisol and other hormones in the body clearly impact/drive hunger/appetite for some people....

it is not unusual to hear people say they are obsessed/hooked on/a 'foodaholic' about particular foods - which is clearly a 'brand-specific' or 'particular food' preference - but if someone who is hooked on alcohol names a particular type of alcohol or brand - we would not dis-abuse their personal assessment/characterization when they say they struggle with excess consumption of the particular brand/item. just sayin - for me, feels similar/same... i get fixated on particular foods/brands which can be triggered by tv ads - think that is exactly what they want - so i will trade money for some pretty foods... that's the goal of these companies - their bottom line, not my health.

and with that - going to pry the keyboard from my fingers and /stop there...

AnnPT77

LifeChangz wrote: »

thank you @neanderthin - i was just thinking 'haven't i heard this with respect to adrenal something something like adrenal fatigue'

the upshot for me is there is a physical response in the body (to whatever _______) that increases appetite. this seems to be part of that. That 'physical hunger' is the bane of my life - have been trying to tell docs most of my life - but doc, i get 'crawl the wall' physical hunger - i'm not crazy, i'm hungry!' same for 'I'm not stupid, lazy, uneducated or whatever 'moral ineptitude' is implied. I'm "Hungry!.!!!"

Another potential factor is that stress tends to increase fatigue, and fatigue can both reduce NEAT and trigger energy-seeking behavior (appetite).

Absent other countervailing forces, increasing weight does increase the calorie cost of daily life movement (we burn somewhat more) but arguably makes movement more fatiguing, difficult, or less enjoyable - maybe can make us less likely to move. There again, there's a chicken/egg question.

I think there can be a sort of slippery slope effect, where all these factors reinforce each other to create a negative spiral: Weight gain increasing stress, reducing inclination to be active, and increasing stress hormone levels; and stress plus the fatigue of moving (and other psychological stressors like the self-criticism or social stigma some experience when overweight) tending to increase appetite or encourage comfort eating.

There's at least some evidence that - at least for some people - some types of exercise can decrease the negative effects of stress. I know of nothing that has demonstrated the reverse, that moving less increases stress directly . . . but it seems possible that there's some role in there for inactivity (due to excess weight) having a negative effect somehow, once we're talking about population-level trends. (I know that not all overweight people are less active, but I think there's some statistical tendency or correlation in that direction.)

neanderthin

LifeChangz wrote: »

chicken. egg.

@neanderthin so? we're not seeing elevated levels in people who are not overweight?

@cmriverside - posting same time - good questions... clarity...

I suspect that there's a decent percentage of people that are of normal weight that do have elevated cortisol levels but suspect the levels in the obese demographic are much, much higher.

I just want to say that cortisol is an amazing hormone that has helped us survive for millions of years and keeps us safe on an individual level when it's acute. For example on D-day when the boys were hitting the beaches in Normandy cortisol levels were through the roof that made them throw up. Elevated levels also makes you stronger and able to lift much heavier objects, increased brain clarity and experience decreased pain sensitivity and all this so we were able to survive better, or for a job interview, or a sporting event your engaged in and on and on. It's hooked up to our circadian rhythm and is naturally elevated in the early morning helping us wake up and then trails off and is at it's lowest at night when our night hormones engage specifically melatonin which helps us sleep and helps regulate our immune system, regulate our blood pressure and it's an anti inflammatory. It's all good when it works in a normal fashion.

Chronic levels, well, that's not good. It can acerbate anxiety, depression and fatigue along with constipation and bloating, IBS, memory, concentration, sleep, elevated blood sugar and blood pressure, insulin resistance all the reproductive problems and issues you can think of and of course weight gain. Probably thebest way to reduce chronic levels and you can get that checked by your PCP if you think you might have elevated cortisol is weight loss and exercise and I would think meditation and yoga or the Chinese discipline of Qigong would also probably help.

LifeChangz

thank you @Neanderthin ~ that's a very helpful explanation... would tend to agree with all of it. along with the exercise observation from @AnnPT77.

I think many forms of exercise help with stress reduction and body relaxation, cardiovascular health/blood pressure, there are all sorts of benefits. I have observed in myself that a combination of cardio first followed by strength training, then stretching in some form [tai chi, yoga - qigong (on my list to explore)] do lead to a state of calmness and deep restfulness. i was surprised the first time I noticed it... it is my favorite physical state of relaxation - next to/followed by jacuzzi or massage... i wish though! would be so way cool if the jacuzzi & massage were readily available
-- there is a jacuzzi at the public pool available in the summer - but the massage only if i were to be injured and received therapy.... hope to not need therapy! lol

neanderthin

Yeah, we have a jacuzzi tub and I use it all the time, especially after playing hockey or home from the gym. cheers