Long-term stress linked to higher levels of obesity

People who suffer long-term stress may also be more prone to obesity, according to research by scientists at UCL which involved examining hair samples for levels of cortisol, a hormone which regulates the body's response to stress. The paper, published in the journal Obesity , showed that exposure to higher levels of cortisol over several months is associated with people being more heavily, and more persistently, overweight. Chronic stress has long been hypothesised to be implicated in obesity - people tend to report overeating and 'comfort eating' foods high in fat, sugar and calories in times of stress, and the stress hormone cortisol plays an important role in metabolism and determining where fat is stored. Previous studies looking at the link between cortisol and obesity relied mainly on measurements of the hormone in blood, saliva or urine which may vary according to the time of day and other situational factors. These studies failed to capture long-term cortisol levels. This research involved 2,527 men and women aged 54 and older taking part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, taking data over a four-year period. In the research, the scientists took a lock of hair 2cm long from each participant which was cut as close possible to a person's scalp ' this represented approximately two months' hair growth with associated accumulated levels of cortisol.