Cortisol and obesity
In today’s world, the battle of the bulge seems impossible to win as we all try different weight loss methods with little success. But there may be some hope for those struggling with visceral obesity, and that is cortisol.
Cortisol is released when the body feels threatened, can cause weight gain by increasing appetite and storing fat in our belly area.
It’s been found in many studies that people with high levels of cortisol have more belly fat than those without it, and many doctors are now looking into ways of reducing or eliminating the hormone. The main takeaway from this research is that cortisol could be a new way to manage obesity.
Cortisol regulates your appetite by releasing hunger hormones like ghrelin and leptin and increasing our desire for high-fat foods because it stimulates the release of sugar from stored energy sources called glycogen.
Cortisol also plays a role in belly fat. Cortisol stimulates the release of insulin, which can lead to higher levels of glucose and fatty acids circulating in your body. This increase in sugar consumption leads to abdominal weight gain by causing more storage and decreasing energy expenditure. A slower metabolism means that less calorie-burning is happening each day.
Long-term exposure to this stress hormone can contribute to obesity by altering the amount of fat stored in our body and causing unhealthy sugar and glucose metabolism changes.
