The path wasn't easy - it took time to start welcoming negative emotions with kindness and understanding. They worked together to heal her relationship with food and within a few months Jennifer had started to learn to enjoy food - and life - in a whole new way. Jennifer was a classic comfort eater - piling on almost 50lbs following a bereavement The reason for this is a molecular pathway in the brain controlled by insulin – insulin is one of the hormones that helps moderate our food intake, so any disruption in this pathway can lead to overeating. They found that chronic stress alone raised insulin levels only marginally, but when the mice ate energy dense food while being stressed, their insulin levels were raised tenfold in comparison to mice who only had access to their usual diet. The researchers looked different areas of the brain in stressed mice – and importantly, when the mice also had access to high calorie food. But a recent study published in the scientific journal Cell Metabolism demonstrated that eating when stressed leads to more weight gain. Reaching for the cake, ice cream and pizza when stressed is a common occurrence. One of her clients, Jennifer, shares her own story of how she cut out the snacks.Īnd Rob Hobson, a medical nutritionist and author, offers his tips on healthy snacking, even when you're at your wits' end.
Here, Dr Meg Arroll, a leading psychologist, explains why stress drives us to comfort eat and how to tackle it. Some women even worry that they have dementia because of the forgetfulness when sex hormones plummet during menopause.Īccording to new research, when stressed, mice are more likely to become obese due to a molecule in the brain that triggers a shift in their metabolism.
Many of the symptoms of the menopause - memory lapses and loss of concentration - only make you more stressed.
This ‘sandwich generation’ of midlife women has a double whammy of stress as they are often still housing and looking after boomerang children, as well as caring for aging parents.