Depression, stress and weight gain
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Researchers say people with a history of depression and stress seem to have metabolic differences that can lead to weight gain.
At Ohio State University, researcher Jan Kiecolt-Glaser saw this in data on 43 couples. The researchers gave them a high-fat meal, told them to try to resolve a hot-button issue in the marriage, and measured the calories they had burned seven hours later.
The researchers found the couples burned fewer calories than would have been expected otherwise. And Kiecolt-Glaser says the reduced metabolic rate can affect weight gain:
“It would translate into 118 calories which, if it occurred every day, could add up to 12 pounds per year.”
The study, presented at a conference hosted by Ohio State, was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
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HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.