Does Stress Cause Weight Gain?

clipped from www.intelihealth.com Q: Can stress cause weight gain? The short answer is yes, though not in every person. Some people lose their appetite and lose weight when they're stressed. But if you already tend to be overweight, stress usually leads to weight gain. It also can make it harder to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. How likely are you to respond to negative emotions and stress by eating? It's hard to know. But in a large British study, researchers found that people with the lowest body mass index (BMI) tended to lose weight when stressed, while people with the highest BMI usually gained weight. Since food is essential for survival — and for most of human history food was relatively scarce — the brain has evolved to protect us against times of scarcity. Sadly, the brain does a poorer job of protecting us against abundance! In fact, it may actively undermine many of us. Some experts say that chronic stress leads to a preference for foods that are high in sugar and fat.