Risks of Stress

I've worked night shift for years and coupled with my endocrine problems, it's impossible to lose weight. I cringe at the "lazy lardo" stereotype because most heavy people that I've met have not been lazy, nor have they been gluttons. Most of the heavy people I have known have been quite hard working and don't eat any more than people of lesser weights. The hurtful and untrue stereotype of "Lazy and Large" needs to change.

It is also interesting to note that there are a fair number of poor people who are fat. They may be able to obtain enough to eat quantity wise but it may not be very good quality food and thus they continue to be hungry because they are malnourished. If one is hungry, one eats.

And yes, stress does contribute to weight gain. Production of the hormone cortisol is increased during stressful times. This hormone tends to promote weight gain. Overproduction of cortisol can also be caused by tumors on the pituitary or adrenal glands or other problems with these glands. This produces Cushing syndrome. The physical signs of Cushing syndrome are a fat pad around the shoulder and neck area known as a "Buffalo hump," obesity in the upper body, and a round face.

It is also of interest to note that both Cushing syndrome and Addison's disease (wherein the adrenal glands do not produce adequate cortisol) can be brought on by adrenal burnout--which can be caused by stress.