It’s not your imagination - your stress might be making you fat. Even if you’re not a ’stress eater’, the hormone cortisol may be to blame for your body holding on to more weight than it should.

Stress Eaters: Researchers found that for people who said stress often drove them to eat, the comfort food of choice tended to be greasy, salty or sweet. Not surprisingly, such “stress-driven” eaters, particularly women, weighed more on average.

The researchers looked at over 5,000 people who admitted to being ’stress eaters’ and found that these individuals were more likely than others to frequently eat pizza, hamburgers, french fries and chocolate. They also drank more alcohol which caused them to eat more in the evening hours.

For both men and women, Body Mass Index (BMI) was higher among stress-driven eaters than others. For women, obesity was associated with eating to cope with stress; men were more likely to eat in the face of stress if they were single, divorced or frequently unemployed.

Chronic stress and cortisol (a “stress hormone”) can contribute to weight gain in the following ways:

Metabolism — Too much cortisol can slow your metabolism, causing more weight gain than you would normally experience so even if you’re eating ‘all the right things’, your body will resist shedding pounds as it thinks it’s in ’survival mode’.

Cravings — People experiencing chronic stress tend to crave more fatty, salty and sugary foods which as we know, packs on the pounds.

Blood Sugar — Prolonged stress can alter your blood sugar levels, causing mood swings, fatigue, and conditions like hyperglycemia which causes your body to metabolize any foods you do eat at a slower rate.Fat Storage — Excessive stress even affects where we tend to store fat. Higher levels of stress are linked to greater levels of abdominal fat which is associated with numerous other health problems and concerns.Fortunately, there are safe and effective ways to lower your cortisol levels and get the stress out of your diet. Exercise, deep breathing, yoga, meditation and sitting in a far-infrared sauna are all proven methods to lower cortisol levels. Many of these methods also involve burning calories which will help reverse the unwanted weight gain and lead to greater health and vitality. So the next time stress seems to be eating you - stop eating and seek out a healthier calorie-free alternative.