Why Worrying Makes You Fat

Fat people get fatter when they are under stress, according to scientists.

Their study contradicts the common belief that people lose weight when they are upset.

But the U.S. team found thin people didn't gain weight in stressful circumstances.

The Harvard University study is believed to be the first to look at the relationship between weight gain and multiple types of stress.

Waistlines Health experts found women's waistlines were more likely to be affected by different types of stress.

The found stress at work, financial worries, family troubles and a feeling of being limited by life's circumstances made females comfort eat.

For men, weight gain was more likely to be affected by work problems than difficult family relationships or feeling constrained by life circumstances.

Overall, the study found that people who reported increased psychological stress gained more weight if they already had higher body mass indexes. A similar weight-gain pattern was not found in lower-weight people under the same types of stress.

Researchers said that people tried to cope with stressful periods in their life by changing their eating behaviors, such as reaching for high-calorie comfort foods.

Harvard's Jason Block said: "Today's economy is stressing people out and stress has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure and increased risk for cancer. This study shows that stress is also linked to weight gain.

"Our findings show that stress should be recognized as a threat to the well-being of adults, especially those who are already overweight."

A nationally representative group of 1355 men and women was followed for more than nine years for the study.