Stress can be fattening, study finds - Los Angeles Times

Stress can be fattening, study finds - Los Angeles Times

The fat on your belly may be there because of stress in your everyday life, and researchers think they may know how to get rid of it.

Studies of mice and monkeys show that repeated stress — and a high-fat, high-sugar diet — release a hormone, neuropeptide Y, that causes a buildup of abdominal fat, researchers from Georgetown University reported Sunday.

Manipulating levels of that hormone could melt fat from areas where it is not desired and accumulate it where it is needed, the researchers say in the journal Nature Medicine.

"These are eye-opening findings," said neuroscientist Arshad Khan of USC, who was not involved in the research.

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