RESEARCH - Stress increases belly fat, heart risks

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Stress Raises Belly Fat, Heart Risks

Study Shows Monkeys Under Long-Term Stress Put on Belly Fat, Get Heart Disease

By J. DeNoon

WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Aug. 6, 2009 - Monkeys fed an American diet get fat -- but those under

chronic stress put on much more belly fat.

That extra belly fat is why the stressed monkeys are much more likely

to suffer blocked arteries and metabolic syndrome, a constellation of

risk factors for heart disease, suggest Carol A. Shively, PhD, and

colleagues at Wake Forest University.

In previous studies, Shively's team showed that socially stressed

monkeys -- those at the bottom of the pecking order in a monkey colony

-- get blocked arteries far faster than other monkeys fed the same

high-fat diet.

But why do stressed monkeys get more belly fat?

" We wanted to know more about how the stress outside of you gets

turned into plaque inside of your arteries, " Shively tells WebMD. " So

we looked at why stress caused atherosclerosis in our monkeys. "

Over a two-year period, Shively and colleagues collected a vast array

of data on stressed and unstressed female cynomolgus monkeys. The

studies included a CT scan to detect visceral fat -- abdominal fat

that often (but not always) protrudes as a " beer belly " on the

outside. On the inside, it wraps around the organs.

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Read the entire article here:

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20090806/stress-ups-belly-fat-heart-risk\

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