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Is your child obese? Is your child stressed?
Believe it or not, stressed-out youngsters are likely to be more obese than their thinner peers. Blame it on cortisol - the stress hormone, which is found to be 50 per cent higher in obese teenagers. Cortisol rise fuels pot bellies, making it harder for them to shun weight gain completely. If not nipped in the bud, this can lead to a lifelong battle with the bulge.
More than a third of 10-11 year olds are overweight or obese, which only sparks more fear that today's generation might die earlier than their parents.
When stressed-out, adrenal glands gush out higher levels of cortisol, leading to lack of sleep, a depressed immune system, blood sugar abnormalities and a belly bulge.
"When cortisol spikes, it tells the body to eat something with a lot of calories—a great survival tactic if you need energy to flee a predator but not if you're fretting over how to pay bills," says nutritional biochemist Shawn Talbott, PhD, author of The Cortisol Connection.
To discover the truth, the researchers conducted a simple test to see the correlation between high cortisol build-up and obesity and found that the levels of the stress hormone was clearly high in fat kids.
Researcher Erica van den Akker said: ‘We surprised to find obese children as young as age eight already had elevated cortisol levels. By analyzing children’s scalp hair, we were able to confirm high cortisol levels persisted over time.’
Another possible explanation is that some children naturally make more cortisol and this causes them to pile on the pounds. If this is the case, cortisol-lowering drugs would be a more appropriate treatment,.
Another simple way to beat stress is to chant 'om' for 15 minutes every day. This would help calm your mind and body and thwart stress. Taking a nap, listening to your favorite music, sipping on some tea, hanging out with friends or even chewing a peace of gum can de-stress your child's mind and prevent obesity.
AW: Suchorita Dutta Choudhury
