I just find this fascinating

[meganursula]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003770752_fat02.html

I'm a huge proponent of exercise as a tool to regulate stress and mood issues. But this is a different causal direction. (And considers fat, not exercise, but exercise, healthy nutrition, and maintaining a weight that allows for proper body mechanics are all intertwined in my mind.)

Comments

[cheesepuppet.livejournal.com]

I have a hard time appreciating studies like this, even while I'm their target demographic: stressed out person with loads of unhealthy belly fat.

First of all, do we need to torture mice (geez that was horrifying to read about) to tell us that chronic stress is bad? We have loads of studies that show us that chronic stress causes illness, blows holes in the wall that is our immune system, and can be a significant factor in everything from asthma to heart disease. So what if chronic stress also makes people fat? Isn't the other stuff enough to warrant us trying to reduce our stress?

And why why why are we turning off genes and making new pills? Why don't we take stress seriously enough as a culture to *really* lower stress for people. Not just tell them, "Don't be so stressed out, it's bad for you," but work on concrete solutions as a whole society, like increased vacation time, better healthcare, better childcare for working families, and a trillion other daily experiences for people that are stressful?

It just irritates me that good money is being spent on such a ridiculous pursuit. That we spend money on obesity research at all is annoying to me. How much farther we could get if we encouraged good cooking, slower meals, local food, city-wide bike paths, decreasing workaholism, etc.

[mh75.livejournal.com]

First of all, do we need to torture mice (geez that was horrifying to read about) to tell us that chronic stress is bad?

Well, mouse torturing aside, i thought it was an interesting look at cause and effect. I guess less so if you consider their main thrust of 'fat', but, am i less stressed because i maintain relatively good health? Or am i able to maintain relatively good health because i also try to manage my stress?

It might be important to people. If you can focus on one thing, should you focus on trying to lose weight, or should you focus on some form of stress management?

I would think that you would like the results of this study, anyway, because it suggests that an effective manner of making lifestyle changes for a healthier you is to concentrate on managing stress, not on counting calories. If we can both agree that a number on a scale isn't a good measure of health, isn't it nice to know that there is something you can look at that may affect that number without making it a priority? Perhaps you are better off choosing the exercise that leaves you the least stressed out, as opposed to the one that burns the most calories?

And why why why are we turning off genes and making new pills? Why don't we take stress seriously enough as a culture to *really* lower stress for people.

Of course thats a problem. This is America. Someone will invent a shot, or a cosmetic application. Not enough people will think up ways to reduce their stress. But i don't think that invalidates the research. The article does pay lip-service to the problem in the last sentence, but, more importantly, i don't much care what corporate america does with the study. I care that it makes me think about how people could include something in their life that would improve it on many levels.

It just irritates me that good money is being spent on such a ridiculous pursuit. That we spend money on obesity research at all is annoying to me.

I don't think that money spent to increase our understanding of a topic is wasted. I don't think there is a magic cure for what ails us, i think it takes work, commitment, and lifestyle change. I will fight for bike lanes in Seattle, argue for people to include healthy activities in their life, and certainly make decisions on my own that focus on those comprehensive solutions. But i don't mind if all this comes with an increased understanding of how our bodies work, and how complex the problem is.

I think its a difference of perspective. You see all the flaws in the study and article. What i see is a peek at one way that our health and well being is a very complex and intertwined system.