Hormonal
Chronic psychological or physical stress induces hypercortisolism, which promotes visceral adiposity and metabolic syndrome by inhibiting lipolysis and stimulating lipogenesis via glucocorticoid receptors.
If you carry weight around your midsection (visceral fat) and feel chronically stressed, your body may be biologically programmed to store fat there due to high cortisol levels. This is not just 'willpower'; cortisol directly blocks fat burning (lipolysis) and encourages fat storage (lipogenesis) in the abdomen. Addressing chronic stress through behavioral or physiological means is a critical component of managing visceral obesity and metabolic health, alongside diet and exercise.
In adipocytes, glucocorticoids directly inhibit the antilipolytic, or fat-releasing effect of insulin, by inhibiting the enzyme hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL)... fat storage is enhanced by an increase in the activity of the fat storage enzyme, lipoprotein lipase (LPL)... The net result is an ever-increasing accumulation of fat, primarily in the visceral depot.
Why this rating
The paper synthesizes multiple human observational studies, animal models, and clinical data on Cushing's syndrome, providing strong mechanistic and correlational evidence.
Source
Hypercortisolism and Obesity
Pamela Peeke et al. · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 1995
DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1995.tb44719.x
More from this paper
- Visceral obesity is strongly associated with the 'metabolic syndrome' (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance), whereas subcutaneous fat is not.Strong
- Chronic stress and hypercortisolism inhibit the growth hormone (GH) axis and sex steroid production, which further promotes visceral fat accumulation and insulin resistance.Good
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