If you’re overweight, you may be at and the higher chances for stress-related diseases like diabetes type 2, cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to new research by Brandeis University.
It’s long known that psychological stress can trigger biological responses like the results of illness or injury, including inflammation. While normal inflammation is an important part in our body’s healing response, runaway inflammation can bring about chronic and life-threatening diseases.
In a recently published paper in Brain, Behavior and Immunity, Brandeis researchers observed that overweight and obese people have higher levels of stress-induced inflammation compared to those within a healthy weight-range.
“We’ve known that overweight and obese individuals curently have chronic, poor quality inflammation,” says psychology professor Nicolas Rohleder, the study’s principal investigator. “Now, it would appear that when you add stress towards the mix, it’s a double hit.”
The paper was created by graduate student Christine McInnis, with fellow doctoral candidates Danielle Gianferante, Luke Hanlin, and Xuejie Chen, in addition to co-investigators Myriam Thoma, Juliana Breines, and Suzi Hong.
The researchers measured interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory agent associated with stress, to evaluate inflammation levels in normal-weight and overweight individuals over the course of two psychological stress tests. They classified weight according to several factors, including bmi (BMI) and body fat percentage. Individuals with a BMI of 25 or higher were classified as overweight.
On the first day of testing, lean and overweight individuals reacted much like stress, despite higher starting amounts of IL-6 in overweight participants. On the second day of testing, however, the IL-6 amounts of overweight participants nearly doubled, while the levels of lean participants remained just like on the first day.
McInnis and Rohleder observed the relationship between BMI and IL-6 levels was linear – the larger the BMI, even among lean individuals, the larger the IL-6.
“It seems that every percentage point of excess fat makes your weaker to inflammation,” says McInnis.
With about sixty-six per cent of Americans considered overweight, and worldwide obesity rates doubling since 1980, understanding the health risks of obesity could not become more important, says McInnis.
“We all know there are serious diseases related to obesity. Now we are a measure closer to focusing on how and why,” she says.
