Scientists from the University of California have shown that women who have experienced a traumatic event, the risk of obesity is higher.
The obtained results demonstrate how stress can affect eating habits and cause weight gain.
Figures from the National Institute of health show that about 67% of women are overweight, while women suffer from obesity more often than men.
As for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), women also suffer from this disease twice as often than men. About 20% of people who experience a serious emotional trauma, eventually developing PTSD.
During testing, the experts considered about 22,000 women of middle and old age. This group is at higher risk of developing obesity than other age groups, the researchers note. All stressful events experienced by the participants were divided into two categories: significant traumatic events throughout life (such as physical violence or the death of a child), and negative life events that occurred over the past five years. Assessing the body mass index of women, the experts came to the conclusion that one traumatic event in life increased the risk of obesity by 11%. Women who experienced four or more traumatic events, 36% more were obese.
The findings suggest that physicians should consider treatment of psychological stress in the approach to weight management.
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