Stress Before High-Fat Meal Slows Down Body Metabolism

Experiencing stress the day before consuming a single-fat meal is known to lower the body metabolism in women, a new study reveals.

Researchers at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that women, who consume a high fat meal the day after experiencing one or more stressful events, metabolized the food slowly eventually leading to weight gain.

The study included 58 women of an average age of 53 years. They were given a meal that had 930 calories and 60 grams of fat. The participants were enquired about the previous day's stressors. The metabolic rate, blood sugar level, triglycerides, insulin and the stress hormone cortisol were measured.

The meal consisted of eggs, turkey, sausage, biscuits and gravy. The participants were made to eat the entire meal within 20 minutes. After eating the meal, the metabolic rate was tested 20 minutes of every hour for the next seven hours. The control group were made to eat random meals.

It was noticed that those who experienced one or more stressors during the previous 24 hours, burned 104 fewer calories as compared to the non-stressed women in the seven hours after eating the high-fat meal. This difference resulted in weight gain of 11 pounds in one year. Apart from this, the stressed women also had high levels of insulin which further contributes to the storage of fat and less fat oxidation.

"This means that, over time, stressors could lead to weight gain," said Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University and lead author of the study. "We know from other data that we're more likely to eat the wrong foods when we're stressed, and our data say that when we eat the wrong foods, weight gain becomes more likely because we are burning fewer calories."

In order to regulate the intake of food for 24 hours before eating the high fat meal, the participants were given three standardized meals on the previous day and were asked to fast for 12 hours before reporting their study visit.

"We suspected that the saturated fat would have a worse impact on metabolism in women, but in our findings, both high-fat meals consistently showed the same results in terms of how stressors could affect their energy expenditure," said Ohio State nutritionist and co-author Professor Martha Belury.

The finding was documented in Biology Psychiatry.