Recent study revealed that stress is a major reason behind belly fat. No doubt a western-style diet containing fat and cholesterol increases the body fat but chronic stress leads to accumulation of fat in the abdomen, which increases the risk of heart disease.
 
Research team led by Carol A. Shively, a professor of pathology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine used monkeys to study the effect of stress on accumulation of fat.
 
She said: "Much of the excess fat in many people who are overweight is located in the abdomen, and that fat behaves differently than fat in other locations."
 
Shively and colleagues analyzed data collected from stressed and unstressed female cynomolgus monkeys. Data analysis revealed that as compared to other monkeys the stressed monkeys had more belly fat.
 
Researchers also found that the low-status monkeys had high levels of a stress hormone called cortisol. High cortisol levels cause belly fat to accumulate. Moreover it also makes individual fat cells get larger.
 
Shively said the findings reinforce the wisdom of healthy eating, regular exercise and handling stress well.