Stress and Obesity: Are There More Susceptible Individuals?
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing mechanistic and observational literature without systematic review methodology
PubMed 29663153 · doi:10.1007/s13679-018-0306-y
What was done
This narrative review synthesized recent findings on the relationship between chronic stress, systemic and local glucocorticoid action, and abdominal obesity, focusing on individual susceptibility factors such as hair cortisol concentrations and glucocorticoid sensitivity.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. It notes that elevated long-term cortisol levels measured in scalp hair associate with abdominal obesity and certain mental disorders, but highlights that not all individuals with obesity show elevated cortisol, suggesting that genetically influenced differences in glucocorticoid sensitivity modulate vulnerability to stress-induced weight gain.
Why it matters
Understanding the physiological heterogeneity in glucocorticoid exposure and receptor sensitivity could help differentiate obesity phenotypes and guide personalized behavioral or endocrine-targeted interventions.
Limits
The abstract contains no primary quantitative data, sample size details, or systematic search methodology. It describes correlational associations rather than establishing causal directions between stress, glucocorticoid signaling, and adiposity.
Cited by
- supports Elevated stress hormones mobilize glucose and lipids into the bloodstream which, if unused by tissues, deposit as ectopic visceral adipose tissue.