Stress and insulin resistance

Stress and insulin resistance

Literature reports indicate that chronic emotional stress causes an increased level of glucose in the blood, which affects the increased secretion of insulin by the pancreas. Excessive insulin secretion leads to insulin resistance. It has been found that people who are often exposed to stressful situations have an increased risk of developing insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension or cardiovascular diseases.
A strong relationship was observed between the level of stress in the workplace and the risk of developing insulin resistance. People characterized by workaholism, high ambitions and, at the same time, with limited adaptability to changes in the environment, are significantly more likely to suffer from insulin resistance.
Long-term, chronic stress causes an increase in the concentration of free fatty acids in the blood. Chronic stress promotes weight gain, for which neuropeptide Y is responsible – a protein that affects the increase in the amount of food intake and the deposition of fat in the body. In stressful situations, the subjects often switched to a diet with increased caloric content.

Source: Joanna Suliburska, Justyna Kuśnierek. Nutritional and non-nutritional factors in the development of insulin resistance. Metabolic Disorders Forum 2010, Vol.1, No.3, 177–183.