Food insecurity is when people fear for their food. Since the individuals in question don’t have enough money to pay for their needs, they are insecure about their meals. They usually think they wouldn’t have enough food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This eventually causes them to gain weight. Based on a study, the risk of obesity is higher for families who have low income.
There are parents who disturb the eating patterns of their children, because they fear they wouldn’t be able to afford more food for the family. This happens when mothers or fathers restrict the amount of food they give to their child when he or she is hungry. There are also some occasions where the parents pressure the child to eat more than they should and this usually takes place when the child is still full. Unfortunately, this does not help the children in controlling their hunger and they may not even recognize that they are full already. This is why they overeat and this eventually leads to weight gain.
Stress
Since there may not be enough money in the household, it is easy for everyone to be stressed out. A stressful environment can definitely cause people to overeat and therefore gain more weight rapidly. Unhealthy eating habits become the result of such challenges.
You may think that stress here pertains to just psychological stress, which can include losing a job, getting stuck in traffic, or having a fight with your loved one. Psychological stress is indeed a major reason for overeating, but there are actually problems that cause physiological stress and can also lead to being overweight.
These include the following:
- Insomnia or the sleep disorder where sleeping at night is difficult to do
- Chronic infections
- Environmental toxins
- Autoimmune disease
Stress is a huge problem because it does not just affect your weight, but can also cause several health conditions. Stress has the ability to raise your blood sugar levels, which can turn you into a diabetic. Also, it creates a sort of blockage that inhibits glucose to enter your cells. Stress can indeed make you fatter because you get hungrier when you are full of problems and to make yourself feel better, you might want to grab a sugary treat.
Food insecurity and stress don’t just happen to low income families though, especially the second one. Anyone can have a problem with their budget and this can lead to stress. By handling your finances properly, you can manage both money problems and other causes of stress. In the end, you fight a winning battle against weight gain.
Courtesy via http://www.stethnews.com/
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