New Delhi, Nov. 18: Large waistlines are associated with stressful events in life — from serious illness in the family to financial losses to trouble in interpersonal relationships, says a new study to be published tomorrow.

The study by two psychologists at the University of Connecticut in the US has found that overweight and obese adults are more likely to have experienced stressful life events in the previous year than people with normal waistlines.

Several independent earlier studies have indicated that stress may add to body weight by raising the levels of the stress hormone called cortisol or by interfering with healthy eating habits.

But the Connecticut researchers said the study is the first to examine the relationship between weight and a broad range of specific stressful events and to explore differences between women and men.

“Our study does not establish a cause-effect relationship,” cautioned Danielle Barry, assistant professor at the Calhoun Cardiology Centre at the university’s health centre.

“It is possible that overweight or obese people experience greater stress for reasons such as discrimination, but it’s also possible that stress may contribute to obesity through physiological effects,” Barry said.

The study by Barry and Nancy Petry at the university’s department of psychiatry, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, is among the largest studies so far to explore the link between stress and obesity.

They examined the height, weight and details of stressful life events in more than 41,000 people in the US over a two-year period. “The stress-obesity association appeared stronger among women than among men,” Barry said.

Overweight, obese and extremely obese women were more likely to have experienced the death or serious illness of a family member or close friend, serious financial problems, or trouble with co-workers or jobs, compared to women with normal weight, the study found.

Extremely obese women were more likely to have had problems with a neighbour, friend or relative compared to women with normal waistlines. Among men, only obese and extremely obese men were significantly more likely to have experienced serious illness or injury in the family, trouble at work or financial losses than men with normal weight.

More studies are required to establish conclusively whether stress is leading to such obesity or people who are obese also experience stress, Barry said. There are clear physiological mechanisms that can explain how stress leads to obesity.

When addressing obesity, the focus is typically on eating habits and exercise. “These findings show that it’s important to keep in mind other issues contributing to a poor quality of life,” Barry said.

But, the researchers said, being overweight or obese could itself contribute to stress by contributing to poor health or through discrimination at the workplace because of weight which has been observed earlier by several independent studies. On the other hand, stress and obesity can both trigger an inflammatory response in the immune system that can contribute to blockages in arteries and diabetes.