New research shows how stress, combined with a fast-food diet, can cause obesity (see sources below). Researchers expect that drugs that promote or prevent fat accumulation in specific areas of the body will be available in the future.
In the mean time, we can look at how Chinese medicine views the matter. Weight is regulated by the interaction between the heart and the kidneys — or, more specifically, heart energy and kidney energy. When these energies are in balance, our weight is normal. When heart energy is low, we’re likely to gain weight.
According to the Law of 5 elements, worry and anxiety — more or less the equivalent of ‘stress’ in Chinese medicine — decrease heart energy, as do most fast foods.
Occasional worrying and infrequent fast-food meals aren’t likely to do much harm, but continuous worrying and a steady diet of fast food will eventually reduce heart energy to the point of not being able to balance kidney energy, leading to weight gain in most people. The exceptions are those who thrive under pressure and can eat anything they want, yet remain thin. Such people generally have excessive heart energy, which is balanced by stress and fast foods.
A more technical explanation for the interested reader. Worry, anxiety and most fast foods increase the Earth element, which has the effect of overworking the digestive tract. This automatically drains Fire, or heart energy.
- Way to Shrink, Grow Fat Is Found (Washington Post)
- Scientists Discover How Stress Causes Obesity And How Fat Can Be Removed Using A Simple Injection (Medical News Today)