Research paper
Epel ES, McEwen B, Seeman T, Matthews K, Castellazzo G, Brownell KD, Bell J, Ickovics JR. Stress and body shape: stress-induced cortisol secretion is consistently greater among women with central fat. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2000;62(5):623-632. doi:10.1097/00006842-200009000-00005
Why we cite it
An early and influential demonstration of the stress-cortisol-central fat feedback loop. In 59 premenopausal women across 4 days of laboratory stress sessions, Epel et al. showed that women with central fat (high WHR) secreted significantly more cortisol during stress and — critically — failed to habituate across repeated sessions, while women with peripheral fat distribution showed normal cortisol habituation. This failure to habituate is the key finding for the project: it means that people carrying central fat don't just respond to stress more intensely, they stay stuck in that heightened response. The finding that this relationship held after controlling for BMI means it's about *where* fat is stored, not *how much* — connecting stress biology to fat distribution rather than weight per se. For the project's plateau and stress-eating messaging, this paper establishes that stress management is not just a nice-to-have but a mechanistic pathway to healthier fat distribution.
DOI: 10.1097/00006842-200009000-00005 · PubMed 11020091 · Publisher