WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Aug 5, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Social stress may cause
the body to deposit more fat in the abdominal cavity, increasing the harmful
buildup of plaque in blood vessels, U.S. researchers say.
"Much of the excess fat in many people who are overweight is located in the
abdomen, and that fat behaves differently than fat in other locations,"
principal investigator Carol A. Shively of the Wake Forest University School of
Medicine says in a statement.
Obesity is directly related to lower socioeconomic status in Western societies,
as is heart disease -- people who have fewer resources to buffer themselves from
the stresses of life are more likely to experience such health problems, Shively
says.
Shively and colleagues said female monkeys were fed a Western-style diet
containing fat and cholesterol. The monkeys were housed in groups so they would
naturally establish a pecking order from dominant to subordinate.
Subordinate monkeys are often the target of aggression and aren't included in
group grooming sessions as often as dominant monkeys.
The study, published in the journal of the Obesity Society, found the socially
stressed subordinate monkeys developed more fat in the viscera, or abdominal
cavity.
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