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Thursday, October 16, 2003The centre of this poverty-obesity link is a hormonal pathway known as the HPA axis. This is a loop connecting the hypothalamus, a jellybean-size part of the brain that governs appetite, and the pituitary and adrenal glands, which secrete a variety of hormones, including the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol helps the liver convert fat into the lightning bursts of energy the body needs to escape danger, a vital function. But it also signals the body to accumulate mounds of fat in the abdomen, building the 'apple' shape that is so hazardous to health. 'When you have too much cortisol, you have Cushing's disease, which is an illness that causes central fat deposition,' says Dr. Goodman. ...Research shows children raised in low socioeconomic settings produce greater amounts of cortisol, a stress hormone. In a 2001 study, researchers from McGill University measured the hormone levels of 300 children from poor to wealthy families. They found three times as much cortisol in low-income kids compared with rich kids. Social stress probably does give rise to higher cortisol levels, and it could very well be behind not only a tendency to gain weight, also the higher incidence of illness among the poor and otherwise socially stressed. But, the conclusion that the Canadian researchers reach is mind-boggling: Diabetes mellitus, a common complication of obesity, is twice as common among middle-aged Canadians with household incomes less than $30,000 than those living in households with incomes of $60,000 or higher. And rates have increased sharply since the mid-1980s. By 2010, an estimated four million Canadians will have diabetes. Dr. Raphael says the shift to more conservative governments around the world is a big factor. "If you're serious about population health, and if you're serious about heart disease and diabetes, then you don't want to create the kind of policy environments we've been creating in Ontario and in Canada," he says. Is there any record of any government - liberal or conservative - in the history of the world that has managed to eliminate poverty? What's more, is there any system in the history of the world that has been able to eliminate social stress? Not that some haven't tried. What's more, whose to say that living off the dole doesn't produce its own social stresses? HUD housing from the Carter era is among the most depressing architecture you're ever likely to see - low, brick buildings built along institutional lines with as few windows as possible. Not exactly an evironment that would lower cortisol levels. posted by Sydney on 10/16/2003 07:55:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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