Stress and Lower Socioeconomics in Childhood Play a Role in Obesity Later

Available for Interviews: Dr. Franchell Hamilton

Dr. Franchell Hamilton, MD, FACS, FASMBS, FOMA, is the Founder of NeuroSwitch™ Weigh Loss–a place for people to receive treatments ranging from bariatric surgery and medical weight loss to hormone therapy. Dr. Hamiltion is also the author of two books; Transformation Is a Mindset: The Journey to Changing Your Input and Your World and And the Best Diet Is . . . .

What Dr. Hamilton could say on
Stress & Low Socioeconomics:

Everyone knows stress is bad and can cause many medical problems, such as increased blood pressure, headaches, heart disease, and weight gain. But did you know this can start early, and why some people eat to help combat stress?

      • Studies have shown that adults who grew up in a low socio-economic environment may be more likely to desire food even when they are not hungry. A study at the University of Alberta suggests stressful childhood environments are a precursor for obesity later in life—and that advertising junk food is at the root of the obesity epidemic because it can be a trigger to so many people.

      • How you grew up can dictate the type of food you desire. Stress is well known to trigger appetite, but new information shows that stressful conditions experienced during early childhood appear to calibrate the brain to desire high-energy-dense foods throughout one’s lifespan. This research also helps explain why people with lower socio-economic status, who live in chronically stressful conditions, have higher obesity rates and other chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
      • In this study, adults who grew up in harsh conditions were more likely to be motivated by food and more likely to desire high-density foods, i.e., junk food.
      • When under stress, our body goes into fight or flight mode, as it has historically done when running from predators or during times of scarcity. Today there are no longer saber tooth tigers chasing us. Still, our bodies’ response has not evolved, so under harsh conditions, our bodies are driven to acquire and consume excess high-dense food. These foods often lead to other medication conditions such as obesity, elevated blood pressure, and diabetes.
      • This flight or fight response also spikes our cortisol and norepinephrine levels, which in turn vasoconstrict our vessels, which are made up of smooth muscle, causing an increase in blood pressure; under chronic stress, these hormones do not entirely resolve, which could lead to long-term elevated blood pressure due to vasocontriction.
      • Using other methods to deal with stress, such as slow breathing, meditating, or listening to music, can often help satisfy and blunt this response in lieu of the junk food causing smooth muscle relaxation.
      • Supplements like magnesium or pharma GABA act as a smooth muscle relaxer allowing increased blood flow and relaxation and suppressing norepinephrine.
Where people can learn more about how to stop the regain and maintain weight loss:

Stop the Regain

 

Interview: Dr. Franchell Hamilton

Dr. Hamilton is a Triads Award-Winning, Board Certified Surgeon who gave up operating on the stomach to operating on the mind to treat chronic conditions such as obesity and diabetes. She is the author of two books, Transformation is a mindset: The Journey to Changing Your Input and Your World and And the Best Diet Is . . . , and now educates other providers around the world on what she discovered in her practice through her master class.

Dr. Hamilton is passionate about helping to change the lives of those she meets through practicing medicine and consulting. As a once-practicing bariatric surgeon, Dr. Hamilton has firsthand experience addressing the challenges and pain points of patients being treated for cardiometabolic diseases. She founded NeuroSwitch™ Weigh Loss—a place for her patients to receive treatments ranging from bariatric surgery and medical weight loss to hormone therapy.

Dr. Hamilton is a podcast host on Your Health Transformed that discusses various popular and innovative health topics to challenge our current way of thinking about medicine.

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