Pediatric and adolescent obesity commonly coexist with stress-related
symptoms and disorders. Stress, the state of threatened homeostasis, is
associated with the acute activation of the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system.
However, the chronic activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and
sympathetic nervous system axes during chronic or intense stress can
lead to a variety of psychopathological and physical conditions.
Behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms link chronic stress with
pediatric obesity, in a bidirectional relation. Chronically stressed
individuals are characterized by low adherence to a healthy lifestyle
and by disturbed eating behaviors, whereas alterations in the secretion
of stress hormones might also contribute to obesity and obesity-related
complications. Obesity could lead to increased social distress, low
self-esteem, and anxiety, thereby contributing to a vicious cycle
between distress and obesity and increasing further the risk of
cardiometabolic morbidity. This review article summarizes recent
research findings and discusses mechanisms linking stress with pediatric
obesity
