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squalidaesthetics20 t1_j49llai wrote

There is evidence to suggest that those who grow up in poverty are at a higher risk for obesity. Chronic stress brought on by poverty and stressful life experiences can alter the body's physiology and raise the risk of obesity. Changes in hormone levels, such as an increase in cortisol, which can cause weight gain, can be a part of these changes. Furthermore, those who are poor might not have easy access to healthy food options and might turn to high-calorie, low-nutrient meals as a stress-relief strategy. In addition, it may be difficult for people to afford gym memberships, activities, or equipment necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So it's a complicated problem with a lot of variables.

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BasileusBasil t1_j49wt3d wrote

It means almost nothing, but I started to gain weight when I was 9yo and my parents got a divorce. Their relationship thereafter was always really strained and so it was mine and my sister's with our parents, the finances also got strained both by the divorce process and the divided household. It was just some time ago that I was diagnosed with a depression that started sometime before the divorce and it's still around now 22 years later, reinforced by the long periods of poverty, unemployment and the all to real chance that the sum of all of my problems will stop me from starting an indipendent life and a family. When I'm stressed, sad or bored I start to eat a lot of sugary snacks and candies, and start to isolate myself inside the house so I gain weight easily and quickly. My main stressors were/are the lack of a job or the difficulty of paying the debts my mother had incurred in these 22 years. But, everytime we got a brief window of relief between a financial crisis and the other I always got the urge to get back in shape and somewhat managed to do that by going to the gym, eating less and better and by having my time occupied by work so I would spend less time idle and overthinking/getting bored.
I'm almost 31 and I am struggling with depression with suicidal thoughts, obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, long covid and shows signs of faster telomere shortening due to chronic stress (the last one it's still an hypothesis, I know, but I feel like 10 years older and no amount of exercise or weight loss managed to shake away the feeling to this day, i really hope it's just somatization though). Just my experience, but i thought it perfectly fit.

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curiosityasmedicine t1_j4dnxxc wrote

Have you heard of complex PTSD or r/cPTSD? Sounds like it could apply to you and maybe it will help you find some useful resources. Pete Walker is one of the top resources for info on cPTSD. I can’t recommend his books enough.

Signed, an internet stranger with cPTSD from childhood abuse and neglect who didn’t even realize she had it until age 35, and also a long hauler for the past 2.5 years. I am convinced there’s a link between cPTSD and long COVID. We already know from the Adverse Childhood Experiences studies that childhood trauma pretty dramatically increases the risk for chronic illness later in life (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc, so long covid really fits).

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subzero112001 t1_j4aixg5 wrote

Wasn’t there also studies done that show that an uneducated and obese mother were the biggest factors in the occurrence of obesity in a child’s future?

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