Washington, November 21, 2008 - Obesity is associated with a number of health problems. Now, a new research has suggested that it may prove a curse for women. The study, carried out by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut, has found that besides affecting the women’s health obesity can be harmful for their professional life also.

The findings, which appear in the journal Preventive Medicine, show that overweight women are more likely to suffer stressful events like losing their jobs, being a victim of crime, being a criminal herself and having money troubles.

And, as the previous studies have already discovered a biological link between the stress and the obesity, these stressful situations may add to their weight and may increase their risk of suffering more bad luck, the study authors say. It is known that stress can trigger obesity, but the new research suggests the opposite is also true, saying that the obese people suffer the most stress.

Lead researcher Nancy Petry said, "Stress can lead to obesity. But the opposite is also true with the seriously overweight suffering the most stress by contributing to poor health or social factors like workplace discrimination."

To reach their findings, Petry and co-researchers analyzed health records of 41,218 adults in America, who had kept 'stress diaries' for over a year showing when they suffered the most stressful events. The results showed obese women were more likely to experience more "stressful life events". They also were more likely to be sacked or made redundant, suffer financial troubles and face the death of a friend or relative.

However, fatter women were less likely than slim women and all men to break up with their spouses. The findings are published in the journal Preventive Medicine.

Stress is a well-known term to people today. In medical terminology, ‘stress’ is defined as a disturbance of the body’s homeostasis. Today, with the rapid diversification of human activity, we come face to face with numerous causes of stress.

Obesity is a serious, deadly and a common health problem which can further make an individual more vulnerable to other diseases. According to American Obesity Association (AOA), obesity is a complex, multi-factorial chronic disease involving environmental (social and cultural), genetic, physiologic, metabolic, behavioral and psychological components. It is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States.