Money Worries Make You Fat; Getting Fat Makes You Poor

(MoneyWatch)  Overweight people tend to pack on more pounds when dealing with economic stress, according to a recent study reported in USA Today.

That's hardly surprising, says Jessica Hummel, a nutritionist working for Diet for Health in La Canada, Calif. Stress causes a chemical chain reaction that makes you retain weight--as does dehydration and sleep deprivation, she said. So even people who are eating right are going to pack on the pounds when they're stressed. But you're also less likely to eat right because you are focused on the problems, rather than the diet, she said. Fatty and chocolate-filled comfort foods can make you feel better, at least temporarily. But they don't provide the nutrition that your body needs, so you're likely to crave more food.

Here's the problem. If money worries are causing you to gain weight, you're likely to have even more money worries when you do. Overweight people pay more for everything from insurance to clothing.

How much more? It obviously depends on how overweight you become and what you're buying. According to Insure.com, you won't pay more for life insurance if you're only 10 pounds over your ideal weight, but gain 30 or 40 pounds and you could be in trouble. If your Body Mass Index exceeds 28, you're likely to pay between 15% and 35% more. If your BMI hits 30--the cutoff where the government considers you "obese"--you'll pay 40% more, if you can give life insurance at all.

What's a Body Mass Index? It's a simple test that compares your height and weight. The Center for Disease Control offers an online BMI calculator that can show where you fall in their determination of normal. Normal, by the way, is nothing like the emaciated photos of supermodels that grace fashion magazines. In fact, if you're underweight you can have the same problems getting insurance as if you're overweight. For a simple example, someone who is 5 foot, 5 inches is underweight at 110 pounds; normal at 130; overweight at 160 and obese at 180.

Weight penalties also hit when buying health insurance and clothing. With health insurance, your premiums are affected by a weight "uprating" that's similar to the life insurance uprating. However, that's just the beginning. If weight has caused other medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, you may lose your ability to buy health insurance in the open market. Translation: If you can't get into a group plan, you're likely to fall into the high-risk pool, where you'll pay up to five times more for health insurance than somebody the same age

A quick look through today's ton of clothing catalogues indicates that retailers price up about 15% for plus sizes, too.

In other words, if the recession is causing you money stress and money stress is causing you to gain weight, it becomes a vicious cycle. You'll have more money stresses if you don't find a healthier way to relieve the anxiety.

Unfortunately, there's no silver bullet. Hummel says that Diet for Health sometimes recommends nutritional supplements to give your adrenal gland a boost, which can help your body deal with stresses. But in the long run, she says you're best served by finding healthy ways to calm yourself. Take a walk, a bubble-bath, pray. But don't turn to the pantry unless you're prepared to pay dearly.