Stress Weight and Will Power
by: American Psychological Association
As the U.S. economy continues to struggle for the third year, findings from the 2010 Stress in America survey paint a picture of an overstressed nation. Feeling the effects of prolonged financial and other recession-related difficulties, Americans are struggling to balance work and home life and make time to engage in healthy behaviors, with stress not only taking a toll on their personal physical health, but also affecting the emotional and physical well-being of their families....
As they did in 2009, adults again cited a lack of willpower as the most common reason (29 percent) for not following through with recommended lifestyle changes.... While many adults report that they lack willpower, their belief that having more money and more energy would help them accomplish their healthy living goals suggests there is an opportunity to educate adults about effective strategies for adopting healthy behaviors* and incorporating these behaviors into their daily lives.
Stress has behavioral consequences which in excess could have physical consequences.
Two-fifths of adults reported overeating or eating unhealthy foods because of stress in the past month.
Nearly one-third said they skipped a meal because of stress in the past month.
More than four in 10 said they had lain awake at night in the past month.
The most common physical symptoms of stress reported were irritability (45 percent), fatigue (41 percent) and lack of energy or motivation (38 percent).
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* my emphasis