The battle to overcome massive weight gain requires dedication and willpower. But it now appears that the amount – and quality – of sleep you receive each night may play a crucial role, as well.

A recent study published in the journal Obesity found that vital exhaustion had a powerful impact on excessive weight gain, as much as 5% or more of total body weight. “Vital” exhaustion is defined as a psychological state resulting in fatigue, irritability and feelings of demoralization. In addition, this condition may dramatically raise the risk of both a first, and a repeat heart attack. In fact, researchers believe that this condition may occur before 39-60% of all cardiac events!

The Obesity-Exhaustion Link

Obesity has been found to be associated with both heart disease and mental stress. According to the study’s
co-author June Stevens, chair of the department of nutrition in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, “In other words, you have those feelings, those feelings lead to weight gain, and that weight gain leads to cardiac events.  That’s what we were hypothesizing.” As such, the study’s researchers sought to determine whether vital exhaustion had any link to the likelihood of obesity.

Specifically, the study involved 13,727 white and African-American men and women, aged 45 to 64. Designed to examine the association between vital exhaustion and body mass index, the subjects’ weight and height were measured, as well.

Exploring the Study’s Findings

As the research shows, heavier men and women tend to gain more weight over time. And as expected, this study’s subjects initially displayed higher levels of vital exhaustion. But when these subjects were examined 3-6 years later, they had gained more weight.

The findings showed that for the study period, white women scoring high on vital exhaustion were 34% more likely to gain an excess amount of weight; white men were 35% more likely to gain. These subjects gained 5% or more of their total body weight. But only the white subjects experienced dramatic weight gain; the African-American subjects gained much less weight.

The study’s researchers have been unable to explain this difference. Experts are unsure whether the extra weight may be causing exhaustion, or vice-versa. However, the researchers realize that this proposed link may lead to improved treatments for reducing vital exhaustion, as well as weight management, in general.

“Nobody is claiming all of obesity is exhaustion,” says Dr. Arya Sharma, professor of medicine and chair for cardiovascular obesity research and management at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.  “But if people are clearly eating more than they need the question is not how to get them to stop, but why, exactly, are they doing that.  Maybe you’re losing your job. Or you’re overworked. Or it’s some private issue that needs to be addressed.”