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Tragedy Can Cause Weight
Gain
Tuesday
October 23, 2001
Since the September 11th attacks, people are feeling the emotional aftershock. Some are depressed and anxious, while others are handling the stress with a fork and a spoon.
Dr. Heather Krell, a psychiatrist at UCLA, tells “Extra,” “People tend to go towards something that makes them feel nurtured, that makes them feel comfortable, that makes them happier.”
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Why cupcakes instead of carrots? Dr. Krell says certain foods act like a natural tranquilizer and tells us, “Comfort foods do produce a kind of quick surge of the hormones in your brain that helps to alleviate depression."
However, Dr. Krell advises that these foods are just a temporary fix. She says, “Comfort foods tend not to be very healthy foods for us and in the long term can create more harm than good.”
Until recently, Judy Mann was a dedicated Weight Watchers, but since the attacks, the scale is no longer her friend. Mann confesses, “I’ve gained like seven pounds in this short amount of time. I was having an eating frenzy. I just needed food to anesthetize myself.”
Joan Sand lost 40 pounds and never missed a meeting. That is, until the tragedy. She says, “I just was out of control.”
These two women are not alone. Across the country, people are in no mood to cut calories. Pizza sales are up and diet foods aren't selling well. Diet books are gathering dust on bookstore shelves.
If your eating is out of control, Dr. Krell has some suggestions:
Have foods in the house that are healthier
Find things to do with your hands
Limiting the food you eat in front of the TV
Nothing helps a person feel stronger than exercise
Judy is back on track but this tragedy has put her struggle to be slim in perspective. She says, “You can't be too hard on yourself in this bad time. And losing weight, is that the world’s most important thing right now? Probably not.”
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