ArticleObesity (Silver Spring, Md.)2017
Stress-Related Changes in Body Form: Results from the Whitehall II Study.
Article in Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biological Markers of Burnout Severity: A Systematic Review.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026Pooled it
- Coping Strategies Influence Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Chronic Psychological Stress: A Post Hoc Analysis of A Randomized Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Associations Between Stress and Hair Cortisol and Their Relationship to Alcohol Use Among Adolescents and Young Adults: An Epidemiological Cohort Study.Addiction biology · 2025Article
- Telemedicine-medical "snack community"-PHS ecosystem: Insights into the double-edged sword role of telemedicine in clinical practice and medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.Exploration (Beijing, China) · 2024Article
- Association between Stress and Physical Fitness of University Students Post-COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2023Article
- Psychological stress, body shape and cardiovascular events: Results from the Whitehall II study.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveStress is associated with body mass gain in some people but with body mass loss in others. When the stressor persists, some people adapt with their stress responses, whereas others do not. Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects autonomic variability and is related to stress responses to psychosocial challenges. It was hypothesized that the combined effects of stress exposure and autonomic variability predict long-term changes in body form.
methodsData of 1,369 men and 612 women from the Whitehall II cohort were analyzed. BMI, hip-to-height ratio, and waist-to-height ratio were measured at three time points over a 10-year period. HRV and psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire) were assessed.
resultsMen with high psychological distress were at risk of developing an increased waist-to-height ratio (F = 3.4, P = 0.038). Men with high psychological distress and low HRV were prone to develop an increased body mass and hip-to-height ratio (psychological distress: F = 4.3, P = 0.016; HRV: F = 5.0, P = 0.008). Statistical trends showed that women displayed similar patterns of stress-related changes in body form (P = 0.061; P = 0.063).
conclusionsAssessing psychological distress and autonomic variability predicts changes in body form. Psychological distress was found to be associated with an increased risk of developing the wide-waisted phenotype, while psychological distress combined with low autonomic variability was associated with an increased risk of developing the corpulent phenotype.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.