STRESS TUMMY
壓力肚

What Does It Look Like?
外觀

This tummy sticks out at the front but it is softer and more saggy than a pot belly. It often starts under your bust and forms a soft roll - or a muffin top - which hangs over your waistband.
壓力過大而導致的小肚腩向前凸起，卻不如啤酒肚硬挺。這種小肚腩往往從胸部下方開始，像軟面包一樣掛在腰際。

What Causes It?
成因

Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of Fat Around the Middle says: ‘In stressful situations, the fight-or-flight hormone cortisol helps release sugar into the bloodstream so your body has the energy to escape or defend itself.
《肚腩解密》的作者瑪麗琳·格倫維爾博士稱：“人在高壓力環境下，會觸發‘戰或逃’反應，身體會釋放一種名為皮質醇的激素，幫助往血液中釋放糖分，讓身體有足夠的能量應對危機。

‘But unless you do something physical, as your body is expecting you to, all that extra energy has nowhere to go. So it is simply re-deposited as fat.
“不過，除非你能按照身體的期望做一些體力活動，否則那些多余的能量是無處可去的。結果就只是轉化為脂肪囤積起來。

‘If we are continually stressed,’ Dr Glenville adds, ‘the fat reserves go to the lower abdomen so they can be close to the liver and be quickly converted back into energy in another emergency.’
“如果你持續處于壓力狀態中，那脂肪便會堆積在離肝臟近的下腹。當你面對壓力時，它們能通過肝臟，迅速轉化為能量?！?/p>

How To Target It
甩肚秘訣

Reduce your stress levels with relaxation techniques such as deep-breathing and meditation and get more sleep so that your body no longer feels it has to prepare for attack.
多放松，常減壓，不妨試試深呼吸或冥想。另外，好好睡上一覺也是舒緩身心的絕佳途徑。

Eating little and often helps to stop the roll-coaster fluctuations of hormones, including cortisol, says Dr Glenville.
格倫維爾博士補充道，減少進食也能夠穩定包括皮質醇在內的激素水平。