Selected psychophysiological stress responses in men with high and low body fatness

Previous research on catecholamine (CA) response to exercise has linked heightened adiposity to a hypostress syndrome. In the present study a cognitive/psychomotor stressor was employed to determine whether this association exists during less metabolically challenging tasks. Moreover, because stress is manifested in a multidimensional manner, measures of behavior and perceived distress were analyzed in addition to the physiological response. Men were selectively recruited for two body fatness groups (low, 12 +/- 4%, N = 9; high, 27 +/- 2%, N = 10) while being matched on age, lean weight, and peak absolute oxygen consumption. All men performed a modified Stroop task for 12 min to induce a psychophysiological stress response. Physiological changes included significant increases in heart rate, venous plasma norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Cognitive/psychomotor responses indicated no change in reaction time during the task but significant cognitive fatigue as indicated by post-task anagram performance. Perceived distress was suggested by elevated state anxiety. The high and low adiposity groups were similar on all measures of the psychophysiological stress response. These findings suggest that elevated adiposity is not characterized by a hypostress state during the relatively low metabolic challenge of a cognitive/psychomotor stressor.