Column: Why winter makes us fat

While the number of daylight hours dwindles before winter solstice, another number tends to rise: the one on the scale.

Many of us leave the winter months perplexed as to why we now have a closer resemblance to Jolly Old Saint Nick than in earlier months. As these extra pounds might not have been on our holiday wish lists, evolutionary and cultural reasons explain why we tend to pack them on during the winter months.

First, it is in our DNA to want to put on an extra layer of insulation to protect us during the winter months.

Our bodies crave fatty foods during these cold winter months more than any other time. While in the summer a leafier and leaner diet may be satisfying, in the winter, we need more fuel to keep our internal fires roaring.

This means it is time to bring on the calories.

Arctic explorers often eat sticks of butter rolled in sugar, claiming it is the “tastiest” thing they could eat at the time.

While walking to class in frigid temperatures might not be equivalent in difficulty to crossing the Arctic Circle, it can certainly work up an appetite for fat- and
sugar-filled foods.

In addition, since the days leading up to the solstice bring less sunlight, individuals spend more time indoors and are less active.

This “cabin fever” can translate to increased loneliness, leading to even more overeating. It doesn’t help that all the extra layers of clothing and less social time lead to less body awareness and motivation to keep your body in tip-top shape.

Although all the annual holiday shindigs might be an antidote to this winter boredom, they definitely do nothing to help keep winter weight gain at bay.

Each year since the pagans first decorated their evergreen trees, Jews lit their menorahs and Englishmen participated in mead-filled yule-time gatherings, gigantic feasts have been shared to chase away the winter blues.

Flash forward to today: It is hard to imagine an office holiday party without a large buffet of food and caloric drinks to help people be merry.

Even harder for me to wrap my head around is a Christmas morning without my mother’s homemade breakfast feast of bacon, waffles and lox.

Luckily, with the advent of March, there exists something that encourages us to lose our winter weight — the spring break countdown.

As temperatures rise, I hope, so will our motivation to go out for a long run and swap the Santa suit for a swim suit.

­— hsspence@indiana.edu