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Have you heard of "cortisol belly"? Psychology Lecturer, Nadia Maalin, tells us the theory behind the viral term and whether or not聽there's any truth to it.

The latest viral wellness trends 鈥� 鈥渃ortisol belly鈥� and 鈥渃ortisol face鈥� 鈥� promise a calmer, leaner, more radiant you, if you can just lower your stress hormones. With attention-grabbing claims like 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have a belly fat problem. You have a cortisol problem,鈥� creators promote 30-day transformations that supposedly shrink waistlines and slim faces by targeting cortisol.聽

These posts often feature hashtags like #cortisolreset, #hormonehealth, and #nervoussystemregulation, along with before-and-after photos claiming reduced bloating, flatter stomachs, and tighter jawlines. The secret? They suggest techniques like cold plunges, cutting caffeine, or taking trendy supplements. However, the truth is that cortisol can鈥檛 cause such dramatic physical changes that quickly. The real 鈥渟ecret鈥� is likely a mix of marketing and exaggerated claims.

Cortisol 鈥� often called the 鈥渟tress hormone鈥� 鈥� is produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. This can include everything from daily frustrations (like traffic jams or looming deadlines) to major life changes (like illness or divorce), or persistent stressors such as financial strain.聽

Cortisol plays a vital role in our fight-or-flight response 鈥� an evolutionary function designed to help us respond to threats. It mobilises energy, regulates blood pressure and blood sugar, reduces inflammation and helps control our sleep-wake cycle. Cortisol naturally peaks in the morning to help us wake up, then decreases throughout the day.

While short bursts of cortisol are helpful, chronic (long-term or frequent recurring) stress can keep levels elevated over time 鈥� and that鈥檚聽when it can start to cause health problems.

Sustained cortisol elevation can affect appetite, sleep,聽cravings (especially for high-calorie comfort foods)聽and how fat is stored in the body. These factors can contribute to weight gain, particularly around the聽abdomen.聽

Abdominal fat includes both subcutaneous fat (just beneath the skin) and聽visceral fat, which surrounds internal organs. While both may increase聽under chronic stress, visceral fat is more strongly linked to health risks such as cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.

Yes,聽reducing stress is good聽for your health聽鈥� both mentally and physically. But framing stress management as a path to visible cosmetic changes 鈥� flatter stomachs, sharper cheekbones 鈥� reduces a complex health process to an aesthetic issue.

And that鈥檚 exactly what many of these viral trends are doing.

The appearance-related concerns supposedly 鈥渟olved鈥� by cortisol regulation 鈥� puffiness, belly fat, bloating 鈥� closely align with聽western beauty ideals: thin, toned bodies with flat stomachs and sculpted faces. These ideals are especially gendered, targeting women with the ever elusive聽hourglass figure: slim waist, fuller breasts and hips.

Internalising these ideals has been聽consistently linked聽to聽body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and poorer psychological wellbeing.

Influencers and wellness brands often co-opt the language of health to sell what are essentially beauty ideals 鈥� repackaged as 鈥渆mpowerment鈥� and 鈥渟elf-care鈥�. In this way, wellness culture subtly continues the legacy of diet culture, just with a more palatable aesthetic. Today鈥檚 message? Don鈥檛 count calories 鈥� regulate your hormones.

Many of the quick-fix solutions being promoted 鈥� from聽adaptogenic teas聽(teas containing herbs, roots and other plant substances believed to help the body adapt to stress and restore balance) and聽cold plunges聽to聽鈥渘o-coffee-before-breakfast鈥澛爎ules 鈥� are based on limited or inconsistent scientific evidence. While these practices may help reduce stress for some people, their ability to visibly reshape your body in 30 days is unlikely.

Claims that you can 鈥渟pot-reduce鈥� fat or lose fat in targeted areas (like the belly or face)聽are not supported聽by scientific consensus. That said, there are evidence-based ways to lower cortisol and support聽mental and physical wellbeing聽鈥� such as聽mindfulness and meditation聽or聽emotion regulation strategies. These practices activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the 鈥渞est and digest鈥� state), which slows the heart rate, reduces blood pressure and decreases cortisol. They can also help manage anxiety, sleep and inflammation.

But again, these are not weight-loss hacks 鈥� and definitely not quick fixes for belly fat.

The idea that stress alone can be responsible for face puffiness or belly fat oversimplifies complex physiological processes.聽Many factors, not just cortisol, influence how and where we store fat, including sex, genetics, hormones 鈥� such as insulin and oestrogen 鈥� diet and exercise, age, and individual differences in physiology.

Managing stress is important. It supports immune function,聽sleep, mental clarity, and聽emotional regulation. But when stress regulation is marketed as a tool to transform your appearance, it risks reinforcing the same body ideals that diet culture thrives on 鈥� just under a聽shinier, more 鈥渕indful鈥� label.

Instead of focusing on what cortisol does to your waistline, we should be talking about what chronic stress does to your health, relationships and wellbeing. Instead of striving for a flatter stomach through wellness hacks, we might aim for a healthier, more balanced life 鈥� regardless of what we look like.