Adrenaline, which we know and cortisol which we also know, which is the cheif immunomodulator, and the reason that stress causes weak immunity.
I suspect that what you surmised is true, that adrenaline in a non exercisesed state will cause you to liberate FFA, and then reaccumulate them in the abdomen, but only when cortisol levels are elevated which i will explain and only if that energy is not burned during exercise
High cortisol levels independently cause abdominal fat accumulation, which we see in disease states like Cushings
FFA when liberated prior to exercise are metabolized and not stored and heres why.
Adrenaline antagonizes insulin, so fat storage while adrenaline levels are high is greatly reduced or blocked, and that makes sense since the adrenergic system is the save your ass fight or flight system and it dosent make sense to be storing anything anywhere at this point in time.
High glucose and FFA supplies in the blood are important since you may need them to escape or fight and there is no need to store them dont escape the threat and the lion eats you. so stress elevates blood FFA and glucose which is known. but the kicker comes in a minute
If you do metabolize this energy during exercise then you are ok, since their will be no need for insulin since blood levels of glucose are now normal or low.
When you dont exercise, and when the body finally settles down you begin to release insulin, becuase adrenaline effects are gone and glucose FFA are too high if they have not been metabolized as fuel so they need to be driven back into the cells, but this happens at the same time as another event.
The body is already making big doses of cortisol regardless of the of the blood levels of glucose or FFA. since the adrenal medula is driven by ACTH in response to perceived stress and tissue damage. the body thinks it needs cortisol to help with damage control, even if there is no damage.
Cortisol initiates the anti-inflammatory effect and its release follows stress by a few moments.
High cortisol levels trigger gluconeogenesis and glycolysis. so subsequent insulin, is released again and again because of the blood sugar fluctuations from both adrenaline and cortisol.
Cortisol also bangs the muscle, while adrenaline does not. Cortisol levels go up and causing glucose to be re-released into the blood and and with each successive insulin response more storage is shunted towards towards abdominal fat by the mechanism you described .
This is also the reason why people on cortical steroids have increased abdominal and torso fat regardless of stress.
I think this model demonstrates why belly fat is so prevalent for stressed out people and i think it represents a better model of the macro hormones involved in abdominal fat accumulation.
So i surmise that if you do lower cortisol, i betcha waist lines shrink even with high adrenaline levels and appendicular muscle will be spared.
Another thing seen with high cortisol levels is that people have big torsos and small extremities. Potentially we have a situation where appendicular muscle is canabalized for abdominal fat via increased gluconeogenis.
So a stressed up person is all revved up, and when they dont expend the newly liberated energy a concert of hormones pound it into their bellies and you get an undesirable result
