Once in awhile we run into a story about people snooping into one another’s email and other private correspondence, a practice we try to avoid, mostly because we wouldn’t like it if someone did it to us. Now here’s another reason to respect the privacy of others: Snooping is fattening.

Jennifer Nelson, writing on the Today show’s website, says poking your nose where it doesn’t belong can be bad for your health. The snoop-related anxiety— fear of getting caught, covering up for your sneaky activities— can cause overeating as well as the release of cortisol, a stress hormone that interferes with the production of another hormone, the appetite regulator leptin, thereby potentially increasing your appetite.

Obsessive thoughts and the heightened arousal of worry and internal issues that lead to the snooping, Nelson writes, can also keep you from getting proper sleep. If that’s not enough, the heightened adrenaline and cortisol rushes blood to your major organs, leaving less for your frontal lobe and its cognitive functions.

Psychotherapists say it’s a good idea to consider why you’re snooping, so you can deal with the underlying issues and avoid the stress and the consequences of violating someone’s privacy.

Besides, you know it’s just not nice. How do we know you know? We read your emails. That’s why our ice cream bill is through the roof.