Health Conditions That Cause Weight Gain

In a contemporary world full of plenty, most people can mistake unusual weight gain for a sign of living the good life. It is equally interesting to know that obesity is gaining a worldwide acceptance as a hassle-free lifestyle despite the known health risks associated with this way of life. In addition, speculative business people have gone ahead to establish a full-fledged industry that capitalizes on the increasing size of waistlines among the general population. This can be observed in the way that a growing number of establishments offer super-sized meals, extra large clothing and larger furniture and equipment.

Weight gain is not always due to poor diet and lack of exercise. There are a number of health conditions that can also cause weight gain, such as insulin resistance.

The conventional consensus is that weight gain is caused by excessive consumption of food coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. Naturally, everyone assumes that overweight people just need to put down their forks and knives if they want to lose weight. Modern medicine however discounts some of these claims. Research shows that those extra pounds on the scale can be attributed to existing health conditions and not just food and a lack of exercise.

Certain health conditions can not only cause weight gain, but exacerbate efforts of losing weight. Leading the pack of such health conditions are under-active thyroids, otherwise known as hypothyroidism. The thyroid is responsible for producing thyroid hormone that helps to regulate your body’s metabolism. In the case of hypothyroidism, the thyroid produces very little of this hormone and your metabolic rate becomes extremely slow, which greatly reduces the body’s need to burn calories from food and stored body fat.

Other health conditions that can cause weight gain include:

• Taking Medications – Some prescription medications can cause weight gain – the worst resulting in 10 pounds a month or more. Some of these drugs are used to treat seizures, diabetes, high blood pressure, mood disorders, menopause and migraines, just to name a few. Also, steroids and oral birth control medications have been known to cause weight gain.
• Depression – Depression can be a debilitating disease that can be, but is not always, associated with weight gain. Depression and weight gain stems not only from a lack of physical exercise and poor eating habits, but is also typically compounded by emotional eating.
• Insulin Resistance – Insulin resistance in overweight individuals is more common than most of us understand. Insulin resistance not only prevents the body from using stored body fat for energy, but it increased body fat production.
• Diseases of Vital Organs – Diseases of vital organs, such as the thyroid, liver and kidneys can be the cause of sudden and unexplained weight gain. PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) may also cause unexplained weight gain in women (for a personal story by one of our blog authors about PCOS, please read the post “Weight Loss, Insulin Resistance and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome“).
• Tumors – Although extremely rare, some rapid-growth tumor can cause unexplained weight gain.
• Pregnancy – Weight gain is a natural reaction of the body when pregnant because it needs to consume more to nourish itself plus the fetus.
• Genetics – People with genetic predispositions to either slower metabolisms or excessive appetites may also experience weight gain throughout their lives. The link between genes and body weight is an interesting area of science that is still being explored.
• Age – None of us can help aging. Unfortunately, as we grown older our metabolism slows down. For this reason, it is common for aging individuals to experience weight gain from a slower metabolism, compounded by an increasingly inactive lifestyle.

As you can see, sudden or unexplained weight gain has numerous health implications. If this is something that you have or are experiencing, it is very important to visit with your doctor immediately for a check up. With many of the above mentioned conditions, medications and therapies can be very beneficial for treatment. As well, these are just a few of many health conditions that cause weight gain. Again, only a doctor is knowledgeable enough to evaluate all the possible reasons for unexplained weight gain.