Chronic weight gain is associated with various health issues. However, unhealthy food and lifestyle choices are not the only possible causes of weight gain. Various factors, some of which are beyond your control, can contribute to weight gain. In such situations, you need medical help to lose weight sustainably and effectively. This blog will discuss some of the underlying causes of your weight gain.
10 causes of your chronic weight gain
The following are some of the underlying causes of your chronic weight gain. Let’s discuss them further.
Genetics
More than 400genes have been found to be responsible for causing overweight or obesity. However, out of them, only a few have been found to play a significant role in weight gain. Genes may affect appetite, satiety, metabolism, body-fat distribution, food cravings, etc., contributing to obesity.
The percentage of genetic influence on weight varies among individuals. For instance, in some patients, genes can determine upto 25% of their weight, while for others, the genetic influence can be as high as 70-80%. Identifying how crucial the role genes play in contributing to your weight gain can help develop sustainable weight loss solutions. In this regard, the Nutrigenomix test in Ontario can be beneficial.
Low metabolism
Metabolism is an internal process through which your body burns calories. It works all day, even when you sleep or rest, to convert food and nutrients into energy to help your body perform various functions. The metabolic rate varies among individuals. Again, genes play a crucial role in determining your metabolic rate.
Your age can also affect your metabolism. As you grow old, your metabolic rate will tend to get slow. A slow metabolism implies that your body burns fewer calories, resulting in more fat storage in your body. It might make it challenging to lose weight despite reducing your calorie intake. On the other hand, people with fast metabolic rate burns calories faster. As a result, despite consuming more calories, they might not gain extra pounds.
Stress
Cortisol, or stress hormone, increases blood glucose levels temporarily to provide the individual with the energy needed to deal with their stressor. As their stress level reduces, their blood glucose level returns to normal. However, in people who suffer from chronic stress, their bodies don’t get the chance to recover. Chronic stress causes persistent high insulin levels. It can cause insulin resistance, where the cells don’t respond well to insulin and can’t utilize glucose from your blood effectively. As a result, it can lead to increased abdominal fat and overall weight gain.
Further, chronic stress can also cause affected individuals to experience cravings for fatty or sugary foods. High cortisol levels can also affect how your body produces other hormones, such as corticotropin-releasing hormone or CRH. It helps control appetite; hence, low levels of CRH might cause you to eat more than usual.
Emotional eating
Often, various emotions can trigger your food cravings. As a result, you may consciously or subconsciously reach out to food for comfort. Emotional eating can be challenging to keep your weight off or maintain your weight loss results. It can lead to excess consumption of calorie-rich food.
People practice emotional eating to suppress various emotions, such as stress, anger, boredom, sadness, etc. Various major life events can trigger these emotions, causing you to treat food as comfort. For instance, emotional distress might prompt impulsive or binge eating, and you may end up eating whatever is available to you. Besides, for some people, food might act as a distraction. As a result, if you are stressing, worrying, or overthinking about anything, you may look for comfort food instead of accepting or facing your situation.
Regardless of the emotions that are triggering overeating, it is likely you’ll end up feeling guilty about the same. This guilt may also cause you to overeat again. All these actions can further lead to weight gain or make it difficult to keep your weight off. You can overcome this unhealthy cycle by developing a positive relationship with food.
Night Eating Syndrome (NES)
Night Eating Syndrome, or NES, is a medical condition where individuals may experience a disrupted circadian cycle, causing them to wake up several times throughout the night. It often leads to an abnormal increase in appetite and eating during late hours. NES patients might feel they can’t fall asleep if they don’t eat. They may also experience reduced appetite during the day, which is another reason why they feel intense hunger in the late evening and during the night. Genes, circadian rhythm disorders, daytime dieting, etc., can cause NES.
Arthritis
Arthritis can be both a cause and a result of weight gain. For instance, chronic weight gain increases the risk of Osteoarthritis in many individuals. Increased weight adds pressure and stress on weight-bearing joints, such as knees and hips. It further causes the cartilage that cushions and protects your joint bones to wear down, resulting in Osteoarthritis. Besides, adipose or fat tissue is an inflammatory tissue. It produces cytokines, a protein responsible for causing inflammation in and around joints, leading to joint damage. Cytokines can also cause Rheumatoid and Psoriatic arthritis.
Arthritis patients often experience joint pain, which affects their mobility. It is the reason why arthritis patients can’t get as much exercise as others and gain more weight. Besides, medications to treat Rheumatoid arthritis have water-retention properties, which can also lead to weight gain.
Insomnia/Poor Sleep
Insomnia or poor sleep can increase the risk of weight gain or obesity. Poor quality sleep has been associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and weight gain. Further, weight gain can also increase the risk of sleep apnea, where a person experiences an interruption in breathing many times throughout the night. It’s a vicious cycle where poor sleep causes weight gain, and increased weight gain can further affect your sleep quality.
Besides, poor sleep can also increase your appetite due to its effect on hormones responsible for hunger and fullness.Additionally, lack of sleep can increase your cravings for calorie-rich food. Both these factors can contribute to weight gain.
Medications
Various medications can contribute to your weight gain. For instance, some medications might stimulate your appetite, causing you to eat more. On the other hand, some medicines might affect your metabolism, causing your body to burn calories slowly. Again, there are medicines with water-retention properties, causing weight gain, even if you don’t put on more fat.
Medicines that can cause weight gain are –
- Insulin or other diabetes medicine,
- Antipsychotic medicines
- Antidepressant and antianxiety medicines
- Steroid hormone medicine
- Mood stabilizers
- Birth control
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, or PCOS, is an endocrine system disorder characterized by various hormonal abnormalities. PCOS patients might develop insulin resistance. It can cause your pancreas to produce more of the hormone. As a result, it further increases hunger and promotes fat storage, which can contribute to weight gain.
Hormonal weight gain
Underlying hormonal imbalances can also lead to weight gain. The hormones associated with weight gain are –
- Insulin resistance
- Leptin resistance
- Ghrelin sensitivity
- Increased Cortisol levels
- High levels of Estrogen
- Neuropeptide Y
- Issues with Glucagon-like peptide-1 signaling
- Reduced sensitivity to Cholecystokinin
- Reduced Peptide YY
- Deficiency of Thyroid hormones
How can Modest Medix help in effective weight management?
The doctors at Modest Medix will help identify the causes of your weight gain. If they diagnose any underlying causes mentioned above to be responsible for your weight gain, they will provide customized medical weight loss solutions in Mississauga accordingly. As part of your weight loss therapy, you need to accept what is beyond your control, follow a few lifestyle changes, and build them into a habit to improve your overall health.
