Sedentary lifestyle, genetic predisposition, a fat rich diet or an eating disorder may not be the reason why you are gaining weight. Surprised? Read on for some strange but true reasons for weight gain.
- Lack of Sleep: Lack of adequate sleep can make you gain weight in two ways:
- Sleep influences the production of hormones, leptin and ghrelin in the body. Leptin sends a signal to the brain when you are full, thereby indicating that there is no further need of energy, and hence the body feels satisfied and no hunger is felt. Ghrelin is a appetite stimulator produced in the gastrointestinal tract. A study conducted by researchers at University of Chicago found that sleep deprivation triggers a decrease in leptin (which means you don't feel as satisfied after you eat) and an increase in ghrelin (which means your appetite is stimulated).
- Being awake till late in the night may lead you to indulge in some unhealthy late night snacking, further adding to the weight.
- Stress:You may think that you are not really an emotional eater, but did you know that stress can make you eat more than the usual without you even realizing it? Well yes! When you are stressed, your body releases the stress hormone, cortisol. This hormone increases your appetite and makes you eat high calorie foods or comfort foods. Stress is not just bad for your mental health but also predisposes you to cardiac diseases, and gastro-enterological diseases like IBD (inflammatary bowel disorder), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and peptic ulcers.
- Medications: Some analgesics (painkillers) and antidepressants; drugs used for conditions like schizophrenia, seizures, migraines, diabetes, and high blood pressure; some steroidal drugs like corticosteroids; oral contraceptives; and hormone replacement therapies can make you gain up to five kg of weight in a month. The problem is, you cannot easily replace these drugs and these are unavoidable when it comes to medical emergencies. The only way is to compensate for them by controlling your diet and becoming more active.
- Hypothyroidism: Thyroid malfunction or sub-optimal function can lead you to gain some weight. Some of the symptoms of an under-functioning thyroid include weakness, fatigue, increased sensitivity to cold and slow metabolism. Also, even if you are not declared as suffering from hypothyroidism by your doctor but if your thyroid hormone level is towards the lower side of the normal range, you may still gain some weight. Weight gain due to thyroid malfunction can be reversed with proper medication and diet.
- Menopause: Decreasing hormone levels, advancing age and the slowing down of metabolism all put together cause weight gain in menopausal women.
- Cushing's Syndrome: It is a condition in which you are exposed to an increased amount of the hormone, cortisol, which may lead to weight gain and other abnormalities. Cushing's syndrome can occur if you take a corticosteroid for a condition such as asthma, arthritis, or lupus. It can also occur when your adrenal glands produce too much of the hormone cortisol. Weight gain may be most prominent around the face, neck, upper back or waist.
- Quitting Smoking: Nicotine has the ability to curb your appetite and alter your taste buds. When you quit smoking, the taste and appetite come back resulting in your eating more than usual, and hence, gaining weight.
- PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease)/PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome): PCOD/PCOS causes hormonal imbalances and insulin resistance in women, causing abnormal growth of body hair, acne, weight around the waist and predisposition to cardiac problems.
- Skipping Meals: Surprisingly, skipping meals has an adverse impact on your weight loss efforts. Many dieters skip breakfast or some other meal thinking they are cutting down on their calories. Researches have shown that these people always tend to eat larger portions during the other meals or eat between meals. As a result, there is uneven distribution of calories, resulting in weight gain.
- The so-called 'Healthy Snacks': If you visit any nearby food store, you would see a lot of snacks substituted with healthy ingredients and marked as healthy foods, but are they really "healthy"? Let's take an example: you may buy ragi murruku/chakli (made from ragi or finger millet) or spinach corn samosa (stuffed with healthy spinach and corn) thinking they are healthy, but what you forget is that these products are fried. Though substituting healthy alternatives for ingredients which are otherwise associated with weight gain is good, but process of cooking is equally important as well. So, be more careful while picking up your "healthy snacks".
It is hence important to understand the source of weight gain before we set about reversing it. Understanding the cause can help in effective treatment to a great extent. Since most of the reasons stated for weight gain are the primary causes, weight gain happens as a side effect. Effort must be directed to solve the root causes first.
