Your Body

Happy THURSDAY!

You have one body so make sure you are doing your best to keep it healthy. Please be aware of these causes of weight gain.

Hypothyroidism You may start packing on the pounds if your thyroid, a small, butterfly-shaped gland in your neck, stops making enough hormones. It also could thin your hair, dry your skin, and make you feel colder, tired, constipated, and even depressed. A simple blood test can confirm if your hormone levels are low, and artificial hormones can help you feel better.

Menopause Less estrogen during menopause can put more fat around your belly. Hot flashes, sleep problems, and moodiness linked to the end of a woman’s fertility may get in the way of healthy eating and exercise. If you’re already sleep deprived and depressed, you might reach for a candy bar instead of making a nutritious meal. Your doctor can suggest ways to help with your symptoms.

Cushing’s Disease Usually, cortisol helps keep your blood pressure and blood sugar in a healthy range. But when your adrenal glands make too much of this stress hormone, it can add fat to your belly and the base of your neck. You might bruise more and notice weaker, thinner limbs, a round face, and big purple stretch marks. Your doctor will try to figure out the cause, and then treat it with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or drugs to lower cortisol.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome There’s no one test that can tell a woman she has this disease. You may skip periods, sprout more hair on your face or body, or get acne. Also, cysts may grow on your ovaries. Too much male androgen hormone causes it. You also could gain weight because you’re less sensitive to insulin, a hormone that helps your body turn blood sugar into energy. Your doctor can help balance or replace the hormones.

Sleep Apnea If you’re a noisy snorer or feel drowsy during the day, it could be a sign you may have this serious condition. Your airway regularly cuts off breathing for a few seconds in your sleep. Being overweight or obese is one cause of sleep apnea, but it can also be a symptom. The condition could make you more likely to have liver problems, heart failure, and high blood pressure. Your doctor might suggest a CPAP breathing machine or other treatments.

Metabolic Syndrome It’s a group of conditions that happens together and raises your chances of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Your blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and body fat may be at unhealthy levels. There might be no obvious symptoms except for extra pounds that add up around your waist. Your doctor can help you manage it with changes in diet and exercise as well as medicine and, in rare cases, weight loss surgery.

Steroids Your doctor might call them corticosteroids. You can use them to treat asthma, some types of arthritis, and other conditions. The higher the dose and the longer you take steroids, the more likely they are to make you extra hungry! That could lead to overeating and weight gain. Talk to your doctor about how best to manage the side effects of your steroid treatment.

Common Medications One drug might make you hungry. Another might slow your body’s calorie burn or change the way your body absorbs nutrients. Some just make your body retain more water. Sometimes, scientists don’t know for sure why a drug causes weight gain. Common examples are birth control pills, antipsychotics, antidepressants, epilepsy drugs, and beta-blockers (for high blood pressure).

Reference: Melinda Ratini, Conditions That Can Cause Weight Gain, WebMD

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