Half of the Dutch population is overweight. Being overweight can lead to various health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer. It is therefore important to maintain a healthy weight. In practice, this often proves very difficult. You pay close attention to your diet, exercise daily and yet your weight increases. You are more concerned with your diet than those around you, yet the number on the scales keeps increasing. How can this be explained?
The cause of weight gain is complicated and often due to multiple causes. In addition, there are a number of medical conditions that can cause weight gain. If you are experiencing symptoms that may point to this, it is wise to get further investigation. But which complaints point to a medical cause of weight gain? Read on quickly and find out what physical cause may underlie your weight gain.
Why am I getting heavier?
Obesity is a complex, often chronic ailment caused by several factors. In most cases, obesity is caused by a person consuming more calories than they burn through exercise over an extended period of time. By consuming more calories than they burn, this excess energy is stored in fat and this will result in weight gain.
However: although excess weight is caused by this calorie surplus, there are a host of contributing factors that can cause a person to develop excess weight faster. Hormonal, psychological, medicinal and genetic factors can all contribute to the faster onset of obesity. A complex relationship between these factors and a person’s diet and exercise habits can cause obesity to develop.
Medical causes of obesity include hormonal changes, psychological problems, chronic stress, genetic causes, sleep problems or a lowered resting metabolism by following a strict ‘crash diet’, for example. It is important to be aware of these contributing factors, as obesity often requires a more complex approach than purely putting someone on a calorie deficit. But: what diseases cause weight gain?
Medical causes of obesity
Obesity is caused by consuming a higher number of calories than burned through exercise over an extended period of time. This process can be influenced by a host of factors. As a result, obesity can be maintained or even continue to increase. Below is a list of potential medical causes of obesity:
Hormonal cause weight gain
Hormonal changes can affect metabolism. Hormonal changes that can lead to weight gain are:
- Sluggish thyroid ( hypothyroidism): in a sluggish thyroid gland, too little thyroid hormone is produced. This leads to a slowed metabolism, causing (mild) weight gain. Weight gain can also come from fluid retention. In addition, people with a sluggish thyroid are more likely to be tired, which can lead to increased feelings of hunger and consuming more calories. Other symptoms that can occur with hypothyroidism include feeling cold easily, constipation, crumbling nails and brittle hair. Wondering if your thyroid hormone is up to par? Do Easily’s thyroid hormone test.
- PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome): in PCOS, there is a hormonal imbalance. Women often have elevated levels of the male hormone testosterone and often suffer from irregular menstrual cycles. People with PCOS have an increased risk of insulin resistance. Due to the above factors, people with PCOS suffer more from weight gain. Often, symptoms of PCOS decrease when people lose weight.
- Use of hormones. The use of, for example, the contraceptive pill or other hormone therapy (e.g. to treat menopause symptoms) can lead to weight gain. This does not occur in every user and may vary from person to person. It may be caused by fluid retention.
- Menopause: scientific research shows no clear link that menopausal women are more at risk of weight gain. So it is unclear whether menopause can be directly related to weight gain. Nevertheless, many women report that their weight increases at menopause. Menopause is a complex physical process, in which hormonal changes occur that may affect how we feel and our sense of hunger. This can indirectly lead to changes in eating behaviour and weight. At the same time, people’s body composition changes with age: muscle mass decreases and fat mass increases. Fat distribution also changes; more belly fat will be stored. This may be accompanied by changes in weight.
Want to know more about how hormones affect your overall health? Read our blog on hormonal imbalance!
Psychological causes of weight gain
Mental disorders can lead to weight gain in several ways.
- One aspect is the effect on eating behaviour: some mental disorders, such as depression or anxiety disorders, can lead to changes in eating patterns. People may start eating more in response to emotions, such as seeking comfort in food, or conversely lose their appetite due to stress or anxiety, which can lead to weight gain or loss. A lack of motivation or energy can also make it harder to maintain healthy eating habits.
- In addition, chronic stress can lead to an increase in the hormone cortisol, which can lead to obesity. Curious to find out what your cortisol levels are? Take Easly’s cortisol test.
- Medication often prescribed for mental disorders, such as antidepressants or antipsychotics, can also cause weight gain as a side effect. These drugs can alter metabolism, increase appetite and lead to changes in fat storage, causing people to gain weight.
- People with mental health problems often also have problems sleeping. When the quality of sleep deteriorates, satiety hormones can become confused, leading to a higher risk of obesity.
Related tests
Medicinal causes of weight gain
Several medications can lead to weight gain. This can be caused by retaining more fluid, but can also be due to the disruption of hunger and satiety hormones.
Medications that have weight gain as a possible side effect are:
- antidepressants,
- antipsychotics,
- medication for diabetes,
- corticosteroids,
- the contraceptive pill,
- antiepileptics and
- beta blockers.
It is worth noting that taking this medication does not necessarily lead to weight gain; it is a possible side effect that occurs in some users.
Weight gain from dieting
It sounds contradictory: weight gain from dieting. Yet this can happen.
A crash diet is a diet in which extremely few calories are consumed. This leads to a calorie deficit, which initially leads to weight loss; after all, you burn more calories than you take in through your diet. However, such a diet, where extremely few calories are consumed, can lead to a lower resting metabolism. This means you burn fewer calories at rest. Your body has adapted to this new low-energy situation.
After following such a crash diet for several weeks, hunger and satiety hormones will get confused and you will actually get more cravings. You will get more cravings, while your metabolism is adjusted downwards. The result is weight gain. This is also called the yo-yo effect. Losing a lot of weight quickly is an unhealthy way to lose weight and can affect hormones and metabolism for a very long time after quitting the diet.
Other causes of weight gain
It is worth noting that certain situations and conditions can be related to obesity but are not a direct cause of weight gain. For example, people who suffer from fatigue are at higher risk of developing weight gain. This is most likely explained by a greater tendency to consume high-fat or high-sugar foods, leading to a higher calorie intake and therefore (in the long run) weight gain. Fatigue can be caused by a host of medical conditions, for example iron or vitamin B12 deficiency. However, this does not mean that iron and/or vitamin B12 deficiency causes weight gain.
Conclusion
Weight gain, in most cases, is caused by consuming more calories than burned through exercise over an extended period of time. However, the process of weight gain is complex and influenced by many factors. It is therefore incorrect to point to an unhealthy lifestyle as the sole cause of weight gain. Hormonal, genetic, psychological and medicinal causes can all contribute to the development of obesity. Are you gaining weight even though you haven’t changed your lifestyle? Or are you experiencing weight gain together with other symptoms? Then contact your own (family) doctor to have this investigated further.
