Unexplained Weight Gain

Anyone may go through a phase where they have an unexplained weight gain, although they didn’t do anything to put on this weight.

Unexplained weight gain

Unexplained weight gain occurs when someone gains weight without increasing the amount of food they have or decreasing their physical activity. Unintentional weight gain may happen slowly or rapidly.

Unexpected weight gain means that a person gains 0.9-1.3 kg (2-3 pounds) a day, 2.2 kg (5 pounds) a week, or 5% or more of the body weight in a month.

Causes of unexplained weight gain

Sudden weight gain may occur due to several reasons:

• Aging, which causes the metabolism to slow down. The body also loses muscle and bone density while aging, and that causes more fat gain. Therefore, if a person doesn’t change their calorie intake while getting older, they will gain weight.
• Health conditions, including thyroid hormone deficiency, insulin resistance, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), edema (swelling), and depression.
• Certain medications can cause unexplained weight gain as a side effect, such as birth control pills, hypertension medications, antidepressants, anti-psychotic medications, and corticosteroids.
• Hormonal changes: certain phases during life lead to sudden weight gain, such as during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.
• Certain factors that affect the lifestyle, such as stress (it leads to the release of cortisol, which increases the sugar in the bloodstream and the fat storage in the abdomen), lack of sleep (it causes lack of energy, and the body tries to compensate for this through food), chronic dieting and certain diets that promote the idea of losing weight rapidly, and quitting smoking (smoking boosts metabolism and reduces the appetite).

Management of unexplained weight gain

• Managing unexplained weight gain depends on the cause.
• In general, managing sudden weight gain is done by modifying the lifestyle, medications in some cases, and being more aware of the situation and trying to understand it properly.