Weight Gain
Is your weight gain apparent all over your body or more visible in the centralised region around your abdomen? Are you considered slim and yet have a high body mass index? Your weight gain may be the result of a combination of the following factors:
Causes of weight gain
- Lack of Sleep: When there are more hours in the day, there are more opportunities to eat and, when tired, we will often seek a quick sugary fix. To make the situation worse, our metabolism is slower at night
- Lack of exercise
- Diet
- Quitting smoking
- Stress and depression:
- Prolonged exposure to inappropriate levels of cortisol (Cushing’s Syndrome)
- Medications such as antidepressants or steroids
- An underactive thyroid (Hypothyroidism)
- A lack of oestrogen/ progesterone/ testosterone (commonly associated with the Menopause or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
- Insulin resistance and diabetes
A consultation will be necessary to determine the underlying cause of your weight gain. This is likely to involve blood testing and may require a scan. It is rare for weight gain to be attributed to one sole cause and therefore losing weight is often achieved through a combination of methods:
- Lifestyle changes: improving your diet, increasing the amount of exercise you do, addressing your stress.
- Hormonal causes: Should your weight gain have an underlying hormonal cause, this can be addressed by supplementing your natural hormones using HRT.
- Insulin resistance: Sensitivity to insulinand cortisol are directly linked to weight gain and can be treated through medication and diet.
