Rapid Weight Gain: What Are the Common Causes
What Do We Consider as Rapid Weight Gain?
Rapid weight gain is when we experience a sudden weight gain over an exceptionally brief period, which we can’t seem to explain with lifestyle or anything else.
Rapid weight gain is meaningful for us because it might be a sign of an underlying health condition. These can range from mood disorders, hormone conditions, or anything else that can affect our metabolism and physiology.
Although the only way to be sure what’s going on is to consult with your doctor, becoming acquainted with the most common causes of rapid weight gain may uncover some of the mystery.
The 6 Most Common Causes of Rapid Weight Gain
- Stress, Depression, and Anxiety
We review these three together because there’s a close link between them. Stress can have beneficial effects that can boost efficiency, memory, and overall productivity. Yet excessive stress leads to abnormally high adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine throughout the whole day. These can affect our immune system, making us more prone to various conditions, diseases, and weight gain.
The changes in our behavior and lifestyle during depressive and anxiety disorders can lead to compulsive eating as an escape mechanism.
An efficient way to fight stress is to get some time off from work and invest in a diet and exercise.
- Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormones, which can have many causes. Since the thyroid gland plays a critical role in our metabolism, hypothyroidism may be the cause ofrapid weight gain. Apart from that, other symptoms may include an enlarged thyroid gland, dry skin, hair thinning, fatigue, mood changes, cold intolerance, and more.
If hypothyroidism is the cause of your weight gain, diet and exercise will not be enough, and you should consult with a doctor. He’ll likely prescribe a hormone replacement called levothyroxine so that your hormone levels can get back to normal.
- Perimenopause and Menopause
Perimenopause refers to the natural transmission of your body to menopause. It usually begins around your 40s but can start as early as mid-30s. Menopause marks the end of the reproductive period when women stop having periods and are no longer able to get pregnant. Both of these processes involve hormonal changes that may have a variety of effects on your body. These are partially dependent on genetics as well as environmental factors.
In some women, perimenopause and menopause may lead to rapid weight gain. Some other symptoms include hot flashes, insomnia, and mood changes. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do in this case is to optimize your diet and exercise routine and wait for the estrogens and progesterone to recover back to normal ranges.
- Medication
There’s a voluminous list of over-the-counter and prescription medications that can cause water retention and rapid weight gain. Most of these are psychiatric medications for depression, bipolar and anxiety disorders. Most often, the culprits are selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) since they increase the levels of serotonin, which stimulates appetite.
Additionally, pills like beta-blockers and steroids can alter your metabolism and lead to medication-induced weight gain.
- Insomnia
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that involves difficulty in falling and staying asleep. It may also cause you to wake up in the middle of the night without being able to fall asleep again.
Research has proven that sleep deprivation has a variety of adverse effects on our bodies. These include impaired attention and concentration, mood changes, lethargy, and slower thinking.
Not only that, but insomnia may also lead to rapid weight gain because exhaustion triggers food cravings.
- Diabetes
If you’ve recently begun insulin treatment for diabetes, you might start experiencing rapid weight gain. Insulin makes your cells absorb more glucose, which consequently converts into fat. These changes can be experienced in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
To control this type of weight gain, you should optimize your diet and avoid foods high in sugar. Moderate exercise is another excellent way to stay in shape.
What Can We Do About It?
If you’re gaining weight without being able to find a cause for that in your diet or exercise routine, you should consult with a doctor. Although the above compile a pretty solid list of common causes of rapid weight gain, there might be other reasons in your case.
A health specialist should be able to determine whether you have an underlying health condition that can cause the disturbance. He’ll work with you to find the most appropriate way to address the issue and get you back on track. He will also likely suggest weight loss tips, diet, and exercise.
You can start looking for weight loss supplements that can aid you in achieving your desired weight, but you should always consult with your doctor before use.
Toxiburn is one of the products on the market that has a reasonable price and may benefit your weight loss journey.
Final Words
Rapid weight gain is a problem most common in women that can occur suddenly at any age. Although the reasons are sometimes trivial, the cause can also be an underlying health condition in disguise.
In these cases, you should always consult with a doctor to be sure that your health is in excellent shape. Although weight loss supplements can certainly help you, make sure you talk to your doctor before taking them.
Additionally, a great diet and exercise routine will keep you healthy -these are great weight loss tipsthat you should observe.
Reference Links:
Hypothyroidism – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)
Menopause – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)
Insulin-associated weight gain in diabetes–causes, effects and coping strategies – PubMed (nih.gov)
