Derek23 Staff

asked 2 years ago

After giving birth to my second child, I weighed 136 lbs. Of course, it wasn’t the weight of my dream, but I couldn’t get slimmer no matter how I tried so I accepted this. But about a month ago I rapidly gained about 8 lbs without changing anything in my usual way of life or nourishment. I’m afraid that I’ve got some serious disease. Is it possible?

1 Answers

Dr Kaufman Staff

answered 2 years ago

In the bulk of cases, rapid weight gain is connected to an increase in calories you consume daily or lowering your physical activity. The problem is that people don’t even notice that they start eating more or choose high-calorie foods. The reasons for such behavior are very different. I’ll stop on some of the most common.

Well, one of the first things that come to mind is stress. In stressful situations, the human body starts secreting a special hormone called cortisol. A recent study conducted by the Dutch scientists revealed that a durable influence of high cortisol levels on the human body promotes a rapid weight gain. It has also been detected that the risks are higher for people who are genetically predisposed to being overweight. The peculiarity of the weight gain induced by stress is that the fat tissue is concentrated in the waist area.

Another thing, which may be responsible for your fast gaining of weight is hormonal changes. As you’ve mentioned, you started getting excessive weight after your second child was born. Hormonal changes your body has undergone might have shown through extra kilos on a scale. Besides, the rapid growth of the body mass may indicate some endocrinological issues. It means that some of your inner secretion glands started malfunctioning.

For example, an underactive thyroid gland may affect your metabolism slowing it down. Hence, you gain extra weight without changing anything in your lifestyle. Anyway, you’d better check with a doctor and pass some blood tests to eliminate the probability of any serious health issues.