If you have been putting on weight recently, and you are not really sure why, then there might be many reasons it is happening. It is worth being aware of as many of the possible causes as possible, as there are indeed many which you might be suffering from, possibly without even knowing it. In this post, we are going to look specifically at four of the hidden causes of weight gain that you should be aware of. These are the kinds of things that can happen for anyone, so it’s worth knowing as much about them as possible.
Fibroids
If you have never heard of fibroids before, and you are biologically female, then this is a potential cause of weight gain that you might want to know about. Fibroids are simply benign tumours – in other words, tumours that are not cancerous and won’t cause the problems of troublesome cancers. However, something they can do is cause the belly to appear to swell in a condition known as fibroid belly. Check out these fibroids weight gain pictures for an example. The good news is that this can be treated, so if you think you might have this, seek the necessary help.
Underactive Thyroid
The thyroid is a tricky part of the body, in that it can very often be either overactive or underactive, and in either case there are a range of medical and health issues that go along with it. If you have an underactive thyroid, this is usually going to lead to weight gain, as it can cause a slowing down of the body’s overall metabolism. It is most common for this to happen in older women, but it can happen to anyone of any age. It can be normally treated with hormone replacement therapy.
Chronic Stress
Stress is actually one of the most damaging experiences our body can go through, and the number of ways in which it can harm us is huge – and seemingly growing every day. One of the things it can do is to cause an increase in weight gain. This is especially likely if you have a lot of chronic stress, which means simply that it continues for a long period of time. If you think you might be suffering with a lot of stress, seek calming therapies to help control and manage it. This should help with maintaining a healthy weight.
PCOS
Another common cause of weight gain in women is PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome. This is something that a lot of women get at some point in their lives, but despite the popular belief, it can change over time and you might not have it forever. As well as making fertility harder, PCOS can also cause weight gain, so it is something you might want to see the doctor about if you are concerned about it.
As you can see, there are a lot of reasons you might be gaining weight without meaning to. All of these are worth crossing off.