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While many of us would love to lose a little weight effortlessly, this can be a sign of something more worrying. Rapid weight loss without cutting calories or exercising can be a symptom of a serious medical condition, such as diabetes or even cancer.
Experts recommend that if you unintentionally lose more than five percent of your normal body weight or more than 10lbs (4.5kg) in less than a year, you should see your doctor.
Conform NHS it says: “It could be caused by a stressful event, such as a divorce, losing a job or the death of a loved one. It can also be caused by malnutrition, a health condition, or a combination of things.
“Sometimes weight loss can be caused by cancer. It’s important to get a checkup if you’re losing weight without trying.”
A family doctor will likely run tests to determine the cause, it says. These are six conditions you can suffer from if you lose weight without trying.
Hyperactive thyroid
An overactive thyroid, also known as hyperthyroidism or thyrotoxicosis, is when the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone.
It produces hormones that affect things like heart rate and body temperature. Having too many of these hormones can cause unpleasant and potentially serious problems that may require treatment.
An overactive thyroid can affect anyone, but it is about 10 times more common in women than men and usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 40.
This can have a wide range of symptoms, including weight loss due to the fact that it stimulates the metabolism, which can cause an increase in appetite.
Only rarely, when an “undiagnosed or poorly controlled overactive thyroid” is detected, it can lead to a serious, life-threatening condition called thyroid storm, the NHS said. This is when symptoms suddenly worsen and is often triggered by an infection.
Type 1 diabetes
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Type 1 diabetes causes the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood to become too high. It happens when your body can’t make a hormone called insulin, which controls blood sugar.
Insufficient insulin prevents the body from transporting glucose from the blood into the body’s cells to use as energy, which can cause the body to burn fat and muscle for energy, which can trigger rapid weight loss.
Other symptoms may include feeling thirsty, blurred vision, feeling tired, and cuts or scrapes that won’t heal.
Inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term used to describe conditions that cause severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. The main types of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
One of the main symptoms, diarrhea that lasts for several weeks, is responsible for the weight loss. Other symptoms include abdominal pain, fatigue, and blood or mucus in the stool.
Although it is not clear what causes these conditions, which affect around 10 million people globally, the NHS says they occur when the immune system attacks the gut, causing it to become inflamed.
Cancer
Loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss is a symptom that affects 80 percent of people with upper gastrointestinal cancers, such as stomach cancer or liver cancer.
Cachexia, also known as wasting syndrome, is a potential symptom of cancer and causes extreme loss of muscle and fat, according to Cancer Research UK.
People with early-stage cancers usually do not suffer from cachexia. But up to four in five people with advanced cancer develop some degree of cachexia, the charity explained. This can also happen with HIV, kidney disease and heart disease.
The stress
Going through a stressful event such as losing a loved one, a divorce, break-up or losing a job can contribute to weight loss, the NHS explains. Stress can cause a loss of appetite, indigestion or repetitive nervous movements.
When you’re stressed over a long period of time, stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline can build up in your body, which can have a variety of physical effects, from sleep disturbances to appetite suppression.
Weight loss can also be due to jitters and kicking which, if done consistently, can burn extra calories.
Source: www.doctorulzilei.ro
