Weight gain & hormone

Body weight and hormone changes in the body are corelated to the healthy lifestyle. I would like to highlight how to manage your body weight by controlling your hormone and lead a a healthy lifestyle.

There are literally hundreds of hormones involved in controlling body weight, the metabolism of body fat, hunger and cravings. Insulin is the one most talked about, yet, like most complex reactions in the body, it’s unlikely that one specific hormonal path is the definitive solution to keeping in shape. With more research focusing on the area, it pays to be aware of other hormones that can help or hinder.


1. Cortisol
This is a stress hormone that closely related to weight gain. This hormone tends to cause the depositing of fat around the abdomen rather than the hips. This is why people tend to become apple-shaped and also facing the development of cardiovascular disease. Stress! People who has more hormone of cortisol tends to eat more food which is higher in carbohydrates than those who secrete less cortisol hormone. Taking active steps to manage your stress can control cortisol levels and have a tremendous flow-on effect to weight loss success.

2. Leptin
This hormone is produced in fat cells and helps regulate the brain to reduce appetite and burn more kilojoules. Leptin levels are high for obese people. Promoting leptin levels and adequate sleep is good to control the weight gain. Aim to get a good night’s rest to allow your body’s natural night-time rise in leptin to occur for sufficient time.

3. Sex hormones
Women produce oestrogen, progesterone and testerone. This level of hormones will fall dramatically at menopause. Women tend to gain weight particularly around the abdomen. Hormone therapy will sometime work on this.

4. Thyroid hormones
The thyroid hormones are to regulate many metabolic processes including growth and energy. The little release of thyroid hormones will cause the metabolism to slow down and subsequently cause the weight gain. The symptom includes low energy, depression, slow heart rate, weight gain, intolerance to cold, muscle fatigue, dry skin, hair loss and constipation.

5.Ghrelin
This is a hormone that increase hunger, slowing metabolism and decreasing the body’s ability to burn fat. This is one of the most common hormones that cause the weight gain. People who have had weight loss following bariatric surgery have low levels of ghrelin. Surgery is recommended for the patients with a BMI greater than 40 or BMI greater than 30 with additional medical conditions ie. type-2 diabetes.

Understand the relation of  hormone with the gain weight reason is the first step of bringing yourself to best healthy lifestyle!