Underactive Thyroid Activity Could be a Reason for Weight Gain!

Once a person starts gaining weight, he or she will also start worrying because evidence has shown that overweight will ultimately lead one to diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, and even certain type of cancer.

Besides genes, unhealthy diet, and lack of physical activity, weight gain can also occur among adults having lower thyroid activity.

Researchers from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland found that middle-aged adults having mildly underactive thyroid gland, which still functions in the normal range, might prone to weight gain. Their findings appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine during April 2008.

Thyroid is a gland found in one’s neck, which produces hormones that regulate the body’s metabolism. When a disorder known as hypothyroidism occurs, the gland would be underactive and this in turn causes symptoms like sensitivity to cold, dry skin, fatigue and weight gain. However, scientists are not sure whether thyroid function within standard range will lead to weight gain.

The new study examined the relationship between levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and body weight of more than 2,400 middle-aged adults. In order to stimulate hormone production in the thyroid gland, TSH is released by the brain. Lower activity in the thyroid is reflected when higher TSH levels are found in the blood.

According to the researchers, men and women in the study tended to gain weight when their TSH levels were relatively high but still normal, as compared with those with lower TSH concentrations. Moreover, those participants with TSH levels tipped upwards over the next several years were prone to weight gain.

Though the new findings revealed the possibility of weight gain because of modest increase in serum TSH concentrations within the reference range, it is still too early for scientists to start finding ways to treat obesity by dealing with thyroid hormones. In the meantime, the researchers suggested more research should be done to confirm their findings, and to understand why TSH levels are connected to weight.

The management of metabolism through interaction between the nervous system and hormone-producing glands is rather complex. While the entire system including thyroid hormones might affect weight and obesity risk, obesity might also be capable of influencing the system. In fact, several studies have shown that excess fat tissue might also directly affect TSH levels.

What Causes Young Females Put On Weight?

When we talk about weight gain, we usually relate it to health issues because overweight can lead to a number of medical complications like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and even cancer. Besides health issues, weight gain is certainly not proud of among young females.

Nevertheless, there are young girls or women find themselves gain in weight although they do not over-eat. Why is this so?

Perhaps the findings of a study published in July 2008 in “The Journal of Pediatrics” may explain. Researchers from Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston found that girls and young women, who devote much time to Internet, get insufficient sleep, or drink alcohol regularly, are more likely to gain excess weight comparing to their peers.

A total of 5,036 girls and young women between 14 and 21 years old participated in this study, and they were followed for 1 year. They were asked questions like number of recreational hours per week they spent on the Internet (ranging from 1 to 5 hours to 16-plus hours), how long they typically slept each night (anywhere from 5 hours or less, to 9 hours or more), how much alcohol they usually took (ranging from none to 2 or more drinks per week).

The researchers found that if the girls spent more time on the Internet, were lack of sleep and had regular alcohol consumption, their body mass index (BMI) increased. BMI is a measure of weight in relation to height and is commonly used as a gauge for weight gain.

Findings of the study showed that in general, the BMI would rise as Internet use climbed, particularly among young girls age below 18 years old. Those who slept 5 hours or less tended to gain more weight than those who had a standard 8 hours sleep. Moreover, girls and women who had 2 or more alcoholic drinks per week would put on weight than those who drank the least.

The effects over 1 year were modest, for example, a 19-year-old of average weight and height would gain only 4 pounds if she were in the high-risk groups for Internet use, sleep and alcohol consumption. However, the researchers feel that this could eventually translate into significant weight change over time.

Spending hours on the Internet would likely take time away from physical activity thus increasing the weight. Lack of sleep may well cause tiredness to people who may become less active during the day. Sleep deprivation could also affect hormones and metabolism in a way that might help weight gain. Alcohol contains a significant amount of calories. If people, who usually, do not make adjustment for liquid calories by eating or drinking less throughout the rest of the day, their weight would be naturally increased.

New Possibility To Fight Obesity By Drug

The generation of adipocytes (the precursors to fat cells) could be prevented by just suppressing the protein entirely with its beneficial properties being decreased. The protein, known as perixosome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg), can actually turn on various genes related to obesity in the body.

This is the latest finding presented by the researchers at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) at the recent AACR Centennial Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine on November 7, 2007.

Obesity is a well known risk factor not only for diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease but also for prostate, breast and colon cancer. Recent studies have also shown that a protein responsible for generating fat cells can also cause cancer.

The scientists figured out that if they could identify the gene targets of PPARg, they could open up new targets for drug development against a number of diseases, including obesity, diabetes and cancer.

Only a limited number of direct targets for PPARg have been identified so far. A number of new PPARg target genes which are connected to adipogenesis and insulin sensitivity have been identified by the scientists at the GIS. According to them, these direct targets when inhibited, could lead to a dramatic reduction of adipogenic potential.

The oral hypoglycemic drugs currently available can effectively treat Type II diabetes. But it could also cause bad sides effects including heart disease, liver toxicity and weight gain.

If new drugs can be developed to direct specifically those PPARg targets to regulate insulin sensitivity, then it is possible to provide a safer and more efficient therapeutic approach.

The researchers plan to test their data on mice.