This article will tell you why so many people face the problem of being overweight. You will learn about hormones and their effect on the human body. Excess weight (obesity) is the accumulation of fat by the body in reserve, and due to adipose tissue, an increase in body weight. It is important that adipose tissue can not only be deposited in the thighs, abdomen, mammary glands, etc., but also on the internal organs.
It is a fairly well-known fact that excess weight affects not only the appearance, but is also very dangerous to health. There is a strict medical indicator - body mass index, by which you can determine your weight. Body mass index formula: weight (in kilograms) divided by height (in meters) squared. If in the end the number turned out to be less than 20 - a very small weight, up to 25 - normal, and if the figure turned out to be more than 30 - overweight. The above formula will help determine how your weight affects the body as a whole.
The main causes of human obesity
- Lifestyle. Much depends on where, how and with whom you live and eat accordingly. What kind of team do you work in, what kind of vehicles do you prefer, what kind of clothes you wear, and in general what are your hobbies in life.
- Eating habits. When, what, how much and how many times a day you eat.
- Stress. A very common problem of obesity in those people who are exposed to frequent stress. There is a type of people who "seize" all their problems, in this way they limit themselves from nervous tension.
- Constant feeling of tiredness and inadequate sleep.
- Sexual problems. Oxytocin (the hormone of calmness) is a hormone that is produced during physical intimacy, massage, and touch. It also appears when you eat fatty foods, which is why the lack of sex is often compensated for by fatty foods, which leads to weight gain.
- Endocrine Disorders. It is very important for health to be checked periodically by an endocrinologist. After all, the problems of the thyroid gland are directly related to obesity, and this is precisely the cause of the "slow metabolism".
Let's take a closer look at the problems of excess weight that are associated with the endocrine system. After all, hormones are those active substances that affect almost all functions of the human body. They are responsible for the metabolic rate, regulate appetite, with their help, you can both gain and lose weight.
Hormones That Regulate Weight Gain or Weight Loss
- Leptin - the hormone of satiety. This hormone sends signals to the brain that our body is already full of food, and it's time to stop taking it. Due to its effects on the brain, this hormone also maintains normal glucose levels. Lack of sleep leads to a decrease in leptin in the body. The paradox is that when in laboratory studies, leptin was injected into mice, their weight decreased. Based on this, it would seem, let's take this hormone, and the struggle with extra pounds will stop, but it turns out that everything is not so simple. After all, its presence in overweight people is 10 times more than in those whose weight is the norm.
- Ghrelin - the hormone of hunger, which is responsible for the digestion processes. The function of ghrelin is not only to increase appetite, but also to push the body to accumulate fat cells. Sleep is also directly related to this hormone. Sleeping 2-3 hours less than usual will result in more ghrelin production than leptin by as much as 15-20%.
- Cortisol - stress hormone, which constitutes the protective function of the human body and is produced in times of stressful situations. Many people feel hungry during stress - this is the robot of cortisol. Thus, with the help of goodies, you can more easily and quickly get through stressful situations. But the bad news is that it slows down the metabolism, which contributes to rapid weight gain. The main problem is that in order to somehow influence the production of cortisol, you need to find various ways of relaxation: yoga, meditation, dancing, etc.
- Adrenalin - a hormone that manifests itself in moments of arousal. Adrenaline goes next to cortisol, often intersecting, the difference between them is not big, but there is. A parachute jump for the first time, causes fear and the production of cortisol, and further jumps, cause emotional excitement - adrenaline. Thus, adrenaline triggers the process of thermogenesis - the combustion of reserve energy and, accordingly, weight loss.
- Estrogen - a female hormone that is produced by the ovaries, its deficiency is responsible for weight gain. Thanks to this hormone, in young women, fat accumulates in the lower body, and in women over 40 in the waist area. It is a great addiction to sweets that is a lack of estrogen. As soon as the content of estrogen falls, the body finds it in body fat - this becomes a causal decrease in testosterone, which is responsible for muscle mass, and it begins to decrease. The result is a decrease in muscle mass, and an increase in fat. In order not to lose shape, the muscles need constant physical activity.
- Insulin. Its job in the body is to supply fat cells with sugar. Insulin regulates the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood, if there is too much of it, it leaves it in reserve in the form of body fat. If insulin production is disrupted, the end result is diabetes.
- Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4). The thyroid gland is responsible for their production. The most important of them is thyroxine, it is able to influence metabolic processes in the body, in particular, to reduce weight. Often thyroxine deficiency appears due to iodine deficiency. So, eat iodized salt and a lot of seafood, in particular seaweed, then you will never have to face problems related to thyroid hormones.
- Testosterone - is responsible for sexual desire. It is a male hormone, but it is also present in small quantities in the female body. Testosterone plays a very important role in weight control as it uses fat cells as fuel to gain muscle mass. With the onset of menopause, this hormone in the female body begins to be produced in half, which leads to faster weight gain.
If you are overweight, the first step is to take a blood test for hormonal imbalance. Perhaps it is hormones that make your body store fat cells in the form of excess weight, and it is through them that you cannot normalize body weight.
For more information on hormones that regulate human weight, see here:
