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Hypothyroidism Or Obesity

Everyone is guilty of looking at an extremely obese person and wondering why he or she doesn’t do something about it. After all, surely no one wants to be stared at because of having several layers of flesh. The thing many of us don’t think about when we comment on a person’s weight, even silently, is that it may be something out of their control. How many cases of obesity are related to hypothyroidism is hard to determine, but it is definitely one of the signs of untreated hypothyroidism just as excessive thinness is a symptom of hyperthyroidism.

The problem with treatment many times is that the health care provider does not take the time to test a patient for hypothyroidism if obesity is the only symptom or is in combination with fatigue, but rather assumes that the fatigue is a result of the weight gain. As patients, we must take the initiative to tell our physicians that we want to be tested for this condition, especially if we have tried to lose weight and our metabolism doesn’t seem to working in our favor.

One of the major jobs of the thyroid is to control metabolism, and if that is not working at peak capacity, it means our bodies are not burning fat at a fast enough rate to prevent weight gain. Even for a person of normal weight, the body must burn calories at the same weight as they are consumed in order to maintain a certain weight. If that process is interrupted, as with hypothyroidism, one can eat the same amount of food, get the same amount of exercise, and still gain weight because the metabolism is not working properly to burn the calories.

If you feel that you are doing all of the right things and are still gaining weight, it’s time to ask your physician to test you for hypothyroidism. If that is the reason for the slow metabolism, you can begin a regimen of hormone therapy that will get your metabolism working at peak efficiency again so that your body will return to its normal weight, and you will not feel so tired and sluggish with the extra weight. Don’t feel you have to live with the condition because it can be diagnosed and treated effectively, allowing you to live a normal life.