Body weight loss: causes and treatment of weight loss

Many people experience a lack of weight, and the attitude to this is often rather frivolous. But if a person is not able to gain the necessary kilograms, then this indicates a violation of health and has nothing to do with eating disorders. Deficiency of body weight can be observed in men, women, and even children. If there was a weight loss below the critical level of the body mass index, then in particularly severe cases, this leads to a lethal outcome.

Correct calculation

In the 19th century a special value was developed - the body mass index, calculating which, it is possible to find out whether the person's weight is normal, excessive or insufficient. More on this in more detail.

The body mass index is calculated by the ratio of height and weight. For an accurate result it is necessary to be weighed in the morning after visiting the toilet. Growth is also measured after waking up, because during the day it is able to decrease by 2 cm.

Thus, the calculation of the deficit of body weight, its excess or norm, is made as follows:

• First consider the body mass index by the formula:

Index = Weight (kg): Height ² (m).

For example, the weight of a woman is 68 kg, and the height is 170 cm. The calculation in this case is as follows: 68: (1.70 * 1.70) = 23.5. What do the data mean?

• According to WHO recommendations, the index of normal body weight is 18,5-24,99. Thus, the figures obtained in the example indicate a norm. The body mass index below 18.5 indicates a lack of weight, and if the figure is below 16, then this is a pronounced weight deficit requiring medical intervention. Accordingly, the figures above 24.99 also make you alert, only because of excess weight.

Causes

Why is there a deficit in body weight? The reasons for this are quite diverse. The most common are the following:

• Malnutrition. It happens that a person is very busy at work and can eat only in the evening. But at this time he is heavily fatigued, and he can not even bring a spoon to his mouth.
• Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, which do not allow food to normally split and assimilated to beneficial substances.
• Diseases of the endocrine system, leading to a malfunction of the hormonal background. It can be hyperthyroidism, insufficient adrenal function, diabetes mellitus.
• Incorrect way of life: lack of fat and carbohydrates in the diet, lack of sleep, stress, excessive physical activity, smoking. In this case, the lack of weight often occurs in women and is often caused by psychological causes - dreams of a beautiful and slender body, which leads to the development of neuroses and anorexia.
• In children, underweight is observed at an early age due to undernourishment, when the mother lacks milk or when feeding the infant with an incorrect mixture. Sometimes a lack of weight is diagnosed in the fetus as a result of an unfavorable pregnancy.

Heredity. Many people in the family had extremely thin relatives, but the weight deficit in this case rarely reaches a critical level.

What is the danger of lack of weight?

A person who has a pronounced body mass deficit looks very unattractive and resembles zombies from horror films. Even speech can not go about beauty, as it begins to lose the smoothness of the outlines of its shape, the hair and skin become dull, the usual physical load becomes an irresistible task. But, apart from the loss of attractiveness, there are various diseases and morbid conditions that we will consider in more detail.

Weakening of immunity

Immune cells protect the body from the penetration of harmful microorganisms and the development of tumors. To do this, they need a certain amount of protein, as well as energy derived from carbohydrates. Deficiency of body weight leads to a decrease in the supply of nutrients, as a result the body ceases to produce immune cells, and protection disappears. A person begins to often get sick with infectious diseases, which are difficult to treat.

Osteoporosis and hair loss

With insufficient body weight, the bones do not receive the substances they need, which are required for bone mass. In addition, the human skeleton does not experience the necessary weight pressure, which makes it less sturdy, and bone tissue becomes fragile.

Excessive thinness leads to the fact that the hair becomes rare and dull. There are many more than new ones. This is explained by the fact that the body receives very little vitamins, trace elements and protein.

Anemia

The hematopoietic system also needs a lot of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and iron. Even taking multivitamins is not able to bring a proper result, as they are difficult to digest because of a violation of absorption in the intestine.

Violation of the endocrine system

The lack of body weight strongly affects the production of sex hormones. The organism falls into a stressful situation due to a lack of nutrients, so it tries to save on these organs. Women with a deficiency of body weight often suffer from infertility, and they often have miscarriages. In men, the quality of sperm is greatly impaired, spermatozoa become inactive or altogether unviable. In very severe cases, there is an aspermia (lack of sperm), as well as impotence.

Depression

Deficiency of body weight quite often becomes the cause of depression. This is due not only to the fact that the body receives very few vitamins, but also with asthenia and general exhaustion. Strong shortage of weight in childhood and adolescence leads to adverse consequences. The lack of microelements, nutrients and vitamins contributes to the retardation of growth and development of internal organs.

The child often suffers from catarrhal diseases, the uterus and ovaries cease to form in the girls, the boys develop a disorder in the development of the reproductive system. If at a young age does not solve the problem of pronounced weight deficit, the time will be lost, the reproductive system, and also the bones can never reach sufficient maturity, and the person will lose the opportunity to lead a normal sexual and family life.

Expressed underweight should be treated to avoid complications.

What is hypotrophy?

Deficiency of body weight, arising from a chronic eating and digestive disorder in young children, is called hypotrophy. At the same time, exhaustion develops, the immunity weakens very much, the functioning of vital organs is disrupted. There is such a pathology in the first year of life of the child and can be both congenital and acquired character.

Degrees of deficiency of body weight with hypotrophy distinguish the first, second and third.

The first degree is manifested as follows: a slight decrease in appetite, excessive excitability, sleep disturbance. The thinness of the child manifests itself in the abdomen, there is a decrease in the tone of the skin and muscles, infectious diseases develop. The weight deficit at this stage is 11-20%.

The second degree of hypotrophy is characterized by the fact that the shortage of weight is already 20-30%. The child develops a backlog in development, he begins to sleep badly, the chair is broken, growth is slowed. Up to one and a half years the baby often belches, the skin becomes not so elastic and is collected in folds. The limbs look very thin.

At the third degree of the disease the child begins to lag behind in growth by 4-9 cm, and the weight deficit is already 30%. He starts to sleep constantly, he cries all the time, he often gets sick. Hands and feet are always cold, subcutaneous tissue is very thin, the skin becomes grayish, the mucous dry. Chronic pneumonia or pyelonephritis develops.

Treatment includes compliance with diet and use of medicines. Hypotrophy of 2 and 3 degrees requires the presence of the child in the hospital. The effectiveness of diet therapy appears after 1-4 months, depending on the degree of weight deficit. Also additionally carry out massages, exercise therapy, UFO. In severe cases, feeding is done using a probe.

Diagnosis of the disease

Since a severe lack of weight usually indicates serious violations in the work of the body, it is necessary to seek help from such doctors as an endocrinologist, gastroenterologist and nutritionist.

First, the doctor collects a complete history: food preferences of the patient, his lifestyle, concomitant diseases, and then weighs it and carries out other measurements. To establish the hidden cause of weight loss, the specialist assigns the following additional tests:

• Hormonal and biochemical analysis of blood, due to which they reveal a violation of carbohydrate metabolism, the work of the thyroid gland and adrenal glands;
• Urinalysis, which is used to examine the level of protein, ketone bodies, glucose for the detection of diabetes mellitus;
• Stool analysis - performed only in case of suspicion of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Treatment

Adult weight loss treatment includes:

• The use of drugs, microelements, vitamins;
• Properly selected food;
• Exercise therapy.

If the lack of weight is caused by any diseases, then the patient must first take a course of treatment aimed at getting rid of a particular disease, and then begin the process of increasing body weight.

Proper nutrition

If there is a deficit of body weight, treatment most often implies proper nutrition. But this does not mean that it is necessary to consume everything. To achieve a normal weight, you should adhere to a special diet and dietician advice. So what are these recommendations?

Nutrition with a deficiency of body weight should consist mainly of proteins and carbohydrates. For fats should not be too active, as in this case the digestive system is strongly stimulated. This at best can lead to diarrhea, and at worst - to promote the development of acute pancreatitis or cholecystitis.

The main rule: it is necessary to eat fully three times a day and also to have a three-snack, for example sweet tea with biscuits.

It is best to refrain from soda with a sweetener, which is completely non-nutritious and easily interrupts your appetite. To avoid problems with digestion, dishes are recommended to boil, bake or cook for a couple. Nutritional value in this case is significantly increased. Diet with a deficiency of body weight should include vegetables and fruits containing the necessary amount of vitamins and mineral salts.

Nutritionists are advised to use the following foods to help you recover:

• Meat beef, pork, chicken, lamb, turkeys;
• Pasta and cereals;
• Bread and other pastries;
• Cream, whole milk, sour cream;
• Hard cheeses;
• sea fish;
• vegetables and fruits;
• Chocolate, ice cream, various sweets;
• Lactic acid products, cottage cheese;
• Tea with milk, coffee, fruit drinks, juices.

To increase the appetite in the menu you should make a variety - dishes should not be repeated every day, it is desirable to decorate them.

Diet with a deficiency of body weight excludes the use of natural anabolics, such as coffee, garlic and salted herring. You can include in the diet seasonings that enhance appetite, but only in small amounts. They include: adzhika, horseradish, mustard, pepper. Do not forget to drink clean water.

Preventive measures

To prevent a critical reduction in body weight, it is recommended to adhere to the following preventive measures:

• Exercise moderate physical activity;
• To eat properly and regularly;
• To reduce stressful situations and to abandon bad habits;
• To control the level of hormones, to go for preventive examinations of the endocrine system and the gastrointestinal tract;
• With a significant reduction in weight should consult a competent specialist for therapeutic treatment.

Conclusion

Thus, body weight deficiency can occur for various reasons. Do not artificially bring yourself to this state, because excessive leanness still did not paint anyone, but, on the contrary, led to very sad consequences. If the weight is reduced because of various diseases, you should definitely take the help of a specialist who will prescribe the appropriate treatment.