There are multiple reasons why some people are able to keep a “healthy” weight and some not. Healthy weight is different for everyone, it’s not the same number for everyone, that’s why I really dislike weight charts that have been promoted by weight loss companies and are based more on their need for financial gain then their desire to help humanity. They may be used as general suggestions but there is very clear need for individual approach.
Factors that affect our weight are many and multi factorial, including genetic factors and predispositions, sleep amount and quality, absence or presence of stress, chemical and environmental pollution and advanced technologies leading to more sedentary lifestyles are just a few of these factors.
Adipose tissue or fat is involved in multitude of physiological processes in our bodies such as energy storage, endocrine/hormonal functions, metabolic regulations including insulin regulation, immune function and (what was recently discovered) it is also involved in toxin storage.
Let us dive in and discuss some of the above.
So, genetics is self-explanatory. There are some people who will eat Nutella by tablespoons, never exercise, never sleep, and look like underage teenagers (not that this is an indication of health, quite the opposite oftentimes) but that is a minority of population. Majority of population has to work hard at being healthy and fit.
Let us take sleep for example. As early as 1990s we have had evidence that people who sleep less are more prone to overweight. In fact, according to Quebec Family Study of 2009, sleep pattern is a better predictor of overweight state than diet or exercise. If we take into consideration that we as a generation sleep less (at least 1.5-2 hrs. less according to reports from US National Sleep Foundation) than prior generations than we might begin to uncover what is wrong with our generation and how we can best help ourselves.
Advanced technological advancements are also clear. Most people work at a sedentary job then drive home in their car and continue a sedentary lifestyle at home. Our bodies are lacking the physically strenuous lifestyles of the bygone age. Yes, many of us do exercise but generally, the majority of the population doesn’t exercise often enough.
Environmental Stress. That is a big one. Take any recent psychology article and its clear that even though our technology, our financial state, our medicine and so forth is much, much better than in the prior generations, our outlook on life, our expectations, our stress levels and our ability to deal with triggers and much worse than before.
Immune response. We know that being significantly overweight predisposes a person to such immune diseases as MS (Multiple sclerosis), Psoriasis, RA (rheumatoid arthritis) but anorexia predisposes a person to increased susceptibility to infections.
Insulin resistance: we know that insulin resistance is a precursor of diabetes type 2 and as such is associated with obesity, inflammation and mitochondrial disfunction just to name a few. The fact that increased inflammation of the body and obesity and insulin resistance are all tied together we know for a long time. We also know that advanced age, genetics, oxidative stress, and hypoxia (sleep apnea) are also associated with increased insulin resistance and risk of diabetes and increased proinflammatory state in the body. Unfortunately, the catch 22 is that insulin resistance also makes it very difficult for the person to lose weight.
Chemical pollution and toxins. New research discovered that Adipose tissue holds on to toxins in order to prevent these toxins from harming the other organs. It is protecting the body from toxins, at least short term. Long term our bodies are supposed to be able to process these toxins and slowly get rid of them. The problem is that our generation is exposed to many more toxins than any of the prior generations and as such, our bodies are not able to keep up by naturally detoxing. Therefore, our fat tissue is holding on to a lot more toxin than we would want. When we lose the weight, we leak these toxins into the blood stream for the body to deal with and often it’s an overpowering event for the body. In fact, it may be yet another reason why it’s difficult for the body to lose weight. Our bodies are incredibly smart and protective of their functioning, so it’s very plausible that a body that is storing an enormous amount of toxins in its fat tissues will resist losing the fat tissue and the subsequent release of the toxins into the blood stream. Once the toxins are circulating in the blood stream, they will look for other high fat organs (toxins love fat) and they may settle in the liver and brain if they are not released in the stools.
So what’s the solution? I think that anyone who is seriously considering a weight loss journey needs to consider all these points and not subject his body to the yo-yo effects of dieting but rather approach this as a lifestyle change. To consider and if need be addressing the effects of sleep, stress, triggers, insulin resistance and toxins may play in his weight loss journey. As I said before, dieting is not a solution, only a multi factorial lifestyle change will allow the person to achieve the best results as far as weight loss and overall health. Would I recommend detox as part of the weight loss plan? Very likely. Would I consider insulin resistance and it’s implications on this particular patient? Of course. Would sleep evaluation and correction be a part of someone’s weight loss journey? Absolutely. Would de-stressors and trigger control be part of my approach? Yes, always. Would exercise be at the forefront? No questions.
These are just a few pointers that I felt were important to bring to the surface and discuss as potential culprits in preventing someone from losing the weight and getting to their ideal body weight and ideal health. Thank you for reading and health and happiness to all.
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