Although it's not something that many Americans routinely think about or are concerned with, unexplained weight loss is nonetheless an important thing to be aware of. If you suddenly begin to lose weight and you're not sure why, it may be the sign of an underlying health condition that may have developed. It can also be a signal that something about the way that you eat and exercise is not promoting a healthy body stasis.
Being aware of weight loss and weight gain is a good way to avoid putting stress on your body. Only by recognizing that you've had unexplained weight loss will you then be able to examine the reasons why this is happening. Read on for a few potential causes of unexplained weight loss.
1. Gastrointestinal Health Issues
One of the major reasons for unexplained weight loss is a stomach virus or disease that you may not otherwise be aware of. While most of these conditions will be accompanied by other symptoms and effects that you're likely to notice, a few of them may actually have no recognizable symptoms. Therefore, keeping a relatively close eye on your weight can help you to determine whether this is happening to you. When you see that you've lost weight, consider whether you've felt sick at all and whether you might have a condition of this type. A doctor can help to diagnose you.
2. Parasites
Certain types of intestinal and stomach parasites will not cause you any negative symptoms or side effects common with a disease. However, these parasites survive by leaching off the nutrients in the food that you eat. When this happens, you'll not be able to absorb those nutrients for yourself, and you'll consequently lose weight and begin to be malnourished, even when you're eating the same amount of food that you usually do.
3. Added Activity
If you've been exercising more frequently than normal, you may have burned more calories than you're used to, and the result is that you may begin to lose weight. More subtly, if you've been overly active for other reasons (i.e., being stressed at work, running around to do a bunch of errands or chores), you can also end up inadvertantly burning more calories and then losing weight without realizing it.
4. Restricted Food Intake
If you've had to skip out on certain meals, or if the food that you've eaten has been smaller in quantity or lower in overall quality recently, one of the things that can come about is unexplained weight loss. If you continue this pattern, you'll continue to lose weight and may even have some difficulty putting it back on. Be sure that you're eating regularly and that you are eating complete, balanced meals when you do.
If you're concerned about your unexplained weight loss, consult with a doctor or a nutritionist for more information.
