Weight gain

Weight gain

Template:Search infobox Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Weight gain is an increase in body weight. It is generally caused by the intake of excess calories, little exercise, or may be caused by a medical condition. One exception is bodybuilding, in which muscle is gained by workout routines. With a large differential diagnosis, weight gain is a prevalent complaint among adult patients.

It may be intentional or unintentional, sometimes for muscle building, or for health reasons, i.e. increasing body fat percentage to a healthy amount. Intentional reasons may include gaining weight to get to a healthy weight, bodybuilding, and recovery for eating disorders like Anorexia Nervousa.

See also obesity for a full discussion.

Symptoms

• A noticibly larger, rounder stomach.
• Increase in body fat percentage.
• Increase in muscle mass.
• Increase in body hydration levels.

Causes

Causes by Organ System

(By organ system)

Cardiovascular	No underlying causes
Chemical / poisoning	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	No underlying causes
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	No underlying causes
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	No underlying causes
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	No underlying causes
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	No underlying causes
Neurologic	No underlying causes
Nutritional / Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal / Electrolyte	No underlying causes
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	No underlying causes
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	No underlying causes
Urologic	No underlying causes
Dental	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	No underlying causes

Causes in Alphabetical Order

Causes include;

Acute or chronic Liver Disease

• Decreased hepatic protein production causes a decrease in intravascular oncotic pressure
• Leads to edema, ascites etc.

Congestive Heart Failure
Cushing's Syndrome

• Cortisol levels may be elevated due to

• Adrenocorticotropic hormones secreting adrenal adenoma
• Adrenal hyperplasia
• Adrenocorticotropic hormone secreting ectopic tumor

Diabetes Mellitus
Hyperplasia

• Due to Hyperthyroidism

Hypothalamic lesions
Growth hormone deficiency
Medication side effects

• Oral contraceptives
• Corticosteroids
• Antidepressants

Premenstrual syndrome
Pregnancy
Pre-eclampsia/Eclampsia
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

• Hirsutism
• Irregular menstrual cycle
• Insulin resistance
• Obesity

Laboratory Findings

• fasting glucose
• urinealysis
• U&E
• Random cortisol

Primary Prevention

• Low calorie diet and excercise

Acknowledgements

The content on this page was first contributed by Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2]

List of contributors:

---