Weight Loss & Hypothalamus

With obesity now the biggest health problem in the United States and other nations, many people are searching for the best way to lose weight and keep it off so they can improve their health. There are many factors that can affect a person's weight loss progress, including problems with her hypothalamus.

Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, most people have heard the simple advice doctors give: reduce the calories you eat and burn more calories by increasing the amount of exercise that you do every day. For many people, following these guidelines results in weight loss. For some people, weight loss is made more difficult by hormone or biochemical abnormalities. An abnormality in the hypothalamus can interfere with a person's weight loss efforts.

Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is a region of the brain located at the base, just above the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus helps regulate the pituitary gland, which in turn controls the thyroid, the adrenal glands and a person's ovaries or testes. The hypothalamus is also instrumental in regulating a person's sleep, growth, appetite and weight. If the hypothalamus is not functioning correctly, then it can impact a person's weight.

Difficulty Losing Weight

Damage to the hypothalamus, either in the form of a lesion, tumor or brain injury, can cause rapid weight gain. A person with a dysfunctional hypothalamus can have an appetite that is never satisfied, leading him to overeat in an attempt to finally feel full. The damaged hypothalamus can also interfere with his ability to lose weight at all, despite controlling his food intake and increasing his exercise levels.

Treatment

If a tumor or a hormone imbalance is causing the dysfunction of the hypothalamus, treating the underlying issue can make it easier for a person to lose weight. If a patient has the tumor removed or goes under a doctor's care to restore her hormones to the proper levels, the damage could be undone. Combating insulin overproduction in people with obesity caused by a damaged hypothalamus can also result in weight loss.

Considerations

Obesity and difficulty with losing weight are caused by a dysfunctional hypothalamus in only a small subset of people. Weight gain is not the only effect of damage to the hypothalamus A lesion in a different part of the hypothalamus can also cause weight loss by suppressing a person's appetite. It can also signal the body not to store fat, making it difficult for a person who needs to gain weight to do so.