When it comes to weight gain and inflammation, it may help to think of them like a complex relationship. They are like Romeo and Juliet for your body. Gaining weight can dramatically increase inflammation. William Lee, M.D.a Boston-based author of Eat to beat disease: New science on how your body can heal itselfFrom there, inflammation can lead to even more weight gain. That means you can get caught in a vicious cycle of chronic inflammation and fat accumulation that can ultimately impact your overall health.
According to Lee, powerful pairings can wreak havoc with your gut microbiome (beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract that play a major role in digestion and immune function), affect emotional health, and regulate blood sugar levels. , cholesterol levels, and metabolic function.
“When you get caught in this cycle of weight gain and chronic inflammation, it affects your body much more than you might think,” he says. But the good news is that you can break this vicious circle with a simple lifestyle change.”
back story
When you gain too much weight, your body produces more of a type of fat called white adipose tissue. I say that. Fat stores energy and releases fatty acids when the brain realizes it needs more fuel.That’s a short-term advantage, but maintaining too much of this tissue can trigger the release of a specific type of immune cell called macrophages, which can cause more inflammation throughout the body. A 2019 study published in metabolic open It was found that inflammatory markers in the blood increased with weight gain. Interestingly, this inflammation only lasts until the excess weight is lost.
Inflammation also interferes with leptin regulation. Leptin is the hormone that tells you when to eat and when you’re full. When hormones related to hunger and satiety and other hormones don’t work properly, Lee says it can be much easier to overeat and gain weight. He also adds that inflammation can cause low energy. Research published in The Forefront of Behavioral Neuroscience It suggests that even low levels of inflammation can lead to persistent fatigue. making the side effects of the drug particularly harmful.)
According to Li, it’s an ugly cycle that’s hard to break, but it’s definitely worth trying. “flat
A small amount of weight loss can reduce inflammation, and when inflammation subsides, your overall health improves,” he says. (Losing just a few pounds can improve your metabolic markers.) That means small advances can lead to long-term results, especially if you view inflammation reduction as a slow and steady strategy.
see the big picture
Focusing solely on weight loss to break the link between inflammation and fat can be problematic, says a Boston-based nutritionist Erin Kenny, MS, RDN, as with any solution, it’s easy to get discouraged when you set big goals and realize you can’t reach them. “If you go on a diet and start losing weight, especially if it’s very restrictive, it can backfire when you hit a plateau,” she says. It goes away and often people go back to their old eating habits.”
A Better Approach: Adopt strategies aimed at improving overall health and reducing inflammation, with weight loss as a potential side effect. That way, you’ll be more likely to notice the benefits of less inflammation, like fewer colds, better sleep, and more energy, so you can stick with your new habits, says Kenny. , which may promote weight loss.
pump it up
When I get active, I often opt for aerobic exercise such as the treadmill or elliptical.It has its benefits, but it’s resistance training that builds muscle and reduces inflammation. 2020 research in the journal Aging Research Review It turns out that people with less muscle mass, especially older people, tend to have more inflammation. Strength training is also associated with improved body composition, which means less fat for the same weight.
focus on sleep
Even if your diet and exercise are on track, poor quality sleep can put you at risk for inflammation and fat storage. David Hanscom, M.D.A retired orthopedic surgeon in Seattle who now focuses on pain management through non-surgical methods such as meditation, exercise, and stress relief. “There’s significant evidence that,” he says. For example, several studies show that closing your eyes for less than seven hours each night increases your risk of obesity.
Learn to de-stress
Part of the reason sleep is so beneficial in breaking the cycle of inflammation and fat is that it improves stress levels. He notes that stress is often associated with both inflammation and weight gain, not to mention a myriad of other health problems, and that it’s possible to develop healthier habits in the long run. , said it was important to relieve tension.
refresh your diet
While it’s important to avoid things that cause inflammation, such as sugary sweets, sodas, and fried foods, it can be helpful to focus on adding to your diet rather than cutting it out, says Kenny. That way, healthy picks can often naturally push out less effective foods, she says, to ease feelings of restriction. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fatty fish She also suggests adding more spices that have been shown to reduce inflammation, such as ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and cayenne. The numbers on the scale may not work as expected at first, but changes like these can improve your muscle-to-fat ratio while reducing inflammation, says Li. This gives you all the motivating benefits along the way.
What about bariatric surgery?
If you focus on breaking the cycle of inflammation and weight gain, the results will be the same regardless of how much weight you lose. That is, people undergoing bariatric surgery—a technique that reduces their ability to eat or digest food—as a way to alter their body composition, show anti-inflammatory effects similar to those who lose weight non-surgically. I mean Paresh Dandona, MD, PhDresearchers focused on diabetes, metabolism, and endocrinology State University of New York at Buffalo“We see immense benefits in terms of reducing inflammation from bariatric surgery,” he says.
“This has benefits such as a lower risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and Alzheimer’s disease.” Weight loss itself is responsible for many of these benefits, he says, but another factor is obesity. This is how surgery has been associated with improving gut health and the diversity of good bacteria. Please consult.
A version of this article was published in our partner magazine, The Complete Guide to Anti-Inflammation.
