If you notice you are losing weight — particularly without trying — you might have an underlying medical condition.
Image Credit: Blend Images/John Fedele/Tetra images/GettyImages Have you asked yourself, “Why am I losing weight?” or recently noticed your clothes getting looser or the number on your weight scale falling? Has your weight decreased despite your diet and activity level being the same? If so, then there may be a serious medical cause for your weight loss.
Advertisement
It is important to know the different causes and when to seek help. The most common causes for unintentional weight loss are nutritional deficiencies, lung cancer and liver cancer.
Video of the Day
Tip If you notice you are losing weight — particularly without trying — you might have an underlying medical condition. See your doctor for a diagnosis.
Consider Nutritional Deficiencies
Nutritional deficiencies are one of the most common causes for unintentional weight loss and occur when the body does not absorb the necessary amount of a nutrients. The main cause of a nutritional deficiency overtime is having a poor diet that lacks essential nutrients and vitamins. Other causes include abnormalities in your gastrointestinal tract that do not allow proper absorption.
Advertisement
According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, the most common nutritional deficiencies are:
Iron Vitamin A Vitamin B12 Vitamin D Calcium Vitamin C Folate Iodine Magnesium Zinc
Some of the symptoms you may notice from malnutrition include indigestion, skin problems, abnormal bone growth and dementia.
Advertisement
Read more: What Foods to Eat to Gain Weight Quickly?
Lung Cancer Symptoms
In 2019, it is estimated that there will be 228,150 new cases of lung cancer in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. Although not the only cause, the most common cause for lung cancer is smoking. Many chronic smokers develop different types of lung cancer over a period of time.
Advertisement
Some of the first symptoms of lung cancer are weight loss and loss of appetite. As explained by CancerCare, the immune system produces proteins called cytokines to help fight the disease. Unfortunately, prolonged secretion of these proteins can lead to weight loss and decreased appetite.
Liver Cancer and Weight Loss
The liver is the organ in the body that makes enzymes and bile, which help you to digest fats, vitamins and other nutrients. When you have liver cancer the organ stops functioning properly and many symptoms can present such as yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain, nausea and fatigue, according to the American Medical Association.
Advertisement
Advertisement
When the liver produces an abnormal amount of enzymes to digest food or the cancer from the liver has spread to the stomach, there can be a dramatic decrease in the amount of nutrients absorbed by your gastrointestinal tract. This decrease in food absorption can lead to significant weight loss.
Read more: 10 Changes You Can Make Today to Help Cut Your Cancer Risk
Advertisement
See Your Doctor
Nutritional deficiencies, lung cancer and liver cancer can be life-threatening diseases if they are not treated early on. However, they are just a few of the common causes that may cause unexpected weight loss. For this reason, it is important to give your doctor a detailed history of your health and other chronic conditions so that the specific cause for your weight loss can be determined and treated accordingly.
Advertisement
Advertisement
references
American Cancer Society: "Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer"
CancerCare: "Coping With Cancer-Related Weight Loss and Muscle Loss"
American Medical Association: "Liver Cancer"
Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services: "341 Nutrient Deficiency or Disease"
references
American Cancer Society: "Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer"
CancerCare: "Coping With Cancer-Related Weight Loss and Muscle Loss"
American Medical Association: "Liver Cancer"
Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services: "341 Nutrient Deficiency or Disease"
If you notice you are losing weight — particularly without trying — you might have an underlying medical condition.
Image Credit: Blend Images/John Fedele/Tetra images/GettyImages
Image Credit: Blend Images/John Fedele/Tetra images/GettyImages
If you notice you are losing weight — particularly without trying — you might have an underlying medical condition. See your doctor for a diagnosis.
American Cancer Society: "Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer"
CancerCare: "Coping With Cancer-Related Weight Loss and Muscle Loss"
American Medical Association: "Liver Cancer"
Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services: "341 Nutrient Deficiency or Disease"
