How Inflammation Affects Weight Gain and What To Do About It

Inflammation is the immune system’s response to injury,  an irritant, or an infection. While acute (short-term) inflammation is an important part of the healing process, chronic (long-term) inflammation can damage tissue, raise the risk of certain conditions, like heart disease, and can affect your weight.

Inflammation may affect weight by increasing insulin resistance, altering hormones that regulate appetite, and disrupting normal metabolic function (the process by which the body converts food into energy).

Insulin resistance happens when cells don’t respond to insulin the way they should. This causes higher levels of insulin and glucose (sugar) in the blood. Insulin is a hormone that moves blood sugar into cells where it’s used for energy. Extra blood sugar is stored as fat, which can lead to weight gain, increased hunger, and sugary, fatty food cravings. High insulin levels can increase the risk of conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Chronic inflammation may also interfere with leptin, a hormone that helps manage appetite and feeling full. This can lead to leptin resistance, where the body stops responding to leptin properly, leading to increased food intake and weight gain.

More research is needed to better understand how inflammation impacts weight gain. There’s also a much stronger link between obesity and inflammation than weight gain. Obesity may cause inflammation in fat tissue, which can contribute to weight gain. Inflammation from obesity, which is triggered by excess body fat, may significantly increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and many other chronic conditions.

Other Factors Affecting Weight

Though inflammation may impact weight, many other factors can cause obesity and weight gain:

• Diet and exercise: Overconsuming calories and living a sedentary lifestyle contribute to weight gain and an increased risk of obesity. These diets also tend to consist of ultra-processed foods that are high in calories but low in filling nutrients, such as fiber and protein.
• Stress: Research shows many people eat more calories when under stress. Stress also increases cravings for foods associated with weight gain, like fast food and sweets.
• Underlying health conditions: Conditions like Hashimoto’s disease and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) can make weight loss harder by affecting metabolism and hormones linked to appetite. Reach out to a healthcare provider if you think you might have a medical condition that’s affecting your weight.

The best way to manage weight is to follow a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and manage stress. Following a high-protein, high-fiber diet can help improve feelings of fullness, improve body composition, and promote fat loss. Incorporating cardiovascular and stress management exercises like walking, strength training, and yoga into your routine can also help you burn more calories and lose weight.

In addition to weight management, you can lower inflammation by: 

• Avoid smoking: Smoking increases inflammation and the risk for several diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. 
• Minimize drinking: Heavy drinking can increase inflammation. It’s recommended to limit your intake to one drink or less per day for women and two drinks or less per day for men. 
• Eat more anti-inflammatory foods: Increasing the amount of foods, like fruits, spices, and vegetables, in your diet can reduce inflammation. 
• Avoid exposure to toxins: Toxins, like pollution and cigarette smoke, can cause inflammation. Limit your exposure whenever possible. 
• Limit stress when possible: Stress can increase inflammation. You can manage stress by incorporating stress-relieving activities, such as breathing exercises and meditation, into your daily routine.  
• Get plenty of regular exercise: Research shows that exercise reduces inflammation, in addition to helping with weight management.
• Minimize using certain medications: Antibiotics, antacids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can harm gut health, which increases inflammation. Only take these medications when necessary. 

If you’re concerned about inflammation and how it may affect your health and weight, consider speaking to a healthcare provider. They can recommend lifestyle changes and treatments that can reduce inflammation and improve overall health. 

Benefits of Reducing Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is linked with a number of health conditions, including:

Reducing inflammation can help lower your risk of these and other conditions, improve conditions you already have, and manage symptoms of inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

Inflammation may lead to weight gain by causing insulin resistance and impacting hormones that control appetite. More research is needed to confirm this.

To help manage inflammation, it’s important to maintain the ideal weight you have discussed with your provider, follow a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and avoid smoking and heavy drinking.