How Do Hormones Affect Your Weight ?

Hormones are signalling molecules that regulate various functions and processes of our body. In simple words, hormones are the chemical messengers that are involved in many aspects of our health. But to begin with, where do these hormones come from?

Know Your Hormones!

Hormones are produced by glands in our body. Some of these glands are the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, and parathyroid gland. Once these hormones are produced they travel from tissues to different organs.

Hormones play a crucial role in our day-to-day life including growth and development, mood, appetite and metabolism and sexual function. For these reasons, hormonal dysregulation can affect our bodies. Hormonal dysregulation is a condition in which our body either releases too little or too much of a hormone. This unbalanced secretion of hormones can significantly impact our health, and body weight.

This Story also Contains

1. Know Your Hormones!
2. How Do Hormones Affect Our Body?
3. Hormones That Affect Your Weight

In this article, we are going to understand how hormones can make us look fat or not.

Also Read | Did You Know There Is Science Behind Forming A Habit?

How Do Hormones Affect Our Body?

Secretion of hormones regulates our appetite to maintain energy levels of our body. There are hormones in our body that stimulate hunger. Likewise, some hormones would tell us that we have eaten enough food, and hence, dissuade us from eating any more. Therefore, any imbalance in the hormones responsible for appetite control may lead to weight loss or weight gain.

The way hormones control our hunger, similarly, they control the breakdown and storage of fat. These multi-tasking hormones also take care of the number of calories that our body burns daily. Hormones are also responsible for influencing the energy expenditure of our bodies.

Due to these reasons, any fluctuation in the level of hormones may lead to weight loss or weight gain. This loss or gain of body weight simultaneously affects the accumulation of body fat in specific areas.

Hormones That Affect Your Weight

Now, let’s understand the hormones responsible for weight loss or gain.

Thyroid

The first hormone that we are going to talk about is the thyroid hormone which is secreted by the thyroid gland. The thyroid hormone is responsible for the metabolism regulation of the body.

When the thyroid gland is underactive, it releases a lesser amount of thyroid hormone which leads to less energy expenditure, and hence it is known as hypothyroidism. This lower energy expenditure leads to weight gain. For this reason, people with hypothyroidism look fat.

On the other hand, when the thyroid gland is overactive, it releases too much thyroid hormone. The body burns more calories, and the condition is known as hyperthyroidism. For this reason, people with hyperthyroidism may lose weight and look lean.

Insulin

Insulin is the second hormone that can affect body weight or make us look fat.

Our body cells need insulin to use glucose for energy. Insulin is also responsible for storing glucose in the form of glycogen for further use. It also helps store energy as fat and maintains body fat by preventing the breakdown of fat.

It is very critical to maintain the standard level of insulin. The elevated insulin level may lead to insulin resistance because cells stop responding to insulin appropriately. This could further lead to making us gain weight or look fat.

Cortisol

The third hormone that can lead to weight gain is cortisol.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone (glucocorticoid) that plays a vital role in response to the body’s stress. However, a chronic rise in the level of cortisol may lead to weight gain.

This hormone is responsible for redistributing the fat to the abdominal region which further increases the appetite and especially the desire to consume highly palatable or energy-dense food, rich in sugar.

There is a condition called cortisol dysregulation which is seen in people who are chronically stressed or dealing with Cushing's syndrome. It is a condition that is responsible for elevating the levels of cortisol.

Leptin

Leptin is a hormone that is produced by the adipose tissue (body fat) of our body. This hormone is responsible for maintaining a normal body weight on a long-term basis. Leptin does that by regulating hunger by providing the sensation of feeling full. The level of leptin in our body is directly proportional to body fat.

The high levels of leptin in our body results in obesity which leads to a condition known as leptin resistance. It is a condition that causes a lack of sensitivity to leptin.

Having leptin resistance resists our brain to respond to leptin as it would normally. Since the brain is constantly stimulated by leptin, we don’t get the sensation of feeling satiated or full. This results in eating more food even though our body has enough fat storage.

Leptin resistance also results in decreased metabolism and stimulating hunger which further contributes to additional weight gain in the form of fat storage and obesity.

Ghrelin

It is also known as ‘the hunger hormone’. Ghrelin stimulates the hypothalamus which is an area of the brain responsible for hunger. In addition to this, Ghrelin is also involved in glucose metabolism and the sleep-wake cycle.

Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that stimulates our brains and tells us when to eat. This hormone leads to an increase in the appetite, and it slowdowns the metabolism which further decreases the body’s ability to burn fat. Ghrelin also favours the accumulation of fatty layers in the abdominal area.

Our body composition depends on the interplay of several hormones which ultimately affect the body's appearance. If the hormones are secreted in the desired amount, then that would not affect the shape and size of the body, but if any of the hormones are secreted more or less than the desired quantity, then that would affect the appearance.

So, if we say that hormones make us look fat? Then the answer is yes! However, more than simply making one look fat or thin, they affect our health. Regulation of these hormones can aid our well-being.

Also Read | How Understanding Chemistry Helps Concept Building In Biology