Common causes of unexplained weight loss

Common causes of unexplained weight loss

For many people, weight loss is a goal. Losing weight and achieving a target weight can be very beneficial for your health.

Though losing weight is not generally a bad thing, excessive weight loss can be harmful and could lead to many health problems. Sometimes, people experience episodes of unexplained weight loss and this may be a cause for concern.

Experiencing weight loss, despite eating normally and not working on losing weight in the first place, may be a sign of an underlying medical condition.

The cause behind sudden weight loss should be identified as soon as possible or it could lead to the patient suffering from nutrient deficiencies, eating disabilities, and gallbladder-related problems.

This article will discuss some of the potential causes of unexplained weight loss.

Inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD)

IBD is a common gastrointestinal disorder that causes parts of the gastrointestinal system to become inflamed. IBD is a collective term for two medical conditions — Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Crohn’s disease can cause inflammation in virtually any part of the gastrointestinal system, while ulcerative colitis is localised in the large intestine. Sudden weight loss is a common symptom of both these diseases.

The cause of IBD is uncertain and it is a life-long condition. About 40% of IBD patients, especially children, have been observed to suffer from weight loss.

Diarrhoea, which is another symptom of IBD, makes it difficult for the intestines to absorb enough nutrients and the inflammation may cause the body to burn more fats, which contributes to weight loss.

Tapeworms

Gut parasites like tapeworms are very likely to cause weight loss in their hosts.

These worms can enter a person’s gut when they eat poorly cooked meat containing the worm’s egg. After it hatches, the tapeworm will find its way into your intestines and here it will latch on to the intestinal walls and start absorbing nutrients from the food you eat.

You’ll be absorbing fewer nutrients than normal because of the worm and this can lead to unexplained weight loss. Tapeworms can grow very large while in your gut and can cause many other problems like bowel obstruction and they can even migrate to organs outside of your digestive system.

Tapeworms or any other kind of gut parasite should be dealt with immediately. Oral medication like albendazole and praziquantel is effective at killing off parasitic worms.

Malabsorption syndrome

This is a collection of disorders that can stunt the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine. One such disorder is small bowel syndrome, a condition caused by the patient’s small intestine being shorter than normal.

Short bowel syndrome is a rare condition that could happen due to a birth defect or as a result of surgery. Since the small intestine is short, the surface area for absorbing nutrients is greatly reduced and this can lead to weight loss.

Another possible cause for malabsorption syndrome is Wipple’s disease, which is a rare bacterial infection that targets the joints and gastrointestinal disease.

Treatment

Sudden weight loss can be difficult to treat unless the root cause of the condition is diagnosed. Based on the kind of underlying condition and its severity, patients will receive medication and treatment for their weight loss.

A common method for controlling weight loss is to change your diet or follow a special diet plan to get your weight back to normal. In some cases, it may return to normal eventually without any medical intervention.

If you lose more than 5% of your average body weight over six months to a year, despite not making any attempts to lose weight, you may need to seek help from a gastrointestinal professional.

Unexplained weight loss — don’t wait for it to get worse, get help immediately

Gastrointestinal conditions are not the sole cause of weight loss. Many other medical conditions may contribute to you losing weight rapidly, like cancers, problems with the endocrine system or thyroid problems.

If you find out that you’re underweight, get in touch with a gastrointestinal specialist as soon as you can.