5 Causes You’re Gaining Weight

More than half of US adults gained weight over the last 10 years

Even a few extra pounds can make you feel different in your skin.

Research just released from Brigham Young University looked at weight gain patterns in a random sampling of 13,802 US adults between 2011-2018. The numbers?

🔹 Average weight gain was 9 pounds (4.2 kg) over 10 years
🔹 Women gained more—an average of 12 pounds (5.4 kg)
🔹 Men gained less—an average of 6 pounds (2.6 kg)

Weight gain also differed by age, with more weight gain in younger adults.

The study showed that Americans gain on average:
🔸 17.6 pounds between their 20s and 30s
🔸 14.3 pounds between their 30s and 40s
🔸 9.5 pounds between their 40s and 50s
🔸 4.6 pounds between their 50s and 60s

Notice the inverse relationship of 10 year weight gain with age which doesn’t fit the narrative that eating more and being less active leads to weight gain. Also interesting is that obesity is directly related to age in this study. With accumulated weight gain, many adults move into the obesity range with that risk declining after the age of 60. That declining rate may be due to more people dying from obesity related diseases as they get older.

Lots of people think weight gain only happens because of overeating and under exercising. The eat less, move more advice most people are given just doesn’t hold true. Research on weight gain has found that it really has nothing to do with how many calories you eat or how little you exercise.

Actually, it’s much more complicated than that. Weight gain is now considered a hormone issue and specifically an excess of insulin. Every time you eat, your body produces an insulin spike from your pancreas. Insulin causes your body to uptake glucose into your cells. Glucose that is not used is stored as glycogen in your liver and your muscles. Excess glucose is also stored as fat.

The biggest increase in insulin release comes from ultra processed food loaded with carbohydrates and sugar. These foods are almost directly absorbed into your bloodstream. The food that least affects insulin release is natural fats. Proteins create less of a response than carbohydrates but still causes insulin to be released.

There are many unrecognized reasons for weight gain that go beyond just diet and exercise. Things like inadequate sleep, gut health, hormones, inflammation, and STRESS. All of these conditions not only cause weight gain but are also the basis for most chronic disease states.

We have tools in functional medicine that help us understand and optimize your metabolism to make it easier for you to maintain a healthy weight over the years.

✨ You do NOT need to be one of these statistics✨

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Reference
Tucker LA, Parker K. 10-Year Weight Gain in 13,802 US Adults: The Role of Age, Sex, and Race. J Obes. 2022. [ link ]