Weight deficiency, or lack of body weight, is a disease that is expressed in a person’s body weight decreasing below the critical level of the body mass index. Weight deficiency can occur in both women and men, as well as in children, including newborns. In particularly serious cases, being underweight can be fatal.
Medical diagnostic is a clinic that provides treatment services for many diseases, including endocrine and psychological ones. To achieve the best result, the treatment regimen is always drawn up individually, taking into account the characteristics of the patient’s body.
Underweight - consequences
Low body weight entails consequences such as late appearance of the first menstruation, menstrual irregularities and even cessation of menstrual bleeding, disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular system (up to myocardial infarction), circulatory failure, low blood pressure, iron deficiency anemia, infertility and problems with maintaining pregnancy, a weakened immune system, osteoporosis, periodontal disease and the severity of depressive conditions.
The body becomes more susceptible to infections . Wounds and ulcers heal slowly , the patient becomes sensitive to cold , fatigue and apathy . Lack of weight also causes changes in appearance, such as hair loss, loss of the skin's natural ability to regenerate, persistent acne, dry skin, atrophy of fat and muscle tissue.
What is underweight and why is it dangerous?
It is impossible to determine that a person is underweight by his appearance, although this is usually what catches the eye. To make a diagnosis, use the body mass index, which is approximately determined by the formula BMI = Weight (kg) / Height (m²) . Indicators of 19.5-25.9 are considered normal.
If the BMI is below 18.5, this means that the human body is suffering from a lack of nutrients. In addition to excessive thinness, this can be expressed in deterioration of the condition of hair, nails and skin, increased fatigue and disruption of recovery processes. But if this indicator drops to 16, the patient requires medical intervention to restore normal weight.
Table for determining BMI
Too thin people not only look unattractive, their internal organs also suffer . Gradually, a person develops dystrophy, and in the most severe forms - complete muscle atrophy, cachexia, and multiple organ failure. Hormonal levels change, which can lead to amenorrhea in women and infertility. Such complications do not go away on their own, but only with proper and timely treatment. If you do not seek medical help, it can even result in death.
In France, the authorities have decided to combat the promotion of unhealthy thinness. Officials propose to allow only those models and actresses who have a medical certificate confirming a normal body mass index to work.
Characteristic symptoms of low body weight are hypotension, chronic fatigue, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, displacement of internal organs . Sometimes spasmophilia develops. Weight loss is especially dangerous during adolescence, when all organs are just forming.
Causes of underweight
Unambiguously determining the causes of underweight is very difficult. Some people are naturally very thin and yet have good health. For others, a serious health problem is responsible for a slim figure.
The causes of weight loss may be: AIDS, Sheehan syndrome, bacterial infections (tuberculosis, brucellosis), metabolic diseases (metabolic acidosis in decompensated diabetes mellitus, type 1 diabetes mellitus), endocrine system disorders, cancer, parasitic diseases, bacterial imbalance intestinal flora, endocrine disorders (hyperthyroidism, which disrupts the balance and rate of basal metabolism), anorexia nervosa, bulimia, allergies, nutrient absorption and digestion disorders, kidney failure, liver dysfunction, autoimmune diseases and depression.
Underweight may be due to insufficient digestive juices, which help break down food and absorb the nutrients it contains.
Underweight often occurs due to too little intake of substances in relation to the body's needs. Examples of poor dieting are restrictive diets, commonly called fasting or miracle diets. Underweight can result from poor hygiene when eating, that is, eating in a hurry and irregularly, eating quickly and eating in a tense atmosphere.
Underweight can be caused by excessive energy consumption, as in the case of intense work and exercise. Sometimes underweight is due to habits and lifestyle. Excessive stress, smoking, alcohol or substance abuse, and the use of certain medications can also negatively affect body weight.
Causes of unhealthy thinness
There can be many reasons for underweight. The first and most common among young girls is conscious malnutrition, which leads to loss of appetite and inability to eat . The second reason is changes in hormonal levels. And the last one is diseases: for example, psychiatric, oncological or metabolic diseases.
Inadequate self-esteem is one of the main reasons for unhealthy thinness
In addition, we must not forget about people who have been lightly overweight all their lives. This is usually associated with genetic predisposition. Such people, as a rule, have a fragile build and an accelerated metabolism. They may not have any pathologies and feel normal, but outwardly look too thin.
Long-term deliberate restriction of food for weight loss leads to anorexia, a mental illness in which a person experiences pleasure from hunger and cannot eat. It is a very difficult to treat disease with a high mortality rate (approximately 10%).
That is why, before selecting the optimal methods of weight gain, it is necessary to study the patient’s medical history and vital signs. The duration of treatment will depend on this. It often takes at least 6 months to restore normal hormonal levels, blood counts and BMI.
Underweight during pregnancy
An expectant mother who had a normal weight before pregnancy should gain 11-16 kg during pregnancy. Insufficient weight during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, miscarriage, the birth of a child with low body weight (below 2500 g), increased mortality or congenital pathologies.
Underweight in newborn
The most common causes of underweight in infants are prematurity , disorders of the placenta (premature aging and partial placental abruption, vascular thrombosis), multiple pregnancies, maternal diseases (arterial hypertension, anemia, diabetes, heart disease), smoking of the expectant mother or infections (cytomegalovirus , chickenpox, influenza, protozoa that cause toxoplasmosis). In addition, in the first days after birth, babies lose up to 10% of their birth weight.
For young children, correct weight is determined based on percentile grids. Underweight is defined as body weight below the 3rd percentile for age.
What does science think about underweight?
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2008. Scientists from the Center for Epidemiology in Stockholm decided to study the differences between mortality and morbidity of severe diseases in 4 categories of people:
1. Underweight (BMI < 18.5),
2. Overweight (BMI = 25-30),
3. Obese (BMI > 30 and above),
4. With normal body weight (BMI = 18.5-25).
23,814 people aged 16 to 74 years were monitored. Such indicators as age difference, the presence of long-term illnesses, smoking and even level of education were taken into account. As a result, experts have found that underweight and obesity are factors that increase the risk of mortality from all causes .
Interestingly, being overweight (BMI = 25-30) was not a risk factor.
In their conclusion, the scientists said: “The results of this study are consistent with data from previous trials and confirm that the association of being overweight with an increased risk of mortality from all causes is overestimated. But with underweight and obesity, such a connection really exists .”
In 2011, another scientific work was presented in The New England Journal of Medicine. A large group of scientists from Asia decided to conduct a summary analysis of statistical data. Their review included 19 cohort studies with a total of 1.1 million participants in Asia. At the same time, the analysis included 120 thousand deaths that occurred within 9 years after the start of observations.
The results found that among Chinese, Koreans and Japanese, people who fell into the BMI category of 22.6-27.5 had the lowest risk of mortality . But an increased risk was observed when going beyond both the lower and upper limits. The risk ratio was 1.5 in people whose BMI was over 30 and as much as 2.8 in those whose BMI was 15 or lower .
In India and Bangladesh, the risk of mortality from cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases was increased among people with a BMI of 20 or lower . Those who fell into the BMI category of 22.6-25 (still the same ideal range from the American Dietetic Association) had lower risks. It is also important to note that in this part of the Asian population, risks of increased mortality were not observed with high BMI.
Ultimately, scientists concluded that underweight significantly increases the risk of mortality .
Another analysis of the research was conducted by Canadian scientists and presented in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health in 2014. It assessed the results of 51 studies that examined the relationship between body mass index and mortality risk. Participants in these studies were followed for a minimum of 5 years.
Experts have concluded that, compared with a normal body mass index, being underweight is associated with a high risk of mortality from all diseases . According to scientists, people with a BMI below 18.5 are 1.8 times more likely to die compared to people with a BMI of 18.5-24.9 . It was found that people with a BMI between 30 and 34.9 have a risk ratio of 1.2, and people with severe obesity (BMI > 35) have a risk ratio of 1.3 .
Judging by the above studies, underweight is not only associated with health and life risks, but can also be more dangerous than obesity.
Weight loss – what to eat and what to avoid?
It is necessary to strive to ensure that the amount of calories supplied from food exceeds the daily calorie requirement. It is necessary to remember to eat regularly.
A good way to increase your caloric intake is to consume snacks in the form of nuts, seeds or dried fruits, which are rich in calories and also supply many valuable minerals. It is recommended to increase the consumption of foods rich in proteins: meat, poultry, fish and dairy products, and carbohydrates, such as semolina, rice, pasta, potatoes and fruits (bananas, grapes, cherries, pears).
You should avoid foods that contain mainly simple carbohydrates, coffee, strong tea and sweets.
The role of fats in the body
On average, an adult consumes about 70 g of fat per day. They enter the body with food, are broken down in the upper part of the small intestine, and then absorbed into the blood. Almost all fats (95%) are either used or stored in reserve. The remaining 5% is secreted by the sebaceous glands. The body needs fats for:
- formation of connective tissue and cell membranes;
- creating a subcutaneous layer that serves as protection against temperature changes and mechanical stress, as well as shock-absorbing layers between internal organs;
- maintaining the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels;
- absorption of fat-soluble vitamins;
- optimizing the work of the heart muscle;
- maintaining skin tone;
- production of hormones (including sex hormones).
In addition, nerve fibers and brain cells are largely composed of fats. Without these substances, the normal functioning of most organs and systems of the human body is impossible.
