Weight gain

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Weight gain is an increase in body weight. This can be either an increase in muscle mass, fat deposits, or excess fluids such as water.

Description

Muscle gain or weight gain can occur as a result of bodybuilding, in which muscle size is increased through strength training.

If enough weight is gained by way of increased body fat deposits, one may become overweight, generally defined as having more body fat (adipose tissue) than is optimally healthy.

Weight gain has a latency period. The effect that eating has on weight gain can vary greatly depending on the following factors: exercise regimen, amount of water intake, amount of salt fat or sugar contained in the food, time of day eaten, age of individual, individual's country of origin, individual's overall stress level, and amount of water retention in ankles/feet. Typical latency periods vary from three days to two weeks after ingestion.

Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. As much as 64% of the United States adult population is considered either overweight or obese, and this percentage has increased over the last four decades.

Gaining weight can cause the following effects, dependent on the variable listed above, but are generally limited to:

• Increase in body fat percentage
• Increase in muscle mass
• Increase in body hydration levels
• Increase in breast size

In more extreme cases:

• A noticeably larger stomach
• The abdomen will bulge outward and upward, creating a distended midsection

Causes

In regards to adipose tissue increases, a person generally gains fat-related weight by increasing food consumption, becoming physically inactive, or both. A study, involving more than 12,000 people tracked over 32 years, found that social networks play a surprisingly powerful role in determining an individual's chances of gaining weight, transmitting an increased risk of becoming obese from wives to husbands, from brothers to brothers and from friends to friends.

Effects

Excess adipose tissue on a human can lead to medical problems; however, a round or large figure does not of itself imply a medical problem, and is sometimes not primarily caused by adipose tissue. If too much weight is gained, serious health side-effects may follow. A large number of medical conditions have been associated with obesity. Health consequences are categorised as being the result of either increased fat mass (osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, social stigma) or increased number of fat cells (diabetes, some forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). There are alterations in the body's response to insulin (insulin resistance), a proinflammatory state and an increased tendency to thrombosis (prothrombotic state).

Social perspective

In centuries past, a degree of plumpness has been seen as indicative of personal or family prosperity: "Calories were scarce, physical labor was hard, and most people were as lean as greyhounds." In particular, a married woman who was thin was pitied, as her shape showed that her husband could not afford to feed her properly; conversely, having a fat wife was a status symbol: there was plenty to eat, and she did not need to work hard. Only in the early 20th Century did fatness lose this appeal. The connection of fat with financial well-being persists today in some less-developed countries.

Though excess weight has for some time been seen in contemporary Western society as "unacceptable", it is becoming more socially acceptable as more and more people become overweight and obese.

Obesity among women residing in the U.S. has become more socially acceptable, likely in part because more than one-third of women ages 20 and older are obese, according to a study published in the July issue of Economic Inquiry, the Washington Times reports.

For the study, Frank Heiland, an associate professor of economics at Florida State University's Center for Demography and Population Health, and Mary Burke, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, analyzed data from CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The researchers found that the average weight of women between ages 30 and 60 has increased by 20 pounds, or 14%, since 1976. Among women who weigh 300 pounds or more, the increase was 18%, the researchers found.

The researchers also found that self-image has changed and that obesity has become more socially acceptable in the United States. According to the study, the average women weighed 147 pounds in 1994 but stated that she wanted to weigh 132 pounds. By 2002, the average women weighed 153 pounds but said she wanted to be 135 pounds, the study found. "The fact that even the desired weight of women has increased suggests there is less social pressure to lose weight," the researchers noted.

Energy consumption

Because the body must expend energy to create fat, the amount of energy a person has to expend to lose weight is just slightly smaller than the amount they have to consume in order to gain weight. There are countless mechanisms in the body that manage metabolic rate that effect weight loss and weight gain. Thus, actual weight changes vary between individuals. Also, the computations above assume that all the weight gained and lost is in the form of fat. In reality, this is a mixture of protein, carbohydrates, etc. (in muscle tissue, organs, etc.).

Consider the following theoretical calculation.

• Fat contains about 3,500 kilocalories per pound (32 kJ/g).
  • If one consumes 3,500 kcal more than ones body needs, one will gain slightly less than 1 pound (0.45 kg) of fat due to the thermic effect of food. (assuming that none of the energy is converted into lean mass)
  • If one burns 3,500 kcal more than one eats, one loses about 1 pound (0.45 kg) of fat, assuming that only fat is burnt (this is close to 100% since even the waste heat counts toward the 3,500 kcal). However, energy sources can come from catabolism of protein (muscles), and fat may be preferentially saved. The use of different body materials as available must be considered.

See also

• Healthy diet
• Fad diet
• Fat feminism
• Fat acceptance movement
• Weight stigma

External links

• How to Gain Weight
• Weight Gain – Symptoms and Signs
• Weight Gain Management
• Hypothyroidism Weight Gain