​Why does hyperthyroidism make people fat

Hyperthyroidism is a very common disease in daily life. It not only causes great harm to the patient's physical health, but also seriously affects their normal life and work. Therefore, it is particularly important to find a scientific and effective treatment method. Generally, patients with hyperthyroidism tend to lose weight gradually, but many patients also gain weight. This is actually caused by hypothyroidism or the patient's own irregular diet.

1. Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism, abbreviated as "hyperthyroidism", is a disease caused by the thyroid gland synthesizing and releasing too much thyroid hormone, which causes the body's hypermetabolism and sympathetic nerve excitement, leading to palpitations, sweating, increased eating and bowel movements, and weight loss. Most patients also often have symptoms such as exophthalmos, eyelid edema, and decreased vision.

Causes of hyperthyroidism include diffuse toxic goiter (also called Graves' disease), inflammatory hyperthyroidism (subacute thyroiditis, painless thyroiditis, postpartum thyroiditis, and Hashimoto's hyperthyroidism), drug-induced hyperthyroidism (levothyroxine sodium and iodine-induced hyperthyroidism), hCG-induced hyperthyroidism (transient hyperthyroidism due to vomiting of pregnancy), and pituitary TSH tumor hyperthyroidism.

Clinically, more than 80% of hyperthyroidism is caused by Graves' disease, which is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland. The patient's lymphocytes produce thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin-TSI. Clinically, the TSI we measure is the thyrotropin receptor antibody: TRAb.

The cause of Graves' disease is currently unclear. It may be related to factors such as fever, lack of sleep, and mental stress, but clinically the cause of the disease cannot be found in the vast majority of patients. Graves' disease is often combined with other autoimmune diseases, such as vitiligo, alopecia, type 1 diabetes, etc.

2. Why do some people with hyperthyroidism become obese?

Some patients may ask, "Other people with hyperthyroidism become thin, why am I fat?" In fact, hyperthyroidism itself will not cause obesity. There may be many reasons why some patients become fat: for example, if the patient eats too much and does not exercise, his weight will increase; after drug treatment, hyperthyroidism is controlled, the original vigorous catabolism becomes balanced, or even anabolism is greater than catabolism, and weight will also increase; if the hyperthyroidism treatment process is not monitored in time, hypothyroidism will occur, which will then cause obesity, etc.

Special reminder: If you eat a lot within a period of time and always feel hungry, or you eat a lot but get thinner, you should pay attention. If you are accompanied by symptoms such as palpitations, tremors, heat intolerance, sweating, and increased bowel movements, it is recommended that you go to a regular hospital to check your thyroid function in order to detect diseases such as hyperthyroidism early.