How terrible is excessive weight loss? Ten serious consequences

How terrible is excessive weight loss? Here are ten consequences.

Girl A said, "I've been using a low-carbohydrate diet for the past few months, and my physical exam showed that my uric acid level was over 600. I've also recently started experiencing foot pain. The doctor told me that this is because I'm not eating staple foods and have been consuming large amounts of fish, shrimp, beef, and chicken, which caused this condition. From now on, I can't eat seafood and meat, which are high in purines. Isn't it said that women don't get gout before menopause?"

Girl B said, "I wasn't actually fat before, I just felt I wasn't thin enough. I skipped dinner for six months to lose weight, and I did lose 10 kilograms, but my limbs became thin and weak, my skin became loose, and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. With this disease, your metabolic rate decreases, your body feels cold, and you feel lethargic. Later, after treatment and taking thyroid hormone, I gained 10 kilograms more than before I started dieting!"

These girls are not exaggerating. Unhealthy weight loss, or excessive weight loss, can make people look worse, age faster, become weaker, get sick, experience mental abnormalities, or even die!

In summary, excessive weight loss may have the following 10 adverse effects.

(1) People become uglier and their skin deteriorates.

Skin maintenance and renewal require protein, various vitamins, and minerals. Malnutrition caused by improper weight loss can lead to dry, dull, and yellowish facial skin. While you may lose weight, the skin on your face and body may become loose. Repeated cycles of weight loss and rebound can cause premature wrinkles, sagging skin, sunken cheeks, and muscle loss in the limbs, making you look older.

(2) Dry hair and hair loss.

Hair is made of keratin. When the body is malnourished, hair quality is severely affected, leading to thinning, dryness, and a lighter color, and even severe hair loss. Improving nutrition in time will result in noticeably more elastic and shiny hair, and the growth of new hair.

(3) Ovarian function decline.

Excessive weight loss can affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, leading to decreased ovarian function in women, reduced menstrual flow, early or delayed menstruation, and even amenorrhea. If weight loss is not stopped in time and active treatment is not sought, it may result in uterine atrophy and loss of fertility.

(4) Hormonal imbalance.

Unhealthy weight loss can lead to decreased levels of sex hormones such as estrogen and androgens, as well as hypothyroidism and pancreatic dysfunction. Insufficient insulin secretion results in muscle loss and poor blood sugar control, making it easy to experience hypoglycemia before meals and hyperglycemia after meals. Hypothyroidism lowers the body's metabolic rate, making weight loss more difficult, and in severe cases, can lead to hypothyroidism, causing serious health consequences. Furthermore, treatment with thyroid hormones can easily cause significant weight regain.

(5) Nutritional deficiency diseases.

Due to long-term lack of various nutrients, people who lose excessive weight are prone to iron-deficiency anemia, zinc deficiency, low blood pressure, protein deficiency edema, vitamin B₁ deficiency, and other conditions.

A prolonged low-fat diet can lead to insufficient protein intake, causing a negative nitrogen balance, resulting in decreased plasma albumin and reduced plasma colloid osmotic pressure, which in turn leads to edema. Nutritional edema is characterized by emaciation and weight loss preceding its onset, and the edema often begins in the feet and gradually spreads throughout the body.

If you experience swelling during a diet, you should first have a medical examination to rule out any organic lesions. If diagnosed with simple malnutrition-related edema, you should stop all forms of dieting and begin a comprehensive dietary regimen.

(6) Digestive system-related diseases.

The renewal and repair of the gastrointestinal mucosa and the secretion of digestive juices are highly sensitive to nutrient supply. When using unhealthy weight loss methods, the digestive tract does not receive enough nutrients for renewal and repair, digestive juice secretion decreases, and digestive and absorptive capacity is easily reduced. Frequently skipping meals or eating irregularly can easily lead to gallstones and stomach problems. Insufficient food intake and an unbalanced diet can affect the gut microbiota, causing chronic enteritis and constipation, and even irritable bowel syndrome.

(7) Osteoporosis.

When using unhealthy weight loss methods, protein and calcium intake is often insufficient, while insufficient carbohydrate intake leads to ketosis, increasing calcium loss and greatly increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Furthermore, rapid weight loss inevitably causes muscle atrophy, decreased strength and coordination, and reduced muscle protection of bones, making fractures more likely.

(8) Insomnia, depression, and decreased thinking ability.

During weight loss, excessive weight loss can frequently lead to hypoglycemia, causing anxiety, irritability, and impatience. Insufficient protein and amino acid intake affects neurotransmitter synthesis, resulting in sluggishness and decreased cognitive function. Insufficient carbohydrates can also cause insomnia at night. Chronic insomnia can lead to increased stress levels, decreased work and study ability, and weakened immune function.

(9) High uric acid, high blood lipids, and fatty liver.

Women are less likely to experience high uric acid levels before menopause due to the effects of estrogen. However, both dieting and ketogenic diets can cause hyperuricemia. Firstly, the breakdown of body tissues leads to an increase in endogenous uric acid. Secondly, ketogenic diets involve the intake of large amounts of meat, fish, seafood, and freshwater fish, increasing purine intake. Thirdly, metabolic ketosis causes elevated ketone body levels in the blood, which inhibit the smooth excretion of uric acid. These three factors combined mean that even young women on diets can develop hyperuricemia. Simultaneously, insufficient protein and vitamins can lead to impaired lipoprotein synthesis, preventing the smooth metabolism and breakdown of body fat, potentially causing malnutrition-related fatty liver and hyperlipidemia.

(10) Impaired cardiac function.

Taking certain banned weight-loss drugs that stimulate the central nervous system can damage the heart, causing palpitations, rapid heartbeat, and other symptoms. In the 1970s, there were many cases of cardiac arrhythmias and even death caused by long-term use of low-carbohydrate diets.

The above discusses physical issues. Excessive weight loss can also lead to mental and psychological problems, which also require close attention. Due to the use of unhealthy weight loss methods, such as dieting or induced vomiting, many women develop anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder. They psychologically become hostile to food, struggling between extremes of hunger leading to hypoglycemia and overeating causing stomach pain, suffering daily, loathing themselves, and even developing depression. It is alarming that anorexia has a high mortality rate.

Many young women boldly proclaim the slogan "Either be thin or die," but is it really worth it for a healthy person to develop psychological problems, fall ill, or even die in the pursuit of weight loss?