Does Inflammation Cause Weight Gain? What The Science Says

Inflammation and Weight Gain

Inflammation is a natural response that is important for overcoming injury and disease, but it can start to cause a disruption to your body’s other natural processes if it sticks around for too long. Inflammation and weight gain are closely related, and one of each can cause the other. In short, gaining weight can lead to inflammation, while inflammation from other factors can also make it harder to lose weight. 

This conundrum means that any strong weight loss effort must also include a focus on reducing inflammation. Even if you are putting your efforts into eating less and exercising more, you’re less likely to experience the progress you’d expect if inflammation is at the foundation of your weight gain and retention. 

If you are embarking on a journey to sustainable weight loss, then you cannot completely disregard the importance of taking measures to address inflammation. A comprehensive weight loss effort should include steps like incorporating a more anti-inflammatory diet, tackling causes of stress, and more.

What Is Inflammation? 

Inflammation is an immune response reacting to either injury or infection. Inflammation is helpful and necessary for processes like healing or fighting illness, but when it goes on too long it can disrupt or damage other important bodily processes. 

Signs of inflammation may include pain, redness, warmth, and swelling. People with inflammation will also have higher levels of certain inflammatory markers in the blood, like c-reactive protein, that indicate issues.

There are multiple types of inflammation, which can be a short-term response or chronic. Chronic inflammation is the most damaging to the body, as it can damage healthy cells and tissues, which can disrupt important processes and lead to negative side effects, like pain, weight gain, and harmful health conditions.

How Are Inflammation and Weight Gain Connected?

Inflammation and weight gain are connected in more than a few ways, and if you experience one, then it is likely that it can lead to the other. Put simply, chronic inflammation can lead to weight gain, and weight gain can lead to inflammation, which means that to address one, you need to focus on the other too.

Chronic inflammation can impact important bodily processes, like the metabolism, hormone regulation, and the body’s insulin response. These impacts can all lead to potential weight gain. 

Inflammation is linked to weight gain in the following ways: 

• A less-efficient metabolism – Inflammation can affect the metabolism and is a potential precursor for metabolic syndrome. This may be because of inflammation’s effect on the gut microbiota. With a less efficient metabolism, your body becomes less efficient at converting food into energy, which means it is more likely to be stored as body fat.
• Increased risk of insulin resistance – Inflammation can affect the body’s ability to process insulin, the hormone responsible for facilitating the transfer of glucose, or sugar, from the bloodstream into your muscles. This can lead to a condition known as insulin resistance where this response is diminished and glucose remains in the blood, becoming more likely to be stored as body fat. 
• Deregulated hormones – Inflammation can cause resistance to the hormone leptin, which helps regulate hunger and metabolism. When the body is resistant to leptin, it can increase appetite and slow down the metabolism, making it harder to lose weight.

In the other direction, gaining weight likely increases inflammation. Studies have shown that weight gain has led to increased levels of inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein in the blood. When you lose weight, these inflammatory markers begin to decrease, however, it may still be a hurdle to lose your excess weight and get to that point.

Does Inflammation Make It Harder To Lose Weight? 

Yes, inflammation can make it harder to lose weight—inflammation can disrupt the processes that are instrumental in weight loss, like insulin sensitivity, hormone regulation, and metabolism as discussed above. By disrupting these processes, your body is less likely to respond to traditional weight loss efforts and may be more likely to store body fat instead of burning it.

Your metabolism plays a crucial part in converting body fat to energy, insulin regulates how your body uses or stores glucose, and hormones like leptin affect your appetite and chances of overeating. All together, if you’re facing inflammation, you’re not set up for success on your weight loss journey.

Because inflammation is often a part of the root cause of weight retention for some people, it can derail your other efforts to drop pounds. With that said, if you’re attempting to lose weight, then inflammation and metabolic health should be a primary focus in your journey.

How To Address Weight Gain from Inflammation

Tackling weight gain from inflammation requires taking tangible steps to repair your body’s immune response and metabolism. You can take the following steps to address inflammation-related weight gain.

Avoid Inflammatory Foods

The foods we eat are a significant contributor to inflammation. Unfortunately, many of the foods that we find in a standard, everyday diet lead to inflammation. Many modern foods include additives, chemicals, and harmful ingredients that can encourage the body’s inflammatory response. 

A few of the common culprits in a diet that lead to inflammation include sugar, processed foods, additives, and saturated fats. Some more specific examples of foods that contribute to inflammation:

• Fried foods
• Processed lunch meats
• Saturated fats, like red meat
• Soda 
• Refined carbohydrates

Eat Anti-Inflammatory Foods

The flip side to the risky disadvantages of eating inflammatory foods is that making positive food choices can improve your levels of inflammation in the body. Eating more nutritious, whole foods with nutrients like fiber, vitamins, and minerals can promote the healthy functioning of your immune system and reduce inflammation.

Certain macronutrients and micronutrients are more beneficial for promoting healthy immune response and quelling your body’s natural inflammatory response. Specific compounds and nutrients you should look for that contribute to reducing inflammation, include omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. 

Some examples of nutrient-rich, anti-inflammatory foods include:

• Olive oil
• Fruits, like berries
• Leafy greens
• Peppers
• Fatty fish
• Nuts 
• Foods with probiotics, like yogurt and kimchi

Sometimes, simply steering away from the unhealthy foods isn’t enough, especially if your root problem is inflammation hindering your weight loss efforts. Incorporating an anti-inflammatory diet for weight loss can increase your chances of seeing real, sustainable progress.

Exercise Regularly

Although exercise may lead to some inflammation in the immediate aftermath, exercise in the long term helps keep inflammation at bay. Performing regular moderate to light-intensity exercise can be anti-inflammatory in the long-term by supporting a healthy immune response. Exercise also conditions your body to 

Great examples of light to moderate exercise include:

• Walking
• Hiking
• Bicycling 
• Gardening
• Swimming

Despite the potential anti-inflammatory benefits of exercise, you should be careful to avoid overdoing it. Intense exercise without sufficient breaks may actually lead to inflammation, so be sure to find the right balance between getting active without taking it too far.

Maintain a Healthy Sleep Schedule

Not getting enough sleep can contribute to inflammation. A lack of sleep throws off your body’s natural regulatory systems, as sleep plays an important part in regulating hormones and relaxing blood pressure. A missed night of sleep won’t throw you off too much, but if this becomes a consistent problem, your body’s inflammation levels are likely to stay high.

Follow some of these tips to maintain a healthy sleep schedule with improved sleep hygiene: 

• Avoid caffeine at least 6 hours before bed
• Minimize screen time 1-2 hours before bed
• Sleep in a dark, quiet sleep environment
• Maintain a consistent bedtime

Minimize and Manage Stress

Stress and inflammation are closely intertwined because of a hormone known as cortisol. In a stressful event, cortisol is released and can temporarily reduce inflammation. However, when you experience chronic stress, it increases inflammation in the body, can damage cells, and can lead to chronic health conditions.

Stress is also frequently considered a common cause of increased weight gain, as increased cortisol levels often lead to cravings for sweet, fatty foods and overeating that leads to weight gain. 

You can overcome this pattern by taking steps to manage stress, like practicing meditation, performing yoga, listening to music you enjoy, or participating in your favorite hobbies to help you take your mind off your stressors. 

Combat Weight Gain from Inflammation with re:vitalize

If you are experiencing inflammation-related weight gain, then it’s important to make addressing inflammation a priority. It’s important to choose a holistic weight loss program that recognizes the importance of addressing inflammation in its foundation so that you can address both concerns at the same time.

At re:vitalize weight loss and wellness, our programs are centered around taking steps to reduce inflammation and repair your metabolism on the journey to sustainable weight loss. Our programs are anti-inflammatory in nature, prioritizing the inclusion of nutrient-rich, anti-inflammatory foods and healthy lifestyle choices into your daily routine so you are positioned for long-term weight loss and overall wellness.

At re:vitalize, we offer both our Weight Loss and Metabolic Reset, and Flexible Weight Loss programs to help members lose weight regardless of their lifestyle.

Schedule a virtual or in-person consultation with us at re:vitalize to learn more about our programs.