With the great emphasis on weight control, one would assume that weight loss is a welcome relief from the tendency toward obesity that plagues many older individuals. Your body will usually maintain its weight so long as there is no major change in food intake or degree of physical activity. If you consciously want to lose weight, you will no doubt change your eating habits or activities. The weight loss is not only expected, but anticipated and welcomed.
But sometimes you might begin to lose weight despite maintaining a steady degree of physical activity and a well-balanced diet. When this happens, weight loss may be the first sign of an illness that may present no other symptoms, especially in the early stages. The point at which you might begin to notice your weight loss depends on your lifestyle. If you live in an institution, weight loss may be noticed early if the staff weighs you regularly. If you live at home and do not weigh yourself periodically, the first sign may be that your clothes are loose. Neighbors, friends, or relatives may remark that you look thinner. Or your physician may notice your loss of weight since your previous visit.
If you are certain that you have not changed your food intake or physical activity, you should look for other symptoms that may be causing the weight loss. Medical advice should be sought.
A number of illnesses can lead to a loss of weight despite a good appetite and a normal diet. An overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) in the older person may show itself as weight loss without the symptoms that are usually found in younger people. You may experience heart palpitations and emotional irritability or perhaps some loosening of the bowel movement. Frequently, however, weight loss is the only symptom.
Long-standing (chronic) infections, such as tuberculosis and bacterial endocarditis can also lead to weight loss. In these cases, there is usually fever and a general feeling of debilitation, as well as a loss of appetite.
If you are aware that occult malignancy (hidden cancer), is also a cause of weight loss, you may become frightened and postpone medical advice. However, many other hidden noncancerous conditions can lead to the same symptoms. Even a cancer that shows itself as weight loss might be treatable. It is more likely to respond to therapy if discovered early than if allowed to progress until other symptoms appear. Never let your fears keep you from getting proper advice.
If you take digoxin and diuretics for a heart condition, you may lose weight in the form of excess fluid. This kind of weight loss is usually associated with improvement in heart symptoms and the disappearance of the swelling in your legs and abdomen.
Occasionally an older person develops diabetes mellitus and experiences weight loss with an increase in appetite and in the amount of urine passed. However, in the older person, diabetes mellitus more commonly is accompanied by obesity.
Malabsorption, in which food is not absorbed properly, may be the result of some problem within the bowel itself or within the pancreas, which manufactures enzymes (digestive helpers). Sometimes the pancreas does not produce enough enzymes, and the food is poorly digested in the intestine and therefore poorly absorbed. You may or may not have diarrhea. The inability to absorb nutrients leads to a gradual loss of weight just the same as if you stopped eating.
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