# Do Any Diseases Make You Gain Weight? (Besides thyroid) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2005, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335 "2005-10-15T06:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/1 "2005-10-15T06:25:14Z")
Losing weight can be a symptom of diabetes, cancer, and probably a host of different things. What about gaining weight? Hypothyroidism can cause weight gain, of course, but besides that? Are there other glandular conditions that packs on the pounds? Other disease processes? Besides what my old NC mountain-man grandpa used to say, “Their problem is, every time they bend their elbow, their mouth flies open.” I mean actual medical conditions, not the ol’ ‘too many calories, not enough exercise’, yes- that’s known to cause weight gain, too. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/2 "2005-10-15T07:49:20Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > Losing weight can be a symptom of diabetes, cancer, and probably a host of different things. > > What about gaining weight? Hypothyroidism can cause weight gain, of course, but besides that? Are there other glandular conditions that packs on the pounds? Other disease processes? > > Besides what my old NC mountain-man grandpa used to say, “Their problem is, every time they bend their elbow, their mouth flies open.” I mean actual medical conditions, not the ol’ ‘too many calories, not enough exercise’, yes- that’s known to cause weight gain, too. There are several diseases that cause edema, which is fluid in the tissues, but if you’re talking about fat, even hypothyroidism doesn’t directly cause the body to store fat. Fat stores are your bank. If you withdraw more than you deposit, your account grows slimmer. The difficulty with hypothyroidism, comes at the withdrawal component. Your body uses fewer calories, so the number of calories you may take in without storing fat is unreasonably low. Weight gain is actually the most benign effect of hypothyroidism. So, to answer your Q. If you do mean fat, then the answer is NO. If you include edema, I can give you a list as long as your arm. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/3 "2005-10-15T07:57:01Z")
It seems as if you are downplaying the endocrinary and metabolic effects of hypothyroidism. The reality, I am sorry to say, is much more than your clinicism. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/4 "2005-10-15T08:02:24Z")
As an example of **picunurse’s** comment, many heart related problems can lead to retainage of fluids and the one that I recall the most is for Congestive Heart Failure where sudden weight gain can be a warning sign. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/5 "2005-10-15T08:55:27Z")
There’s a growing body of evidence that some obesity is explained by a viral infection. [Linky](http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/07/28/fat.virus.ap/) [Linky](http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SUA09/obesity497.html) ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/6 "2005-10-15T09:10:00Z")
There’s Cushing’s Disease. And I believe PCOS causes weight gain. Certain brain tumors/damage/disorders can cause overeating. There’s a few genetic disorders like Prader-Willi Syndrome. Most are rare. But so far AFAIK about 5% of obese people have known mutations in genes related to energy regulation. Presumably there are still a number of unidentified genes, so the actual percentage is probably higher, though who knows. But since the body seems to manage weight primarily by regulating eating, many of these conditions increase weight by causing people to eat too much, not doing anything particularly abnormal with metabolism. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/7 "2005-10-15T09:47:24Z")
[Acromegaly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly) causes weight gain that is due to neither fluid retention nor excess body fat. ([Acromegaly](http://portfolio.med.up.pt/nino/Patologia/fotos.html) - a picture is worth a thousand words.) ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/8 "2005-10-15T10:39:55Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > Losing weight can be a symptom of diabetes, cancer, and probably a host of different things. > > What about gaining weight? Hypothyroidism can cause weight gain, of course, but besides that? Are there other glandular conditions that packs on the pounds? Other disease processes? > > Besides what my old NC mountain-man grandpa used to say, “Their problem is, every time they bend their elbow, their mouth flies open.” I mean actual medical conditions, not the ol’ ‘too many calories, not enough exercise’, yes- that’s known to cause weight gain, too. You can also gain weight with diabetes, particularly with Type 2. I did… ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/9 "2005-10-15T11:33:38Z")
Thyroid disorders-Hypothyroidism Adrenal disorders-Cushing’s Insulin sensitivity disorders-Type 2 Diabetes, PCOS Steroid treatments Brain damage Pituitary disorders-Acromegaly Hypothalamic disorders- Uncontrolled eating Psychiatric disorders- Compulsive overeating Genetic disorders-Prader-Willi Any disease which make exercise impossible-COPD, Arthritis etc A large tumour could cause weight gain if it was big enough-say a neurofibroma Some of it is chicken and egg stuff-for instance we think obesity causes Type 2 diabetes, not the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/10 "2005-10-15T13:03:32Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > It seems as if you are downplaying the endocrinary and metabolic effects of hypothyroidism. The reality, I am sorry to say, is much more than your clinicism. I understand what you’re saying. I simply noted the basic physiology of weight gain. I understand the difficulty, and sometimes impracticality of using diet alone to control obesity in many situations. It is what it is. When expended energy doesn’t meet calorie intake, fat is stored. Lack of any of the thyroid hormones slows metabolism, making it very difficult to maintain weight, but the lack doesn’t cause the fat cells to slurp up calories. I’m not criticizing anyone for gaining weight. I am the last in line to do that, and I have a normal thyroid! 😃 I was simply trying to give a factual answer to the question. I apologize if I didn’t make myself clear. I didn’t set out to offend. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/11 "2005-10-15T16:07:19Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Some of it is chicken and egg stuff-for instance we think obesity causes Type 2 diabetes, not the other way around. The newest cause to be discovered is a fatty liver. The fat in the liver causes an inflammatory response, which by a long chain of events results in insulin resistance. As I understand it, insulin does 2 things. It serves as a catalyst for the metabolization of glucose in the blood, and it also signals the fat cells to start storing away fat. Unfortunately, when you’re resistant, the catalytic reaction doesn’t work well, and the fat creation goes into overtime. Add to that mix the fact that a lot of the oral meds have a nasty side effect of causing weight gain, and a vicious cycle gets started. You get fat, and become diabetic; now because you’re diabetic and trying to treat the condition, you get even fatter. Been there, done that, and they didn’t have a t-shirt in my size. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/12 "2005-10-15T17:15:43Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > [Acromegaly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly) causes weight gain that is due to neither fluid retention nor excess body fat. > > ([Acromegaly](http://portfolio.med.up.pt/nino/Patologia/fotos.html) - a picture is worth a thousand words.) Second link Not Safe For Work! (clinical nudity) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-diseases-make-you-gain-weight-besides-thyroid/326335/13 "2005-10-15T22:06:16Z")
> [@](#): > > **picunurse** : I was simply trying to give a factual answer to the question. So are we. Just as weight loss can be symptomatic of certain illnesses, weight gain can be symptomatic of other illnesses including clinical depression and polycystic syndrome (formerly known as Stein-Leventhal Syndrome). There is some irony in that weight _loss_ can also be a symptom of clinical depression.