how do we lose weight ? – Pathology Zone

Question: how do we lose weight ?
- Keywords:
  weight
Asked by 101owen101 to Samantha, Sam on 6 Jul 2012.
- Samantha Weaver answered on 6 Jul 2012:
  
  Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue. It can occur unintentionally due to an underlying disease or can arise from a conscious effort to improve an actual or perceived overweight or obese state.
  
  Weight loss occurs when an individual is in a state of negative thermodynamic flux: when the body is exerting more energy (i.e. in work and metabolism) than it is consuming (i.e. from food or other nutritional supplements), it will use stored reserves from fat or muscle, gradually leading to weight loss. This is why eating fewer calories and doing more exercise will cause you to lose weight intentionally.
  
  Unintentional weight loss occurs in many diseases and conditions, including some very serious diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and a variety of other diseases such as:
  *Starvation, a state of extreme hunger resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged period.
  *Cancer, a very common and sometimes fatal cause of unexplained (idiopathic) weight loss. About one-third of unintentional weight loss cases are secondary to malignancy. Cancers to suspect in patients with unexplained weight loss include gastrointestinal, prostate, hepatobillary (hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic cancer), ovarian, hematologic or lung malignancies.
  *AIDS can cause weight loss and should be suspected in high-risk individuals presenting with weight loss.
  *Gastrointestinal disorders are another common cause of unexplained weight loss – in fact they are the most common non-cancerous cause of idiopathic weight loss. Possible gastrointestinal etiologies of unexplained weight loss are celiac disease, peptic ulcer, inflammatory bowel disease (crohns disease and ulcerative colitis), pancreatitis, gastritis, diarrhea and many other GI conditions can cause weight loss.
  *Infection. Some infectious diseases can cause weight loss. These include fungal illness, endocarditis, many parasitic diseases, AIDS, and some other sub-acute or occult infections may cause weight loss.
  *Renal disease. Patients who have uremia often have poor or absent appetite, emesis and nausea. This can cause weight loss.
  *Cardiac disease. Cardiovascular disease, especially congestive heart failure, may cause unexplained weight loss.
  *Pulmonary disease.
  *Connective tissue disease
  *Neurologic disease, including dementia
  *In some people, certain medications may cause weight loss as a side effect.
  *Stress can cause weight loss.
- Sam Chilka answered on 6 Jul 2012:
  
  Great answer Samantha! People lose weight when the energy they put into their body (food) is less than the energy they use up (through exercise and all other normal daily activity).
  So, if a person wants to lose weight in order to look and feel more healthy, they can either take in less energy (eat less food or fewer calories), or use up more energy (do more exercise).
  Ideally they should do both, as this is the best way to keep the weight off and be more healthy long term.
  Crash diets are never a good idea, as they are very difficult to stick to, and can actually cause a lot of harm.

Question: how do we lose weight ?

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