Unintentional weight loss is a warning sign
Most people believe that weight loss and diabetes prevention is a good thing and they would be quite right. However here we are talking about another kind of weight loss – unintentional weight loss (or unexplained weight loss) – which can be a warning sign for serious health problems, including type 1 diabetes. So if you’re eating normally and are losing weight steadily, then it would be a good idea to have your self checked out by your doctor.
I’m not talking about minor weight fluctuations than may be caused by fluid retention or hormonal fluctuations, more about slow steady weight loss over time.
One of the first symptoms of Type 1 diabetes is weight loss without apparent cause. Weight is lost even when a person is eating normally or even overeating. There are two types of weight loss – intentional and unintentional.
Intentional weight loss is considered a very good thing in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Unintentional weight loss may be a symptom of undiagnosed and untreated diabetes.
Several diseases can cause unintentional weight loss besides Type 1 diabetes; thyroid disease, chronic diarrhea, AIDS or even cancer, as a few examples, can all cause unintentional weight loss.
Unintentional weight loss in diabetics is usually accompanied by other problems. Frequent urination can cause dehydration, and dehydration can cause a whole host of other physical health problems. Muscle breakdown can occur if blood glucose is too high as well, and that can cause an unhealthy and unintentional weight loss.
It’s been proven time and time again that losing only a few pounds of body weight on purpose by reducing food intake and increasing exercise can prevent or at least postpone the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
Weight loss occurs because the body is using more calories than it is consuming, or than the body is utilizing. Many things can cause the body to fail to use the calories that are consumed, and diabetes is one of those reasons.
The bottom line here is that good weight loss doesn’t happen by accident or all by itself without any help. Weight loss that is a good thing can help diabetics – both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. But unintentional weight loss can mean something more sinister whether you have diabetes or not. Unintentional weight loss is one of the ways that the body has of conveying the message to us that something is wrong.
If you are experiencing unintentional weight loss, and you aren’t actually trying to lose weight, you should see your doctor as soon as possible and ask for a glucose tolerance test.
