Winter is the season for celebration. Back in December, you likely enjoyed fresh baked goods, hot chocolate, and candy canes.
Then came New Year’s Eve, which you may have celebrated over late-night hors d’oeuvres and bottles of bubbly.
More time spent on the couch as outdoor temperatures plummeted likely followed, and now, you’re regretting not signing up for that gym membership on January 1, after all.
Winter weight gain is a real thing, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
But when it comes to your widening waistline, that might not be all that’s going on.
“There are many reasons a person’s weight can fluctuate, including genetics, behavior, appetite signals, and your environment.
It’s not something to freak about,” says Ted Kyle, a pharmacist and health advocate in Pittsburgh.
Factors that affect your weight will change throughout your life, says B. Gabriel Smolarz, MD, the medical director of Novo Nordisk in Plainsboro, New Jersey.
“You may have worse sleep in your thirties or more stress in your forties and fifties,” he says. “These things may impact the way you gain or lose weight over time.”
And simply being female makes your weight more likely to fluctuate.
“Menstrual cycles and pregnancy can result in fluctuations both up and down in weight,” notes Alicia Bittner, RDN, a nutritionist in Mamaroneck, New York.
If weight gain is a concern, it’s worth following up with a healthcare provider who understands how human physiology regulates body weight, says Kyle.
“In particular, board-certified obesity medicine physicians have the credentials to show that they have this understanding. Once you figure out how your own body works, you can start to figure out how to deal with [weight gain] in a healthy way.”
Read the complete article at Everydayhealth.com
Also Read: 20 Reasons You Tend To Gain More Weight in the Winter
