Why Young Women Gain Weight: It’s actually a really interesting answer.

It’s no secret that gaining weight is a problem around the globe. The pandemic, in particular, has highlighted our glaring obesity rate and how obesity makes COVID-19 worse. Of course, obesity makes many illnesses worse and leads to myriad chronic illnesses. Though public health officials have recognized it as a problem in the late 1990s, our rates have continued to increase.

In this episode of Causes or Cures, I chat with Mary Pegington about her research into why young women gain weight. This is an interesting cohort, because while unhealthy weight gain is associated with health issues, it can also lead to low self esteem, difficulties with mental health and stressful social interactions.

Mary is a research dietitian with the Prevent Breast Cancer Research Unit in Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester. She’s published a couple of papers on this topic, so I was thrilled to have her join us from the UK.

She will discuss the reasons young women gain weight and have trouble losing it, when they are most at risk of gaining weight, life events and factors that lead to increased weight gain in young women ( some that will surprise you), diets that put young women at a heightened risk of gaining weight, and she will also dispel common age-related myths about when most women gain weight and have trouble keeping it off.

To listen to Why Young Women Gain Weight, click here. 

I also want to thank all of you who have subscribed to my podcast and supported it thus far. I am amazed at how this little grassroots baby of mine has grown over the last two years. It’s something I started on the side, and continue to do on the side, and I hope to continue to bring you value. That said, here are a couple other Causes or Cures Episodes you might be interested in:

Obesity: What it is and How to Address it, with Dr. Fatima Stanford

The Link Between Diet and Breast Cancer: What is the Best Diet for Prevention and Treatment Outcomes

If you are interested in a couple of my pandemic musings, here you go:

On the Battlefield of misinformers, dissenters and staunch stakeholders of the almighty narrative

Poor communication throughout the pandemic: It’s time to blame the messenger