Does the thyroid make you fat? Endocrinologist from Mainz explains

According to the latest hospital report from Barmer GEK, more and more Germans are suffering from morbid obesity. Obesity seems to be becoming a mass phenomenon. In Rhineland-Palatinate alone, 17 per cent of the population is morbidly obese – a peak figure among the federal states. In 2014 alone, seven million people in Germany underwent treatment for obesity. Statistically speaking, this is 14 per cent more than in 2006, and surgery is becoming increasingly common. According to the hospital report, weight loss operations have increased fivefold since 2006 to a total of almost 10,000 cases. Mainz-based endocrinologist Prof. Dr Wüster sees this as a worrying development. ‘Obesity is on the rise and has long since become a widespread disease. Stress, poor diet and lack of exercise are the main causes of obesity.’

Endocrinological exclusion diagnostics for obesity

The endocrinologist does not see surgical reduction of the gastrointestinal tract as a satisfactory solution, especially as the operations often entail lifelong treatment.

Everyone knows how obesity can be combated. But how the goal can actually be achieved is a central social task. Every obesity patient has their own medical history. In order to determine the cause of obesity in individual cases, endocrine diseases must often also be taken into consideration. Hormones regulate the metabolic processes in our body, including appetite and food intake. Diseases or disorders of the thyroid gland can cause obesity. Diseases such as hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome or Cushing’s syndrome are frequently diagnosed in obese people. An endocrinological laboratory test quickly clarifies the condition of the thyroid gland and, if necessary, provides important information for targeted therapy.

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