I have heard many times that there is a body type for people who a are gluten intolerant, but I have only seen images of males used. Do women experience it too? What is the distinct body type? I have always thought that it was the lack of butt mixed with the bloated gut because I have seen it mentioned but I want to know what causes it? What can be done to fix it if it truly is gluten related? Thank you.

I am new to this, but I understand those of western European descent are more subject to this than those of different heritage. If this information is correct, that means a wide variety of body types could potentially be affected, of course. I would think this also depends on how long someone is sick before he or she gets nutrition to actually stay in the body and build it up. I started out thin and then became thinner before I went gluten-free. Now I am back up (or close to it) where I started.

Hm...I have found the opposite to be true, I have lost about 10 lbs in the 5 months that I have been gluten free and have had no development of feet or tush padding. I have seen women who reported the bloaty bell goes away, but I have not found that to be true even though I never eat gluten no matter how badly I want to unless I am unaware of it being present.

I was rail thin (anorexic looking). I didn't have the wasted buttocks syndrome or the bloated belly thing. I was sick for 13 years before diagnosis.

Has anybody else here had a problem with muscle development? It took me over 3 years of weight training to get the slightest bit of definition in my arms and I was going to the gym 4 days a week for an hour and a half. My arms are still rail thin, regardless of my weight

Are you eating enough protien? How many calories do you consume a day? If you are working out 4x a week you need to eat in order to build muscle.

When I was sick I lost a bunch of weight. I am 5' 7 and dropped to 114lbs before I was diagnosed. I am back to my normal weight now plus some lol. I get the bloated belly too, I dont know what causes it but I cant stand it.

i have been very underweight my entire life. i have a BMI of 15 but I'm short so i don't look quite so emaciated. i do however, get a ridiculous bloated belly after eating certain foods, sometimes even from non-glutenous foods. usually by the morning the swelling has gone down and my stomach is flat again. i also have never been able to build up much muscle. i notice a difference in terms of strength, but visible definition is unnoticeable.

well, I'm built like a football player, so I don't fit into any of your types.

Body type/blood type is useless BS.

richard

yeah muscles are gone and rail thin too. need to gain about 50 lbs. do you mean that we will always look like this.....a skelaton, never to put back on muscle mass????? i hope this is not true. there has to be something out there to help with this.

growing up I could eat for a family of 5 and you could still see my ribs... haha.
those days are gone. it caught up w/ me.
but most of my weight is in my gut, and I do have the bloated belly (though it goes away with gluten free... so great to have my pants/skirts fit again! ... )
and I've always complained because I have no fanny. it's wide and flat...most women complain their's is too big... I wish mine had a little more padding. haha.

I agree.

I was always very "healthy" looking even as a child. Meaning I always had about 5 lbs extra weight. I could eat anything I wanted and never gained past my "normal" weight. The only "Celiac Look" I had was a pouchy tummy. No mater what I did it never went away. But I had all the curves to hide it, big breasts, rounded hips and butt and great leg and arm definition. It wasn't until my 40 that I started to gain unhealthy weight. IT crept up slowly and then stayed put. 50 lbs later I was not a poster child for celiac disease so it really made it harder for me to get a DR. to take me seriously. I had 2 GI's take one look at me and say "You can't have celiac disease, you aren't skinny"

BTW, I was one of those people that didn't know that constant "D" wasn't normal for most people.

You and I are about the same in thinness issues
I think it is bad for people who go undiagnosed for 10 years are more.
Your body really is nutrionallly starved and damaged from the shaved down villi in your intestines...
I am very thin, but I am trying my best to eat healthy and deal with the pain.
I went undiagnosed for a lifetime it seems.. I am in my 30's now.
My family always assumed it was only a allergy.
The more I ate carbohydrates to increase my weight, the more my intestines became damaged.

There is a classic celiac body type

http://www.pigur.co.il/imgceliac/celiac.jpg ( they tend to be extemely thin...skinny arms and legs and a bloated belly)

People can be extremely thin and extremly healthy..

They have something in common... everyone is really sick.

I think that's more of the classic malnutrition body type. Looks a lot like pics of starving children in poorer countries.

It is the celiac body type.
That is a illustration from a celiac site..
You develop malnutrition, when your intestines are damaged and cannot absorb any nutrients.
I develpoped malnutrition from celiac disease.
I was eating 5 meals a day pre- diagnosis...., I developed nutritional defiences, anemia..( my body didn't absorb vitamins and minerals either. I was admitted to the emergency room many times..
My body suffered from low potassium, pernicous anemia ( b12), iron anemia and so much more...
I never looked like the illustration completely either.
I don't look the same either, as I looked before now...
I think it will improve with time....

Every celiac sufferer has different circumstances & degrees of damage to their intestines. The bodies look different.