Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Record is Archived

    This article is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Scott Adams
    Scott Adams

    Celiac Disease and Obesity—There is a Connection

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    Celiac.com 07/10/2006 - Three years ago my father was diagnosed with celiac disease and I was told by my mother that it is hereditary and that I too should get screened for it. I did some research and immediately knew that I had this disease. I wouldn't admit it to anyone at the time because how on earth could I possibly live without pasta and fresh-baked bread for the rest of my life?! You should know that I have been sick for my entire life—I had colic until I was six, got ulcers when I was eight, appendicitis at 14, calcium bone spurs at 17, 19, 24 and 36, infertility at 24, gall stones at 37—just to mention a few of the conditions I've had that were likely related to my untreated celiac disease.

    About six months later I decided to go see my doctor—I was in a severe state of depression, and I had lost the ability to think—much less talk. Carrying on a full conversation was nearly impossible because of my inability to speak in full sentences. I was extremely sick with a severe cold, and I had an infection or the flu at least once each month for the preceding two to three years. I told my doctor that I thought that he should test me for celiac disease. Since I weighed in at over 300 pounds he literally laughed at this idea. According to him there was absolutely no way that I could have celiac disease—because I was fat!

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
    Shortly after that my parents came to visit and tried to talk me into eating gluten-free—at least during the time that they were here. I agreed because I had to cook gluten-free for them anyway. Within three days of starting a gluten-free diet I felt like a million bucks. My depression lifted and within a month I was losing weight and my brain started working again. I have been gluten-free for three years now—not only do I feel like a million bucks, but I have lost over 100 pounds. I shudder at the idea that I was literally eating myself to death—and it was not because I didn't have any will power or that I was eating bad food—it was because my body couldn't process and absorb the food that I was eating. My personal experience, combined with my research, has left me completely convinced that celiac disease is (and will continue to be) a significant cause of obesity—and that this will continue to be the case until there is a better understanding of the disease and its relationship to obesity.

    What is Celiac Disease?
    Celiac disease is a permanent intolerance to gluten(1), which is a protein found in, wheat, rye, and barley. When gluten is ingested the digestive system is unable to properly break it down, and an autoimmune response is triggered in the gut that causes the villi of the small intestine to become damaged—leading to malabsorption of crucial nutrients. There is no cure, and the only way to control it is through a 100% gluten-free diet.

    The disease has a vast array of symptoms, and it is rare that two people will exhibit the same ones. Some will have diarrhea while others will have constipation, and some will not have either but instead may have osteoporosis, diabetes, headaches, fatigue, autoimmune thyroid disorder or any number of other conditions and symptoms found to be associated with it. In many cases these symptoms are associated with the inability to gain weight—children with celiac disease are often small and fail to thrive(1).

    Nearly every source that I consulted for this paper referred to malabsorption and how most people with celiac disease lost weight or couldn't gain weight. Only a few sources even mentioned obesity—and when they did it was only in passing. As celiac disease awareness steadily increases and more research is done on it hopefully it will become apparent that many cases of obesity are also related to it.

    The Common Thread
    Autoimmune thyroid disease has recently been linked to celiac disease. Recent research has demonstrated that 3.4% of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease also have celiac disease2. The thyroid gland secretes hormones to control the body's metabolic rate3, and to accomplish this it must have iodine. When celiac disease is present along with autoimmune thyroid disorder, the body does not have the ability to absorb the iodine to produce the necessary hormones. Additionally there are many different disorders such as obesity, diabetes, allergies, weight-loss, gastrointestinal problems, etc., that can be caused by having a damaged or compromised thyroid gland3 (all of these disorders, by the way, can be related to celiac disease). It has been known for years that obesity has been linked to thyroid problems, and that the thyroid produces 5-monodeiodinase, the body's natural method of conserving fuel during shortage," and the body "elicits the same physical reaction as famine," which can then cause the affected person to gain weight3.

    Another disorder commonly associated with celiac disease is malabsorption, which can also lead to malnutrition. When someone with celiac disease eats foods that contain gluten it results in damage to the surface of the small intestine and destruction of their nutrient-absorbing villi. This can lead to leaky gut and an inability for them to absorb vital nutrients from their food. By continuing to eat foods containing gluten, eventually vital organs including the brain, thyroid, liver, kidneys—essentially any organ that depends heavily on nutrients—will be starved, which will leave them susceptible to other diseases and conditions. I personally experienced brain malfunctions, gall bladder problems, and was diagnosed numerous times with an under-active thyroid. Naturally treatments for this proposed thyroid condition didn't work because their true cause had not yet been found. At one point a doctor asked me to consider the idea that my obesity was the result of my body's attempt to cope with malnourishment4. This phenomenon is similar to yo-yo dieting, where dieters who have deprived themselves or proper nutrition for too long gain weight at faster rates than non-dieters after they resume eating normally. I always thought that I had fallen victim to yo-yo dieting, and that I had dieted myself into a permanent state of obesity. I now understand that it was because I had undiagnosed celiac disease, and my body was actually malnourished.

    Under normal nutritional conditions humans only absorb about 80 percent of the nutrients from the food they eat, and the rest of the nutrients pass through the body4. With celiac disease, however, the body is unable to absorb the necessary nutrients, which causes some peoples bodies to become a super-efficient machine that begins storing as much fat as possible in order to survive. This nutrient deficiency convinces the body that it is starving to death, which sends it into starvation-mode. Since humans need a certain percentage of body fat reserves to stay alive—and because it takes more work for the body to burn fats than carbohydrates—a body that is in starvation mode tends to crave carbohydrates and more efficiently convert them to fat for later use4.

    There has been much research that links celiac disease to diabetes. Diabetes occurs when the body's cells are unable to absorb enough blood sugar5. Although the cause is different, the resulting malabsorption is similar to that seem in celiac disease—although in the latter the malabsorption is not just limited to sugar. The connection between diabetes and celiac disease as described by Marschilok:

    "Both diseases have genetic and environmental origins. This means an individual is more at risk of developing either problem when a close relative also has it. On the genetic side, development of one reveals the pre-existing and larger risk that the genes for the other may be present. At least two genes and gene locations are connected with each disease. One gene for each disease is near one gene for the other on the same chromosome. Nearby genes are more likely to pass together to offspring."

    However, while the genes are necessary, they are not sufficient to produce the diseases. On the environmental side, researchers know gluten is needed to produce celiac disease, but they also know its not the only environmental cause. With diabetes, the environmental causes are being extensively studied for prevention and cure. Roughly ten percent of celiacs either have Type I diabetes or might develop Type II diabetes6 .

    An astonishing 40% of people with diabetes are also obese—even though there was not very much in the way of medical research to indicate why this is so. Diabetes is described as your cells inability to produce or absorb insulin, which leads to an excess of sugar in the blood stream7. If a person injects or produces too much insulin it will increase the level of hunger and cause obesity. I personally find this information disturbing as there are some in the medical community who still blame obesity on character flaws—I cant begin to tell you how many times I have been told: if you just didn't eat so much you wouldn't be fat.

    A number of overweight and obese acquaintances of mine have asked me how I managed to lose over 100 pounds and look so healthy while doing it. I explained my celiac disease diagnosis and gluten-free diet to them, and how the diet has made me not feel hungry for the first time in my life—due to the fact that I am now absorbing nutrients properly. Six of these extremely obese people have actually gone to their physicians to get tested for celiac disease—and each was met with the same skepticism as me. They persisted and finally got their doctors to perform the necessary tests—and to the surprise of all each were diagnosed with celiac disease! Immediately after going on the gluten-free diet they all experienced a decrease in hunger and massive weight-loss. For the first time they were eating only when their bodies were truly hungry, instead of eating too much due to starvation signals caused by malabsorption.

    This could also be part of the reason that high protein, low carbohydrate diets work so well for many people. By removing the carbohydrates from ones diet you generally remove a large portion of the gluten as well, which can cause those with celiac disease who are obese to lose weight quickly—at least for a month or so. However, on the high protein diet you are still not removing all gluten which will eventually cause them to gain the weight back—even though they are still on the diet. This was my experience with the low carbohydrate diet, and I suspect that a lot of others who are obese and have undiagnosed celiac disease had or will have the same experience.

    Conclusion
    I once had a family member literally yell at me about my weight and ask me why I was being so selfish and not thinking about my husband and daughter—they told me that I should just lose the weight. I was devastated, I truly had tried every diet on the face of the earth and each and every time I would loose 20-30 pounds quickly (regardless of the type of diet), only to gain it back (while still following the program)—sometimes as much as two fold! Since being diagnosed with celiac disease three years ago I have not only lost the weight but I have also kept it off, and each week a little bit more comes off. I am completely convinced that celiac disease does and will continue to be a common cause of obesity until the medical community—through scientific research—realizes that there is a connection.

    Many obese people might not be overweight if they were just properly diagnosed and treated. Certainly it is not the case that all obese people are that way because they just plain eat too much and do not have any will power. I suspect that there are better medical reasons to explain most cases of obesity, and celiac disease is just one of them. Not too long ago it was estimated that celiac disease only affected 1 in 10,000 Americans8. That figure was then revised to 1 in 5,000, and now, after much research, it is at least 1 in 133. The actual diagnosis rate, however, is only about 1 in 5,000, which is only a small fraction of those who have it. Similarly, the causes of obesity in America are not fully understood, and more research needs to be done to determine just how many cases of obesity are caused by untreated celiac disease. I believe that a significant percentage of obese people have undiagnosed celiac disease, and that celiac disease screening should be part of ordinary blood workups for all obese people.

    References:

    • Adams, S. (May 2005). A Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free Resource since 1995. Retrieved May 18, 2005, from www.celiac.com.
    • Collin, Kaukinen, Valimaki & Salmi, (2002). Endocinological Disorders and Celiac Disease, Endocrine Reviews (pp 1-38).
      3. Life Extension, Thyroid Deficiency, Online reference for Health Concerns. Retrieved May 26, 2005 from www.lef.org/protocols/prtcls-txt/t-prtcl-104.html.
    • Balley, L. (June 2004) Obesity in Developing Countries Compares to U.S. Yo-Yo Dieting. Retrieved June 16, 2005 from: eurekalert.org
    • Katz H., (2005). Hope for Obesity and Diabetes. Retrieved June 19, 2005. From: reporter-archive.mcgill.ca
    • Marschilok, K., (1997). Diabetes and celiac Disease. Gluten-free Living.
    • Hoover, J., (2001). Obesity Causes Diabetes–Fat Chance! Diabetes Health Magazine. Retrieved June 19, 2005 from diabeteshealth.com
    • Vogren, C.L., (September 15, 2003). Awareness Can Be Best Medicine: Parents who lost son to celiac disease want to shed light on often-overlooked ailment. The Gazette. Retrieved June 19, 2005 from csaceliacs.org.

     



    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    Guest

    Well written and informatve.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest kristi

    Thank you for this article! I'm convinced that my daughter is a celiac, but the fact that her weight is 90 lbs. and she is only 8 years old has caused the same reaction from people. I will be taking this article with me to her next doctor's appointment!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Sandi

    Thank you so much for the article regarding obesity and celiac disease. It reaffirms my doctor's diagnosis.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest NSP

    Finally!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Lindy

    This article is wonderful! It describes my situation. I have been overweight since having a baby 5 years ago. The weight wouldn't come off. I'm on thyroid medications, Prozac for being tired and depressed. I would feel weak if I didn't eat! After an upper GI to look for a reason for anemia I was diagnosed with celiac. Since I stopped eating gluten I'm not hungry all the time. I'm still taking supplements and waiting to heal but then I think I will finally get the weight off!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Vera

    Wow, I was diagnosed as celiac about a year ago but since then I've been permanently hungry - this article confirms my suspicions - I might still eat gluten not knowing about it - I have to examine my diet again and look for hidden gluten. Thanks

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Ursula

    What an excellent article! I've had people tell me as well that I was selfish and would die of a heart attack early if I wouldn't stop eating too much. Nobody believes that you can be obese without it being your fault!

     

     

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Wini

    I've been gluten free for six months. Already I've begun to see weight loss, but not as fast as I would like. I've been the same exact weight for two months with no fluctuations, which has never happened to me before. I began to doubt if I would or could ever lose the 100 pounds I needed to get rid of. Reading about your story gives me hope that my body will correct itself and in time I will be the right size.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest D'wan

    This is great, I'm printing it and giving it to my husband. He has been sick for 8 years, colds, allergies, fatigue, depression, weight gain, IBS, lactose intolerance, and he is constantly hungry. I don't know for sure that he has celiac, but I am going to request that he be tested for it. I've had this feeling for a long time that all his problems were some how connected, maybe they are.

    Thank you.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Audrey

    Posted

    Thank you I have also been diagnosed with celiac disease but could never figure out why I had such a problem keeping my weight down and had a compulsive hunger...Also lost 100 lbs when not eating gluten..

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest margee

    Posted

    Thank you so much I have been diagnosed this year

    and I was gaining weight about 5 lbs. a month for 6 months before.

     

    I am not loosing as much as I would like though and I have no bread at all or pasta. I use very little of the celiac food

    because they are so high in calories . I have been eating

    Weight Watchers soup and some chicken each day for 2 weeks and I have egg whites for breakfast

    and fruit.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Anne

    Posted

    Thanks so much for writing this. I gave birth to twins last year, then had my gall bladder removed, and still have 50 lbs to lose. I am going in Thursday to get biopsied and all the blood tests. I tried a gluten free diet for 3 weeks and felt amazing. Now I am back on gluten so I will be ready for all this testing and feel awful. I cant wait until I can get off it for good and start to lose some of this weight. Its nice to know I am not alone!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Guest
    This is now closed for further comments

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    Donate
  • About Me

    Scott Adams

    Scott Adams was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1994, and, due to the nearly total lack of information available at that time, was forced to become an expert on the disease in order to recover. In 1995 he launched the site that later became Celiac.com to help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed so they can begin to live happy, healthy gluten-free lives.  He is co-author of the book Cereal Killers, and founder and publisher of the (formerly paper) newsletter Journal of Gluten Sensitivity. In 1998 he founded The Gluten-Free Mall which he sold in 2014. Celiac.com does not sell any products, and is 100% advertiser supported.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Related Articles

    Dr. Amy O'Connell
    Celiac.com 12/02/2011 - Some rumors have been circulating in the health foods community that gluten-free eating can encourage weight loss. Unfortunately, this theory is completely unfounded. Wendy Marcason, a registered dietician, published an article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in November that reviews some of the theories and controversy surrounding this issue. The article concludes that there is no scientific evidence to support a connection between eating gluten-free and losing weight.
    For those of us with celiac disease who start a gluten-free diet, weight gain is more often the case. The healing of the damaged intestines allows better absorption of food, and unless you rapidly change the amount of food you eat when you go gluten-free, most celiacs gain...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 03/04/2013 - Morbid obesity is a common medical condition. In many cases, bariatric surgery is necessary. Although for decades celiac disease has been associated with chronic diarrhea and weight loss, and other classic symptoms, recent data shows that the clinical spectrum of celiac disease is extremely wide.
    A group of researchers recently reported on the benefits of diagnosing celiac disease during pre-operative work-up for bariatric surgery.
    The researchers included Federico Cuenca-Abente, Fabio Nachman, and Julio C. Bai of the Department of Surgery and Department of Medicine at Dr C. Bonorino Udaondo Gastroenterology Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    They reported on the cases of five morbidly obese patients diagnosed with celiac disease during...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 08/04/2014 - Can excluding gluten, the protein complex present in many cereals, help to prevent diseases other than celiac disease? Seeking to gain insight into the effects of gluten-free diets on obesity, and its mechanisms of action, a research team set out to assess whether gluten exclusion can prevent the development and expansion of adipose tissue.
    Specifically, they wanted to determine if a gluten-free diet reduces adiposity, inflammation and insulin resistance associated with the induction of PPAR-alpha and PPAR-gamma expression. The researchers included F.L. Soares, R. de Oliveira Matoso, L.G. Teixeira, Z. Menezes, S.S. Pereira, A.C. Alves, N.V. Batista, A.M. de Faria, D.C. Cara, A.V. Ferreira, and J.I. Alvarez-Leite. The are affiliated with the Departamento de...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 03/10/2015 - Up to now, celiac disease has been described only in sporadic cases of obesity. A research team recently set out to evaluate retrospectively celiac disease rates in a large group of overweight/obese children and adolescents.
    The research team included Raffaella Nenna, Antonella Mosca, Maurizio Mennini, Raffaele E. Papa, Laura Petrarca, Roberta Mercurio, Monica Montuori, Alessandra Piedimonte, Maria Bavastrelli, Ilaria C. De Lucia, Margherita Bonamico, and Andrea Vania.
    For their study, the team consecutively evaluated 1,527 overweight/obese children and adolescents, 10 girls and 7 boys had positive celiac serology and showed villous atrophy.
    All celiac patients immediately began a well-balanced gluten-free diet, and rapid weight loss followed...


  • Recent Activity

    1. - cristiana replied to djmu's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      5

      Peripheral Neuropathy

    2. - Tlbaked13 replied to djmu's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      5

      Peripheral Neuropathy

    3. - trents replied to djmu's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      5

      Peripheral Neuropathy

    4. - shadycharacter replied to Linedancegal's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      5

      25 year biopsy confirmed/ate pizza with no ill effects?

    5. - Tlbaked13 replied to djmu's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      5

      Peripheral Neuropathy


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,467
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    MorticiaCat
    Newest Member
    MorticiaCat
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Popular Now

    • Linedancegal
    • Hannah24
      7
    • jessiemariecar
    • Rhonda H
    • HayleyC123
  • Popular Articles

    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
  • Upcoming Events

×
×
  • Create New...