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Can You Be Overwieght And Have Celiac Disease?

hannahsue01

By hannahsue01
in Related Issues & Disorders

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hannahsue01 Enthusiast
hannahsue01
Posted

Everyone I know including my doctor thinks that you can't be overwieght and have this disease. They don't understand how when your body is being starved of nutriants how you can be overwieght. From what I have seen on other posts on here that many celiacs are overwieght. Frankly I don't know either and don't know how to explain it to them. Does anyone know the explanation to this?

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tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

I don't know any other way to explain it, but if you google for the NIH consensus paper on celiac disease, you'll find that even they note that you don't have to be under- or normal- weight to have celiac.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

Hi,

According to Dr. Peter Green, in his book "Celiac Disease--A Hidden Epidemic"--

"In a study done by the Mayo Clinic in 2003, approximmately 20 percent of patients diagnosed with Celiac Disease were overweight; many were obese, effectively eliminating the definition of Celiac Disease as a "wasting disease"."

In my own case, I was always about 20 pounds overweight until just before I was diagnosed--I was very ill and lost 15 lbs pretty quickly.

Guest nini
Guest nini
Posted

I've lost 110 pounds since my dx of Celiac and going gluten-free. I was skinny minny growing up, but in my early 20's I started putting on weight despite the fact that I was always on a diet and ate very little. It was explained to me this way, in some people the body is so malnourished and is starving and goes into survival mode, when it does this it holds onto the only thing it can which is the fat cells. I was classified as morbidly obese and I was so frustrated because I didn't eat that much at all. Now that I'm gluten-free, I eat whatever I want as long as it's gluten-free and treats in moderation, but the proof is in the weight loss. I went from a size 3x to a size 10.

jennyj Collaborator
jennyj
Posted

I was(am some) overweight when I finally was dx. Since Sept. I have lost over 35 pounds. I stayed pretty stable from Jan.-July but started losing again, without trying.

jacklyn1981 Newbie
jacklyn1981
Posted

Ok I saw this thread and felt compelled to post a reply.

YES you can be overweight and be a celiac.

I was Diagnosed months ago and i have been overweight all my life and i mean overweight. When my doctor told me i had celiac i went home and did research and thought ...This cant be me! I've never had trouble gaining weight! In fact i convinced myself it was a miss diagnosis until i went back to the Dr. and questioned him about being overweight and that i did not fit the typical celiac symptom of weight loss or had trouble gaining weight... he told me that it didn't matter ...that they found out that i was a celiac by accident they thought i had IBS till they took a biopsy of my intestines and did blood work to discover i was a celiac.

His final word was : We found out you were a celiac before it got to its advanced stages...had i gone on eating like i always did i would have eventually suffered from severe weight loss. Some people are just in different stages...thankfully they caught mine early.

Guest nini
Guest nini
Posted
Ok I saw this thread and felt compelled to post a reply.

YES you can be overweight and be a celiac.

I was Diagnosed months ago and i have been overweight all my life and i mean overweight. When my doctor told me i had celiac i went home and did research and thought ...This cant be me! I've never had trouble gaining weight! In fact i convinced myself it was a miss diagnosis until i went back to the Dr. and questioned him about being overweight and that i did not fit the typical celiac symptom of weight loss or had trouble gaining weight... he told me that it didn't matter ...that they found out that i was a celiac by accident they thought i had IBS till they took a biopsy of my intestines and did blood work to discover i was a celiac.

His final word was : We found out you were a celiac before it got to its advanced stages...had i gone on eating like i always did i would have eventually suffered from severe weight loss. Some people are just in different stages...thankfully they caught mine early.

You can also be in advanced stages like I was, and still be overweight.

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rinne Apprentice
rinne
Posted

I was slim through my twenties but in my thirties gained about 35 pounds which melted away this winter when I finally got really sick. Now I am glad I had the weight to lose.

ianm Apprentice
ianm
Posted

I am another former heavyweight. Once I cut the gluten the weight came right off.

PJKR Newbie
PJKR
Posted

The lady that first mentioned Celiac to me(she had it) had always been 40 or so lbs overweight. She said "I'm one of the big ones...lucky me!" She might not have had the perfect weight but she had the best attiude! I remember saying "It CAN'T be wheat! Wheat is in EVERYTHING!!!" She nodded her head yes while laughing her head off. She was right! PJ

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