Managing your weight can be tricky with MS as symptoms of the condition, and some medications, can cause your weight to fluctuate seemingly erratically.
Why is maintaining a healthy weight important?
Maintaining a healthy weight is important to help reduce the risk of diseases such as:
MS diagnosis aside, a healthy weight allows you to move around more easily, not tire so quickly and puts less pressure on your joints and functional systems.
Weight gain in MS
Weight gain is MS is common, studies show that over 50% of PwMS are overweight - often as a result of:
Weight loss in MS
Weight loss can also occur in PwMS for many reasons:
Weight can be tricky to manage as every PwMS experiences their symptoms differently; finding the best combination of treatment and lifestyle-management strategies can seem ongoing; remember whilst weight management is important in both helping to manage symptoms and to help prevent further conditions it is only one piece of the MS jigsaw.
Why is maintaining a healthy weight important?
Maintaining a healthy weight is important to help reduce the risk of diseases such as:
- heart disease
- stroke
- diabetes
- high blood pressure
- certain cancers
MS diagnosis aside, a healthy weight allows you to move around more easily, not tire so quickly and puts less pressure on your joints and functional systems.
Weight gain in MS
Weight gain is MS is common, studies show that over 50% of PwMS are overweight - often as a result of:
- some medications
- reduced mobility
- reduced ability to exercise
- loss of self esteem and confidence
- depression resulting in lack of motivation to exercise or 'get out and about', even if you are physically able, or
- overeating as a result of these emotional difficulties
Weight loss in MS
Weight loss can also occur in PwMS for many reasons:
- decreased appetite resulting from depression and cognitive impairment, fatigue or relapse
- difficulty with swallowing (dysphagia) making it difficult to take in the required amount of energy from food
- side effects of some medications may suppress appetite
Weight can be tricky to manage as every PwMS experiences their symptoms differently; finding the best combination of treatment and lifestyle-management strategies can seem ongoing; remember whilst weight management is important in both helping to manage symptoms and to help prevent further conditions it is only one piece of the MS jigsaw.
Sources:
MS Trust (2004) Diet Factsheet
NHS choices (2016) Losing weight
Public Health England (PHE)
MS Trust (2004) Diet Factsheet
NHS choices (2016) Losing weight
Public Health England (PHE)
