Can Excessive Exercise Cause Inflammation Instead of Weight Loss?

In a recent interview, actor Vidya Balan opened up about her long-term battle with weight gain despite maintaining a regular workout routine and a balanced diet. She revealed that underlying inflammation in her body contributed to this for her weight challenges. By prioritizing a diet focused on reducing inflammation and scaling back excessive workouts, she was able to lose weight very quickly.

Although inflammation can be caused by weight gain, it usually happens when your body doesn’t get enough recovery time after vigorous exercise.

WHAT IS INFLAMMATION AND HOW IS IT LINKED TO WEIGHT GAIN?

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or infection. It helps protect and heal tissues, but can become chronic if it lasts for a long timeleading to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

Factors such as obesity and a poor diet can worsen inflammation. Research has shown that inflammation caused by excess body fat can contribute to a range of health problems.

Although both obesity and inflammation are separate processes in the body, they are closely linked, according to Dr. Naval Mendiratta, Senior Consultant, Rheumatology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute Gurugram, who explained how obesity and inflammation affect it each other and influence overall health.

“Obesity is a major cause of internal inflammation due to the excess white fat cells in the body. These cells release cytokines, chemicals that are typically part of the immune response, but in obesity they are produced abnormally,” says Dr. Mendiratta. told IndiaToday.in.

This abnormal production leads to chronic, low-level inflammation that can affect multiple organs.

While some people might wear excess fat without significant inflammationpeople with a higher Body Mass Index (BMI), especially above 24.5, are more likely to have elevated inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP).

“These inflammatory molecules can lead to health problems such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, and even affect vital organs such as the pancreas, heart and kidneys,” Dr. Mendiratta noted.

Statistics show that obese people are more than twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes and have a 50% higher risk of cardiovascular disease. compared to people with a healthy weight.

The intestines are also involved in this complex relationship. A newer concept, metabolic endotoxemia, suggests that obesity alters the gut microbiota, which in turn promotes inflammation, encouraging further fat storage in a cycle that can perpetuate obesity.

CAN EXERCISE CAUSE INFLAMMATION?

Indeed, excessive exercise may be linked to inflammation, especially in cases of overtraining or when the body does not have enough time to recover. This leads to an obstacle in losing weight.

Stress response: Intense and prolonged exercise can activate the body’s stress response, leading to an increase in inflammatory markers. This is a normal physiological response, but if there is excessive exercise or without adequate recovery, it can lead to chronic inflammation.

Muscle damage: High-intensity workouts can cause muscle microtrauma, resulting in pain and inflammation body works to repair damaged tissues. While this is part of the normal healing process, excessive damage can prolong inflammation and hinder recovery.

Impact on the immune system: While moderate exercise can boost the immune system, excessive exercise can actually suppress immune function. This can lead to a higher risk of infections and therefore increased inflammation.

Hormonal Imbalance: Overtraining can disrupt the balance of hormones such as cortisol, which can lead to an inflammatory response in the body. Elevated cortisol levels can contribute to chronic inflammation over time.

Fatigue and recovery: Inadequate rest and recovery can prevent the body from healing properly after intense workouts, which can lead to long-term inflammatory responses and possible injury.

To ensure a healthy body weight, finding a balance between exercise and diet can help reduce inflammation.