Vidya Balan on how inflammation made her gain weight

Actor Vidya Balan, known for movies like Bhool Bhulaiya and Paa and hailed as one of the most versatile actors of Hindi cinema, recently spoke about her journey and struggle with weight gain. Vidya spoke of inflammation, a lesser known cause of weight gain.
At an event, Vidya spoke about how she was instructed not to workout and instead focus on her diet to reduce inflammation is interesting to discuss. It can be an eye opener for all young men and women who struggle to lose weight and blindly try several methods to get rid of stubborn fat.

What is inflammation and how does it lead to weight gain?

Inflammation can contribute to weight gain through several mechanisms that disrupt normal metabolic processes. When the body experiences chronic inflammation— often due to factors like poor diet, stress, lack of sleep, or underlying health conditions—it releases inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. These cytokines interfere with the normal functioning of insulin, a hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar. This leads to insulin resistance, where cells don’t efficiently take up glucose from the blood, prompting the body to store excess glucose as fat, especially around the abdominal area.
It disrupts leptin, the hormone that controls hunger and satiety. When inflammation is high, the leptin signaling in the brain becomes disrupted and makes it unable to realize that the body has already had enough energy stored. It can cause overeating and less energy expenditure, leading to weight gain.
It also raises the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, which increases fat storage, especially visceral fat.

What causes inflammation in the body?

Inflammation in the body can result from infections, injuries, unhealthy lifestyle habits, among other environmental toxins. The immune system initiates inflammation as a means of defense to eliminate injurious stimuli and initiate the healing process. Chronic inflammation, however, may pose health problems.
Another factor that may lead to inflammation is poor diet, mainly in those that contain excessive amounts of refined sugars and processed foods as well as unhealthy fats because they lead to more production of compounds that induce inflammation.
Exercise also helps control the onset of inflammatory reactions because most of it will help regularize immune responses.
Inflammation can also result from chronic stress, as stress usually increases the production of cortisol, leading to interference in normal functions of the immune system, thereby inducing more inflammation.

Other environmental factors include pollution, chemicals in the body, and smoking, all of which introduce toxins to the body that may elicit an inflammatory response.
Other causes of chronic inflammation include conditions such as obesity, autoimmune diseases, and long-term infections, both viral and bacterial.
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