Products to Help Weight Gain Pills

People decide to gain weight for a number of reasons---they might feel too thin, or maybe they are into competitive bodybuilding. Whatever the reason, there are a number of ways to go about it, and one way that is growing in popularity is weight gain pills. These pills often advertise rapid weight gain with little to no special diet or exercise. Are they too good to be true?

Purpose

• Some use these pills to help with competitive bodybuilding.

  Buzzle.com cites that weight gain pills often advertise that they work by increasing your appetite. Furthermore, by putting on weight, your metabolism will slow down, causing you to gain even more.

  People take these pills in order to gain weight for health reasons or while bodybuilding. Manufacturers of the pills claim that you can gain muscle without exercise by taking their product.

Composition

• Weight gain supplements are primarily composed of vitamins.

  Most commercially available weight gain pills are essentially multivitamins containing vitamins A, D3, E, riboflavin, B12 and others. One popular brand, VitaSalveo's Weight Gain Plus, is primarily a mixture of vitamins, whey protein and soy protein.

Effectiveness

• Weight gain pills will not typically result in rapid weight gain when used alone.

  While the pills can increase appetite, they will do this no more than the average vitamin supplement. Furthermore, the pills themselves do not cause weight gain. The individual taking the pill must make a concerted effort to consume more calories. Otherwise these pills will not cause weight gain.

Negative Health Effects

• Weight gain may adversely affect your health.

  Currently, the World Health Organization still uses the body mass index (BMI) as a measure for obesity. It is important when gaining weight to pay attention to the scale and BMI classification.

  If you attempt to gain weight with just a pill and no special diet or exercise, you may put yourself at risk for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Rapid weight gain may also put stress and strain on the body's joints and may trigger arthritis and arthritislike symptoms.

Expert Insight

• Monitor your blood pressure if gaining weight.

  Terry Banawich, author on bodybuilder.com, warns that bodybuilding and weight gain for the purpose of bodybuilding, can put you at risk for high cholesterol and high blood pressure as well. The added weight and pressure can put a strain on the heart, and may not be healthy for everyone.

Warning

• Weight gain should be done under a doctor's supervision. If you experience edema (swelling of extremities), chest pains, palpitations or aches, consult a doctor immediately.