What Are the Causes of Losing Weight?

Many factors can contribute to weight loss. Diets, poor nutrition and various health conditions can cause your weight to plummet. It is important to address unexplained weight loss issues promptly to avoid further complications.

• An illness can bring about unintentional weight loss.

Causes

• Physical causes of unintentional weight loss include chronic infections, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, HIV, AIDS, cardiopulmonary disease and cancer. Mental causes include eating disorders, depression, grief, anxiety and loss of appetite.

Weight Loss in Infants and Toddlers

• Failure to thrive is the medical term for weight loss in infants and toddlers. This condition can be caused by many different factors, such as parents limiting their child's calorie intake, gastrointestinal conditions, chronic illness, lactose intolerance, metabolic disorders and infections.

Considerations

• If you have a teen or adolescent child who diets often, even though she is within a healthy weight range, talk to her about it and schedule an appointment with her pediatrician if you feel it's necessary. She may be grappling with an eating disorder.

Warning

• Visit your doctor if you have experienced unexplained weight loss of over 5 percent of your total body weight in less than a year. You may have an underlying medical attention that is causing your weight loss.

Prevention

• If you are suffering from an illness or losing weight due to medication, you may not be able to prevent weight loss completely. Talk to your doctor about your concerns and ask for a sample meal plan that will help keep your weight within the normal range.