While it was initially thought that chemotherapy itself did not directly effect metabolism, newer studies show that chemotherapy may be the cause of weight gain. This effect is seen more prominently in women undergoing ongoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. There are other factors that may also contribute to this weight gain such as an increase in food consumption, as well as decreased physical activity levels as indirect results of chemotherapy and cancer.
Previous Studies
Earlier research had confirmed that women being treated for breast cancer often exhibited signs of decreased metabolism or that they at the very least seemed to gain weight. Most evidence pointed to the fact that women were eating more to counteract the nausea that often comes as a side effect of chemotherapy. While this is just as likely, there is now evidence that in addition to this increase in food intake women undergoing chemotherapy were also suffering from slower metabolic rates as a direct result from the chemotherapy.
Metabolism
Metabolism is an overarching term for a network of enzymes and hormones that digest food and convert it into energy for the body to run on. Various factors can affect your metabolism, including genetic predisposition, thyroid problems, level of fitness, regular exercise, diet, weight and overall health.
Metabolism and Weight Gain
Your metabolic rate determines how efficiently your body burns calories, and thus effects weight loss and weight gain. A faster metabolism will cause you to burn more calories, and a slower one will burn fewer. If chemotherapy is responsible for changing the metabolism of women with cancer, it could be a factor in weight gain.
Recent Research
In more recent studies of women with breast cancer, their resting metabolic rate (RMR) was measured before, during and after chemotherapy to see if it changed in correlation with the administration of chemicals.
This research has shown that chemotherapy does in fact have the potential to decrease the RMR of women that participated in the study. The chemicals in their body were found to in fact change the metabolic requirements needed to burn calories and lead to weight gain
Other Factors
Chemotherapy alone is not completely responsible for weight gain in women. More correlative factors are at work, especially the onset of nausea. It is advisable to have a full stomach in order to prevent nausea when undergoing chemotherapy. Additionally, women experiencing the discomfort of nausea as a result of chemotherapy, as well as dizziness and loss of coordination, are likely to decrease their levels of physical activity. Both of these factors can lead to weight gain while on chemotherapy but not necessarily because of a change in metabolism.
Tags: weight gain, breast cancer, that chemotherapy, increase food, lead weight