Why is it easy to gain weight in winter?

(Baonghean.vn) - Why is it easy to gain weight in winter? Many people always wonder about this problem, when the weather starts to get cold, many people's weight loss efforts are less effective. So what is the reason?

Nutrition and anti-obesity experts in the UK have explained the reasons why we easily become obese below:

1. Sleep in

Cold weather makes you want to sleep in. Sleeping in too much will disrupt your biological clock, causing you to gain weight quickly. Try to get into the habit of waking up on time to keep your figure and your health.

2. Eat a lot to keep warm

This is a common misconception, says Ahmed Ahmed, consultant gastroenterologist and bariatric surgeon at Bupa Cromwell Hospital, who says that overweight people are actually more susceptible to cold. “The fat that accumulates from overeating is usually white fat tissue, whereas the fat that keeps the body warm is brown fat, which is only found in children and is genetic,” explains Dr Ahmed.

3. Always feel hungry

Your body maintains its temperature very well, even in cold weather, says Jeremy Tomlinson, an endocrinologist at the University of Birmingham. So why does hunger always haunt you? It may be due to melatonin, a hormone that causes a feeling of darkness and makes us sleepy, and can also be a factor in cravings.

In most mammals, melatonin levels increase during cold weather to help them cope with reduced food availability. But some species have the opposite response, with melatonin levels dropping, leading to hunger and weight gain, such as humans.

4. Craving for sweets and indigestion

Professor Craig Jackson, head of the Department of Psychology at Birmingham City University, says that in the colder months our happiness levels are lower, known as boredom, largely because we feel bored when it's cold, damp and dark.

Studies show that when we’re bored, we tend to eat twice as much as usual to get our mood back. However, high-sugar snacks will inevitably lead to a sudden drop in blood sugar, making you crave even more high-energy foods. This will cause your blood sugar to spike and fall, and you’ll store the excess calories as fat.

5. Watch TV continuously

During the warmer months, we tend to head to the park or beach for some fresh air and fun. But in winter, we tend to stay on the sofa. “If we’re not outside and stuck indoors, we’re more likely to engage in eating-related activities, like sitting on the sofa watching TV,” says Professor Jackson. He suggests keeping a food diary and thinking carefully about what you’re eating. Dr Ahmed also recommends maintaining an exercise routine, even in the cold, to burn off some calories.

6. Wearing too tight clothes

To avoid the cold wind, on winter days, people often choose to wear tight clothes. There is nothing wrong with this, but if you wear clothes like that all day, your body will not be able to absorb vitamin D from the sunlight.

This gives excess fat a chance to accumulate more. Every day, you should spend about half an hour for your body to absorb vitamin D from sunlight because vitamin D has the effect of burning excess fat quickly, thereby helping to lose weight more effectively.

Lazy to exercise when it's cold

Know how to control your diet well because when it's cold, our bodies will be more comfortable and you almost always feel hungry, hungry quickly and everything tastes good. If you don't want to gain weight quickly, prepare yourself a lot of dishes from fresh fruits and vegetables.

Everyone thinks, in this cold weather, how can you go out to exercise and so you sit at home for hours. Very quickly, your body will gain weight visibly, from eating to sitting, your waist will accumulate a lot of fat. Be diligent in exercising to prevent weight gain.

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