Symptoms of weight loss

Excess weight itself is often silent - the 'symptoms' are the ways it starts limiting the body and the signs that a medical cause might be involved.

Physical signs of carrying excess weight. Breathlessness on exertion or stairs, getting tired easily, joint and back pain (especially knees and lower back), excessive sweating, low stamina, poor sleep, and loud snoring - snoring with witnessed pauses in breathing suggests obstructive sleep apnoea, a real health risk needing evaluation. Skin-fold problems (rashes, fungal infections), reflux and heartburn, and reduced fitness for everyday activity are common.

Measurements that speak. Waist circumference matters as much as weight for Indians: over 80 cm in women and 90 cm in men signals elevated metabolic risk even at a 'normal' BMI. Asian-Indian BMI cut-offs are lower than Western ones - 23-25 is overweight and over 25 is obese for South Asians, because risk starts earlier in us.

Signs the weight may have a medical driver: rapid unexplained gain; gain with fatigue, cold intolerance, constipation, dry skin and hair fall (thyroid); irregular or scanty periods, acne and excess facial hair in women (PCOS); stretch marks that are wide and purplish, with a rounded face (cortisol excess). These patterns deserve testing, not just dieting.

Signs of the complications arriving: high blood pressure readings, abnormal sugar or cholesterol on tests, fatty liver on ultrasound, snoring with daytime sleepiness, limiting walking, and reduced fertility. These mean the weight has started causing disease - urgency, not panic, is the right response.