In our last post, we talked about the effect of underweight. This time, we will discuss on the factors that lead to underweight. Generally, there are many causes of underweight. Here, we divide it into four categories:
在我们上一篇文章中，我们谈到了体重不足的影响。这一次，我们将讨论导致体重不足的原因。一般来说，体重不足的原因有很多。在这里，我们将其分为四类：
1. Lifestyle / 生活方式
– Inadequate calorie intake / 热量摄入不足
A person eating less calories than that is required for their normal body function and their physical activity level may experience underweight as the energy consumed is more than that is used up.
当一个人所摄入的卡路里少于正常身体功能和身体活动所需的卡路里时，可能 会因为消耗的能量多于摄入的能量而导致体重不足。
– Excessive physical activities / 过渡的体力活动
If a person burns more energy through physical activities than what they consume, it may result in them becoming underweight.
如果一个人通过体力活动所消耗的能量多于摄入的能量，可能会导致他们体重不足。
2. Physical Health Problems / 身体健康问题
– Poor Dentition / 牙列不良
Elderly especially, who have poor dentition or dental problems can have chewing difficulty, which, as a result, causes them to eat less and become underweight.
牙列不好或有牙齿问题的人，尤其是年长者，可能会出现咀嚼困难，因而导致他们吃得少而体重不足。
– Hyperthyroidism / 甲亢
People with hyperthyroidism experience high metabolic rate which can cause them to be underweight.
患有甲状腺功能亢进症的人会经历高代谢率，这可能导致他们体重不足。
– Cancer / 癌症
Cancer and its treatment can cause changes in metabolism, which results in reduction of weight. Appetite change may also occur due to mouth dryness, constipation, change of taste, difficulty chewing or swallowing, nausea and vomiting.
患有癌症及其治疗会引起新陈代谢的变化，从而导致体重减轻。口干、便秘、味觉改变、咀嚼或吞咽困难、恶心和呕吐也可能导致食欲改变。
– Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) / 人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）
HIV leads to ease of exposure towards infection, which in turn can lead to a variety of health problems such as change in digestive system including mouth sores and stomach pain. This causes reduced appetite, leading to weight loss.
爱滋病病毒导致一个人易于感染，这反过来又会导致各种健康问题，例如消化系统的变化，包括口疮和胃痛。这会导致食欲下降，从而导致体重不足。
– Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) / Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) /
肠易综合征（IBS）或炎症性肠病（IBD）
IBS can cause bowel discomfort which requires a person to avoid certain food to reduce the symptoms. Excessive food avoidance can lead to undernutrition and underweight. IBD on the other hand can cause many signs and symptoms including diarrhoea and appetite loss, causing weight loss.
肠易综合征可引起肠道不适，这需要一个人避免食用某些食物以减轻症状。过度避免食用食物会导致营养不足和体重不足。另一方面，炎症性肠病会引起许多症状，包括腹泻和食欲不振，从而导致体重不足。
3. Mental Health Problems / 心理健康问题
– Eating disorders / 饮食失调
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder can cause a person to become underweight as the calorie consumption is restricted.
饮食障碍，如神经性厌食症和回避/限制性食物摄取障碍会导致一个人体重不足，因为卡路里的消耗受到限制。
– Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) / 身体变形障碍（BDD）
A person with BDD can be overly concerned with body weight, shape, and overall body size, which then may lead to calorie restriction, contributing to weight loss.
患有身体变形障碍的人可能会过度关注体重、体型和整体体型，这可能会导致摄取卡路里的限制，从而导致体重不足。
– Depression / Stress / Anxiety / 抑郁/压力/焦虑
Aside from mood and emotional change, depression and anxiety can cause physical symptoms including change in appetite. Losing appetite results in reduction of food intake and weight loss.
除了情绪变化外，抑郁和焦虑还会导致身体症状，包括食欲变化。食欲不振会导致食物摄取量减少和体重不足。
– Dementia / 失智
People with dementia often has reduced food intake, causing loss of weight.
失智症患者的食物摄取量通常会减少，从而导致体重不足。
4. Others / 其他
– Genetics / 遗传
Just like overweight, being underweight may also be an effect of genetics.
就像超重一样，体重不足也可能会受遗传的影响。
A lot of other factors, such as environment and socioeconomic background can also lead to being underweight.
许多其他因素，例如环境和社会经济背景也可能导致体重不足。
Then, how exactly do we manage underweight? We will discuss in detail about this topic on the next part of our post.
那么，我们究竟要如何管理体重不足？我们将在下一章详细讨论这个主题。
