Weight loss in Parkinson's predicts poor outcomes - which raises the question; what's worse, losing weight or eating sugar?

[MBAnderson]

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Patients with lower initial body weight and weight losers have a higher risk of developing dyskinesia.

Weight losers are at risk of higher mortality and poor quality of life.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/253...

Weight loss in Parkinson’s disease patients increases the risks for dementia and dependency care, and reduces patients’ life expectancy, according to a new study.

parkinsonsnewstoday.com/201...

19 Foods to gain weight quickly

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

How to gain weight if you can't eat sugar

wikihow.com/Gain-Weight-if-...

how to gain weight without sugar

livestrong.com/article/2523...

artificial sweeteners associated with weight gain

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

[aspergerian]

Is this runoff from washing the hogs?

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/253...

[MBAnderson in reply to aspergerian]

Ha.

[ge1shh]

'How did this post make me feel?', it asks above. Well, a bit depressed really! I have always been underweight and lost more around the time of diagnosis a year or so ago. Despite the advice of a dietician, I didn't gain any weight fir ages, and just stopped worrying about it. Dropped some of the extra bulk eating she recommended. A few months ago, I realized I had put some weight back on! It seems to have no relation to what I'm eating. I think the Parkinsons weight loss may be connected to stomach problems, in my case frequency, sometimes diarrhoea instead of the constipation normally associated with PD. The condition of the stomach seems to influence the fluctuations of weight.

[Kevin51]

I would have guessed the key concern should be muscle loss and BMI is

more important than weight. So as work those muscles and eat lots of good protein (not at the same time as taking meds of course!).

[Johnny_joe]

I have a problem with weight loss. Until now. Bring on the food!

[Motherfather]

well im losing weight but putting on more muscle from lots of exercise i have abs now on my tummy legs more solid does that mean if i lose weight im going to get all the things that are mentioned here, stopped eating meat as hard to swallow it, eating more healthy as well no more choco;ate sweet cakes etc etc im 5.11 and now 73 kg just about right for my size.whats your thinking.

[MBAnderson in reply to Motherfather]

Mother father, if you're asking me what's my thinking, it sounds to me like you're doing everything right. Do you calculate your BMI as 22.3? If that's right, you're doing good.

[caveman_jay]

i agree with Kevin51, lift weights, add muscle. you will put weight back on. good luck and stay positive!

[Celtis]

Thanks for that post. Gave me lots to think about. I tried eating more carbs - good carbs, carrots, nuts, cranberries, sweet potato - and I did gain weight forthwith. But my ankles swelled as they haven't for some time now. What I think is that I have lost weight partly because the keto diet which is what we do, does that. i e I was always trying to lose weight. I have to change my mindset. Add in milk and fruit maybe. Not sugar although chocolate is tempting.

What I realise from your posts is that my weight loss is as much about not enough exercise as it is about what I eat. I have been really ill - not pd - and now that I am better I need to walk much more and find out about training to build muscle.

[justhavefun2]

How can I sign up for the PD weight loss symptom? I work out, eat/sleep well and I have a very tough time losing weight. Guess I am just a different snowflake...or more appropriately, a snowblower! 😖

[fwes]

Is this Science or a Parlor Trick? From the Paper Conclusion:

(1. Observation) Weight loss occurs in early parkinsonism and is greater in atypical parkinsonism than in PD. (2. Speculation) Early weight loss in parkinsonism has prognostic significance, and (3. Leap of Faith) targeted dietary interventions to prevent it may improve long-term outcomes.

They have only established CORRELATION,not CAUSATION. In the absence of causation "prognostic significance" is a statistical term that is used to compare the relative strengths of correlating factors under a stationarity hypothesis: the analyzed population (used in the study) is representative of the target population (us). "Targeted dietary interventions" is one way to void the stationarity hypothesis.

The standard example: Observations show that humans with long hair live longer. (The causative factor here is gender, not hair length!)