People With Celiac Disease More Likely to Be Obese

I’ve been following new research revealed at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in 2024. Beyond Celiac has been great about sharing key findings, and I want to share one of the studies that caught my eye.

Researchers from Florida’s Nova Southeastern University set out to determine the link between obesity and celiac disease.

They found that people with celiac disease are more likely to be obese than the general population. Obesity is defined as a person with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30.

Key Findings

• 33 percent of people with celiac disease are obese compared to 18 percent of the general population.
• More women than men with celiac disease are obese.
• Men with celiac disease are more likely to be obese than men who do not have celiac disease.
• People with celiac disease and who are older than 65 are more likely to be obese than younger celiacs.
• Researchers found high levels of Firmicute bacteria in the guts of both celiac patients and obese people, which could mean a possible correlation. That said, researchers acknowledged the need for more research to understand how the composition of the gut microbiome connects obesity and celiac disease.

I explore some of the reasons people with celiac disease gain weight in my article, 5 Causes of Celiac Disease-Related Weight Gain.

One of the main reasons people with celiac gain weight is their bodies are finally absorbing and retaining nutrients, so they must adjust to eating less food to sustain them.

People with celiac disease are often used to feeling bloated and full, but when these symptoms resolve with a gluten-free diet, the bloating and fullness go away, and a person with celiac may not know when to stop eating.

Of course, changes in the gut microbiome can also play a big role in weight gain, and people with celiac disease are no strangers to gut issues.

On the other side of the spectrum, a lot of people lose weight after going gluten-free. Why is this? Check out my article, Will I Lose Weight on a Gluten-Free Diet? 8 Ways Ditching Gluten Contributes to Weight Loss, for possible explanations.

About the Study

Researchers reviewed data from an estimated 407,000 participants, including about 1,800 with celiac disease.

You can learn more about the study on the Beyond Celiac website.