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The Effect of Hyperthyroidism on Weight in Women

By: Aslynn Brockway
Bay de Noc Community College

Why are women with hypothyroidism at a higher risk of gaining weight

than women with hyperthyroidism? I chose to ask this question because my
mom has hypothyroidism and I know she struggles with losing weight, but on
the contrast a girl that went to my school has hyperthyroidism and cant
seem to keep weight on. It seems like a very simple explanation. Most people
understand that hypo means less and hyper means more. So because of
the very brief explanation we can see that hypothyroidism means the thyroid
makes less hormones while hyperthyroidism means the thyroid makes more
hormones. Then through research I was able to understand what hormone is
involved and exactly how this affects weight. First I looked at MD Robert
Sargis article titles, How Your Thyroid Works: Controlling hormones
essential to your metabolism. One of the first things that you read is, The
function of the thyroid gland is to take iodine, found in many foods, and
convert it into thyroid hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).
(Sargis, 2015) But if you think anything like me you wonder how it does this.
Most people with a little bit of background understand that the pituitary
gland is the control of the thyroid and the control of the pituitary is the
hypothalamus. These different glands help the thyroid because the pituitary
gland makes Thyroid Stimulating Hormones (TSH) and the hypothalamus
gland makes TSH Releasing Hormones (TRH). (Sargis, 2015) It is then that we
must look at MD James Normans article on hypothyroidism. James discusses
that if too little thyroid hormone is secreted, hypothyroidism is diagnosed.
(Norman, 2014) In her article, which was reviewed by MD Niya Jones,

Elizabeth Shimer Bowers says So when something goes awry that leads to
underactive thyroid or overactive thyroid, your metabolism either revs up too
high or slows way down. (Bower, Jones, 2013) So with what we know from
previous reading, when the thyroid is slower (hypothyroidism), metabolism
slows down as well, causing weight gain and when the thyroid is faster
(hyperthyroidism), the metabolism speed up causing weight loss.
Because of what I found, I can say that I did find my answer and it was
exactly as I thought it would be. It affects patient care because you would
have to find what way the thyroid is being effected to know the correct care
to give a patient. I would love recommendations to help me know if I
examined my question thoroughly or if there is more explaining and research
I should do.

References
Bowers, E., Jones, N., Hypothyroidism vs. Hyperthyroidism: What's the
Difference?. (2013, April 25). Retrieved October 12, 2015.
Norman, J., Hypothyroidism: Too Little Thyroid Hormone. (2014, May 27).
Retrieved October 13, 2015.
Sargis, R., How Your Thyroid Works: Controlling hormones essential to your
metabolism. (2015, March 23). Retrieved October 12, 2015.

Worksheet 3.1 Evaluation Flowchart and Checklist (page 2)

Your evaluation:
Having filled in the flowchart, what conclusion have you reached? Is this a
good source for your research project?
Does the author or organization have the proper experience and
qualifications to provide this information?
o If written by an organization, is the organization well known
and trusted?
o Does the organization have a positive (altruistic) purpose in
providing this information?
o Does the source contain a bibliography or other references
to show the source of the information?
Has this source been through a formal publication process? Has it been edited or
reviewed?
o Does the site contain any bias? If so, can you find a way to
balance the bias with information from other sources?
Finally, is it up to date? Is this important for your topic?
Summary (What is your overall evaluation, based on the checklist and your
flowchart? Is this a suitable source for your academic research?
What evidence supports your decision?)
__I feel as if this article is also a good article to use because it provides the
writers name which is also then linked so you can click on it and go see
his experience. A date is given for when the information was last updated
and there is no outside sources or bias comments. Plus, this doctor is very
well-known ___________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________

Source information:
Title: _Hypothyroidism: Too Little Thyroid Hormone _______________________
Author (if listed): _James Norman MD, FACS, FACE__
_____________________________________________________________
Organization (if provided):
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________

URL (if provided):

http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-toolittle-thyroid-hormone______________________
Other information useful for finding this source again or for citing it
later: _Last updated on May 27, 2014
_
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
Worksheet 3.1 Evaluation Flowchart and Checklist (page 2)

Your evaluation:
Having filled in the flowchart, what conclusion have you reached? Is this a
good source for your research project?
Does the author or organization have the proper experience and
qualifications to provide this information?
o If written by an organization, is the organization well known
and trusted?
o Does the organization have a positive (altruistic) purpose in
providing this information?
o Does the source contain a bibliography or other references
to show the source of the information?
Has this source been through a formal publication process? Has it been edited or
reviewed?
o Does the site contain any bias? If so, can you find a way to
balance the bias with information from other sources?
Finally, is it up to date? Is this important for your topic?
Summary (What is your overall evaluation, based on the checklist and your
flowchart? Is this a suitable source for your academic research?
What evidence supports your decision?)
__I feel as if my article is a good article to use because it provides the
writers name which is then linked so you can click on it and go see his
experience, which we can see has to do with thyroid knowledge. A date is
given for when the information was last updated and there is no outside
sources or bias comments. ___________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________

Source information:

Title: _How Your Thyroid Works: Controlling hormones essential to your

metabolism _______________________
Author (if listed): _Robert Sargis MD, PhD__
_____________________________________________________________
Organization (if provided):
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________
URL (if provided): http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/howyour-thyroid-works______________________
Other information useful for finding this source again or for citing it
later: _Last updated on March 23, 2015
_
______________________________________________________________
Worksheet 3.1 Evaluation Flowchart and Checklist (page 2)

Your evaluation:
Having filled in the flowchart, what conclusion have you reached? Is this a
good source for your research project?
Does the author or organization have the proper experience and
qualifications to provide this information?
o If written by an organization, is the organization well known
and trusted?
o Does the organization have a positive (altruistic) purpose in
providing this information?
Does the source contain a bibliography or other references to show the
source of the information?
Has this source been through a formal publication process? Has it been edited or
reviewed?
o Does the site contain any bias? If so, can you find a way to
balance the bias with information from other sources?
Finally, is it up to date? Is this important for your topic?
Summary (What is your overall evaluation, based on the checklist and your
flowchart? Is this a suitable source for your academic research?
What evidence supports your decision?)
__I feel as if my article is a good article to use because it provides the
writers name which is then linked so you can click on it and go see his
experience, which we can see has to do with thyroid knowledge. A date is
given for when the information was last updated and there is no outside
sources or bias comments. ___________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________

Source information:
Title: _ Hypothyroidism vs. Hyperthyroidism: What's the Difference?
_______________________
Author (if listed): _Elizabeth Bowers and Niya Jones MD, MPH__
___________________________________________________
Organization (if provided):
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________
URL (if provided): http://www.everydayhealth.com/thyroidconditions/hypothyroidism-vs-hyperthyroidism-whats-thedifference.aspx_____
Other information useful for finding this source again or for citing it
later: _Last updated on April 25, 2013
_