We have come across the rumor that some gamblers lose weight easily. So, is there a cause-and-effect relationship between gambling and weight loss?

Dopamine

This is a neurotransmitter that is in charge of us feeling rewarded and happy because of an experience. It also appears during things that makes us happy, or excited – like computer games, sex, alcohol, gambling, narcotics, or even a simple, yet very competitive, sports game against your friends and acquaintances.

As you can see, it has a tendency to appear during risky behavior. After a while, there is a priority on the object at hand, rather than everyday life. It is something that every potential addict must be on the lookout for. This is the reason a huge majority of casinos and gambling websites tell their patrons to gamble responsibly.

Where Does Weight Loss Fit?

Do you know that one friend of yours, who was a little bit too obsessed with video games, and always pale and fragile due to the fact that his body weight was well below normal? It is not just that he would forget to eat (though, that would happen fairly often as well), he would eat junk food, and he would have, maybe, one meal a day. Beware the dopamine, the chemical that shifts a person’s focus away from food and social interactions.

Is Dopamine the Only Culprit?

To be honest, there is the issue of hormonal disbalance as well. Gambling is romanticized as a forbidden fruit that is best enjoyed at night, and that upsets our circadian rhythm. The body gets confused with what time of day it is, with a bunch of lights, music and the overwhelming amount of other stimuli as well.

There is an old casino trick that capitalizes on this – the front door and windows (if any) are shaded, and there are no clocks inside the establishment. You have no idea when you came in and how much time passed before you got out.

The disbalance leads to weight loss (or gain), problems sleeping, mood swings, and a constant feeling of being tired and stressed.

So, What Should I Do?

As everyone and their grandma has told time and time again, play responsibly. The best way to enjoy gaming is knowing what it could do. Remember that you are doing this for fun, not as a calling.

As to what to do with the extra weight you might have put on that made you interested in the content of this piece in the first place, we recommend that you choose an exercise program and stick to it. There is definitely a connection between gambling and weight loss, but it is not a healthy one. Alternatively, you can do your research on the up-and-coming trend of betting on yourself against your weight. There are a lot of names for it, like Diet bet and Weight Loss bet.