Can anyone tell me why , medically, are these two bullets

true:

Obesity is one of the strongest risk factors for gallstones.

Rapid weight loss diets significantly increase the risk for gallstones.

I understand that there is a cause and effect relationship, but I am interested in the actual medical reason. I know there are a few nurses and some doctors that frequent the forum. Please help me to understand. To me, knowledge can help me avoid the situation (possibly).

Obesity reduces the number of bile salts in the bile, this causes more cholesterol. Obesity also prohibits the way the gallbladder empties.

When someone loses weight quickly such as an all protein/no fat diet the gallbladder doesn't function much. Think about it this way, when you eat fats and you have gallbladder problems, about an hour or so after eating you get gallbladder pain. It is the gallbladder trying to do its job.

When someone is on a low fat/no fat/high Protein diet the gallbladder never has a reason to function properly and the cholesterol that is in there doesn't empty, it forms stones.

When the person loses weight the gallbladder can empty more normally and many times people discover they have gallstones.

Thats pretty much what they told me when my gall bladder went evil last month. Its all about the cholesteral. At first I was confused because I had always had really good cholesteral and I was now eating a low fat diet, so shouldn't that mean there was less cholesterol, not more. I was even mad because I thought the doc was telling me my cholesteral had gone up. But no. It just so happens that most gallstones are made out of cholesterol. When we stop eating as much fat (like with weight loss) that causes the stones to form. Because we are obese, we had a lot of fat stored. So that means there is more fat that can become stones, or something like that.

I was always under the impression that weight loss of more than 2lb per week greatly increases the risk of developing gallstones, either silent or symptomatic ones. This is because of the change in proportion between bile salts and cholesterol in the gallbladder and the fact that low fibre and low fat eating cause the gallbladder to not contract as often as it should and therefore stones can develop.

Any diet low in plant/grain foods (and therefore low in fibre) or very low in calories and fat can cause this. Its a major risk after weight loss surgery of course because of the very fast weight loss that often happens.

Again, it would seem that moderation is your best defence, moderate calorie restriction, moderate weight loss, a little bit of all foods in moderation, and not too low a fat intake.

And lose weight once and lose it for good! If only hey? Most of us are probably host to silent gallstones due to our histories of dieting and regaining constantly.