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UCLA Health - Is My Adrenal Nodule Causing Me to Gain Weight? | UCLA Endocrine Center

Thumbnail of the video “UCLA Health - Is My Adrenal Nodule Causing Me to Gain Weight? | UCLA Endocrine Center”
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Author: UCLA Health
Categories: Health
Tags: health
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 15:01 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Main point (per Dr. Masha Livitz): if you have an adrenal nodule and unexplained weight gain, hormone testing with blood and/or urine tests can check whether the nodule is producing too much cortisol before assuming it is the cause. Most adrenal nodules are nonfunctioning and do not cause weight gain, but if cortisol is elevated along with symptoms, she says surgery will probably be recommended.

Key Points

  • Adrenal nodules are often found incidentally on CT or MRI scans done for unrelated reasons, and most are small and benign.
  • Excess cortisol can cause Cushing syndrome, with weight gain around the abdomen and upper back, moon face, easy bruising, thin skin, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar.
  • About 85% of adrenal nodules are nonfunctioning, which is why surgically removing every discovered nodule is not recommended.
  • Testing also checks aldosterone (which can cause high blood pressure and low potassium) and catecholamines (which can cause episodic high blood pressure, fast heart rate, sweating, and headaches).
  • Long-term cortisol excess can raise the risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, and heart disease.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: If you have been gaining weight and have been told you have an adrenal nodule, ask for hormonal testing using blood and/or urine tests to check for hormone overproduction, specifically cortisol, aldosterone, and catecholamines.
  • Concrete instructions: If the nodule is not very large and all hormone tests are normal, the nodule likely does not require treatment or surgery.
  • Concrete instructions: If the nodule produces excess cortisol along with signs such as unexplained weight gain, Dr. Livitz says surgery will probably be recommended; discuss this with your own clinician.
  • The speaker, Dr. Masha Livitz, is an endocrine surgeon at UCLA Health; the video is general educational content and not individualized medical advice.
  • The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys and regulate salt and water balance (affecting blood pressure), metabolism, and the stress response.

Bottom Line

Weight gain from an adrenal nodule is uncommon, and it is only likely if hormone testing shows the nodule is making excess cortisol.