Sunita Williams Weight Loss: NASA Astronaut Refutes ‘Rumours’, Says Experiencing Fluid Shift, Exercising Regularly

Sunita Williams, who is spending an extended time in space has refuted rumours about her “dangerous weight loss” while she has been staying at the International Space Station for almost six months now. The NASA Astronaut, however, said her thighs and butts had become a “little bigger”.

In the latest video, Williams said her weight was the same as before her space mission began. "There are a lot of changes that go on here but...it's funny I think there are some rumours around outside that I am losing weight...I'm right at the same amount," she said. "I'm the same weight that I was when I got up here. I think things shift around quite a bit...," Williams said.

Explaining all about the "fluid shift” she is experiencing, Williams said the head of people in space looks "a little bit bigger because the fluids even out along the body". During spaceflight, weightlessness instantly shifts blood and fluids from the lower portion of the body to the upper areas.

Williams said her exercise routine at the International Space Station has also played a part in her current looks. “Butch [Wilmore] and I have been up here for several months. We have been in the workout here,” she said. "We've got a bike, we got a treadmill, and we got weightlifting equipment, and I could tell that weightlifting, which is not something I do all the time, has changed me," Williams added.

She added, "My thighs are a little bigger, my butt is a little bit bigger. We do a lot of squats and just go back to the treadmill."

Williams said she and her colleague Butch have been working out to maintain bone density. "...it's because we're working on our bone density in our hips and in our feet. I think my body has changed a little bit, but I weigh the same," she added.

According to studies conducted by NASA, more than half of American astronauts on the space station experience structural and functional changes in space to their eyes, likely due to the lack of gravity.

Research says in space, the shift of fluid in the body upward increases volume and pressure in the head, most noticeably seen as swelling in the retina, a critical part of the visual system. Studies on how the fluid shift affects vision and the brain and why some astronauts are affected more than others – are currently undergoing.

According to various experts, a fluid shift likely would not result in the 'decreased nutritional appearance' shown in recent photos. Various experts say images of Williams from the ISS do not show she has had a healthy body weight. "This, to me, strikes me as low nutrition - low-calorie intake,” Dr. David Shaker, an internist at Holy Name Physicians in Hackensack, New Jersey, told DailyMail.com.

He suggested Williams' nutritional deficit could be the result of physiological symptoms of anxiety or depression due to her circumstances. However, there has been no clear evidence to suggest that her mental health has been suffering.

In September, fears about Williams' health were sparked by an image, showing her with what was being described as a ‘gaunt’ face and ‘sunken cheeks'. However, NASA's chief health and medical officer, Dr. JD Polk, said all NASA astronauts aboard the ISS “are in good health".

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