The short answer
Steroids are often given during cancer treatment, and they increase appetite and make you want to eat more. NCI's suggestion for people on steroids is to build meals around foods high in fiber and protein so you stay full longer. This is a medicine effect, not a lack of willpower.
Steroids given during cancer treatment increase appetite and make you want to eat more.
NCI suggests eating foods high in fiber and protein at each meal to help you stay full.
Increased appetite and cravings can also come from the cancer itself or other medicines used with treatment.
Weight gain during treatment is more common with ovarian, breast or prostate cancer.
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This page is for people whose appetite has gone up while taking steroids during cancer treatment. It covers why it happens, what to eat, and when to call your care team.
It is the medicine, not you
Steroids are often given during cancer treatment. One thing they do is increase appetite and make you want to eat more.
This matters, because many people on steroids quietly decide they have lost control of themselves. You have not. You were given a drug that is known to turn up hunger, and it is doing that.
The hunger is a side effect. Treat it like one.
What NCI suggests eating
NCI's advice for people taking steroids is to try to eat foods high in fiber and protein at each meal, so you stay full.
The idea is simple. When hunger is turned up, foods that keep you full longer give you more comfortable time between meals.
In practice, that means putting a protein and a fiber source on the plate every time, rather than eating around the edges and then finding yourself back in the kitchen.
Where else the hunger can come from
Steroids are not the only possible source. NCI notes that increased appetite and food cravings that result in weight gain may occur from the cancer itself, from cancer treatment, or from medicines used with cancer treatment.
So if you take steroids along with several other drugs, you may not be able to pin the hunger on one of them. What matters is managing it.
Weight gain during treatment happens more often in people with ovarian, breast or prostate cancer.
The wider approach to weight gain
For managing weight gain, NCI's suggestions include:
- eating high-fiber foods
- choosing lean proteins
- planning meals ahead
- limiting fatty foods and sugary drinks
Planning ahead helps most. On steroid days, you make food choices while extra hungry. Deciding on Sunday what you will eat on Tuesday takes that choice out of the moment.
Being kind about it
Hunger may vary from day to day. Noticing your own pattern helps. It tells you which days need food already prepared.
Cravings can also land on very specific things. It can help to keep a couple of filling options you actually like, rather than only foods you think you should want.
And if the weight change is bothering you, say so at your appointment. A referral to a dietitian who works with cancer patients is a reasonable thing to ask for, and it is more useful than trying to build a plan on your own in the middle of treatment.
When to get help sooner
- Call your care team right away if the scale jumps suddenly, or the gain does not stop. NCI says to tell your doctor right away, and gives 5 pounds in a week as an example.
- Call your care team right away if you look or feel swollen. NCI says steroids can also add weight by making the body hold onto water.
- Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department for any trouble breathing, chest pain, or a rapid or irregular heartbeat. MedlinePlus's prednisone page says to call your doctor right away for an irregular heartbeat or shortness of breath. Because these can be serious, this page advises emergency care instead of waiting.
- Call your care team within a day or two if any weight change during treatment worries you, so they can work out the cause and the type of gain.
Sources
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/appetite-loss
Common questions
Why am I suddenly ravenous?
Steroids are frequently part of cancer treatment, and one of their known effects is to increase appetite and make you want to eat more. The hunger is the drug working on your body, not a character flaw.
What should I actually put on the plate?
NCI advises people taking steroids to try to eat foods high in fiber and protein at each meal, because those help you feel full.
Is the weight gain from steroids alone?
Not necessarily. NCI notes that increased appetite and food cravings that lead to weight gain may come from the cancer itself, from cancer treatment, or from medicines used along with treatment.
Should I try to lose the weight during treatment?
That is a decision for your care team, not something to start on your own. Bring it up at your next visit so any plan fits with your treatment.
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Sources last checked: 2026-08-11 what this meansLast updated: 2026-09-29Next planned review: 2027-08-11
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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