Top 10 causes of obesity

Obesity is one of the most common health conditions which many people are facing these days. To define obesity in simple terms, it is a lasting disorder where a body gains excess amount of fats/more than required fats.

Obesity leads to many serious health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, gallstones, etc. If left untreated, obesity can be damaging for health and eventually lead to death.

As such, obesity is mostly considered a lifestyle disorder but it can also occur due to prevailing health conditions. Moreover, obesity is difficult to treat as people who lose weight tend to regain it back within 5 years.

Medications and diet can help you lose weight and alleviate the risk but, the treatment of obesity is long-term commitment which involves healthy lifestyle and diet.

Let us look at the causes of obesity

10 causes of obesity:

1. Sedentary lifestyle

People who have very less physical activity or are inactive tend to burn fewer calories than their counterparts who are active. As per NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) there is a direct relation between weight gain and sedentary lifestyle in both males and females.

So, it is advised that people should frequently engage into some sort of physical activity. 

2. Overeating

Overeating is one of the leading causes of weight gain in people and it is more prominent if your diet consists of food which is high in fat. Foods which pack lots of calories in smaller quantities like fast food, fried food and sweets are main culprits. Many studies have shown that overeating of such kind of food has hand in weight gains.

It is better to limit eating of such high caloric and unhealthy food. If possible, you should eliminate these foods from your diet and shift to healthy eating. Other advice is to limit your diet as it is said that anything in excess is not good for health.

3. Diet consisting high simple carbs

Carbohydrates are also one of the reasons for weight gains, especially simple carbohydrates. Carbohydrates lead to increase in glucose level in your body, which causes pancreas to release insulin. Now, the insulin is responsible for growth of fat tissue and thus it can result into weight gain. 

Simple carbohydrates like sugars, fructose, desserts, soft drinks, etc. are easily broken and absorbed in bloodstream which in turn results into larger secretion of insulin and which in turn causes weight gain. 

You cannot simply cut carbohydrates from your body as it is one of the prominent and fast sources of energy. So, it is advised to replace simple carbs with complex carbs like brown rice, grains, vegetables, fruits, etc. which takes more time to break and thus the amount of insulin released is reduced. 

4. Frequent eating

Many people who are obese believe that eating less frequently will help them shed some pounds but, this is completely wrong. When your frequency of eating is low, you tend to eat bigger meals which results into insulin spikes and also causes drastic rise in blood sugar level. This eventually leads to gaining more weight instead of losing.

It is advised to eat around four to five meals in a day and the meals should be small. This will help in stable secretion of insulin in your body and also the blood sugar level is maintained. 

5. Diseases

If you already have any prevailing health condition, then it can be the cause of your obesity. People with diseases like hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome, resistance to insulin, etc. are likely to suffer with obesity and weight gains.

For people with such kind of diseases, it is advised to consult with your doctors and take proper medications.

6. Medications

Certain medications can have weight gain as its side effects. Medicines like anti-depressants, anticonvulsants, oral contraceptives, etc. can cause weight gain. The cause of weight gain can differ with different medications. 

If you may think this is your problem then, consult your doctor/physician rather than discontinuing your medicines. It is never advised to stop any medication without consulting your doctor.

7. Psychological Factors

It is observed that emotions can influence eating habits. Most of the people tend to eat excessively when sad, angry or under some kind of stress. Around 30% of the people who are suffering with weight problems tend to overindulge into eating due to their emotions.

To keep your emotions in check, meditate and do some physical exercise. Exercise and meditation greatly improve your mood.

8. Genetics

Sometimes it is not the person’s lifestyle fault for obesity but, it has to do with the genes. If a person’s one of the parent or both of the parents are obese then it is more likely for that person to be overweight. One of the common genetic of overweight is absence of leptin from body. Leptin sends signals to brain when body fat is too high and tells to eat less. But with the absence of this hormone, it is difficult to regulate eating.

There are many researches going on in this area.

9. Social Issues and Ethnicity

Social issues like lack of spaces to exercise and financial capacity to purchase healthy food can be a cause of weight gain. Also, it is very well observed that fast foods are lot cheaper when compared with healthier options.

Obesity is also observed in different ethnic groups. In many ethnicities people tend to rapidly gain weight in early age. For example, African-American women and Hispanic women gain weight earlier in life. Obesity rate is also high in Non-Hispanic black men and Hispanic men.

10. Childhood Weight

A person’s weight is also linked to weight during childhood/teenage years/early adult years. It is observed that people who were mildly over weight in early 20’s were overweight by the age of 35. Being overweight during childhood/teenage year also indicates obesity in adulthood.

So, it is necessary to keep our younger generation fit so that they can have healthy and better life ahead.

If you are suffering with obesity due to any of the above causes, let readers know what you are doing to overcome it in comment section.