Causes of Obesity
Causes of Obesity
Obesity is caused by an imbalance between the amount of calories consumed and the amount of energy expended. Common contributors include a high-calorie diet, lack of physical activity, genetic predisposition, certain medications, and medical conditions like hypothyroidism. Environmental factors and emotional eating can also play significant roles.
A person becomes obese when consuming too much food and not engaging in enough physical activity. To reduce the likelihood of gaining extra body fat, try monitoring your carbohydrate intake, particularly in foods like sugar-laden beverages and sweet desserts. Despite eating more than enough calories throughout the day, if you don't exercise regularly to burn it off, then chances are the energy will still be stored around the midriff region in a layer of subcutaneous fat, impacting one's waistline or on the thighs and buttocks.
How Calorie Surplus Leads to Obesity
Energy is measured in calories, meaning the number of calories in food equals its energy level. For instance, a typical active man requires around 2,500 calories daily, and a typical active woman needs around 2,000 calories.
The amount of calories a person consumes over time is essential to understanding their weight. The more calories you consume—whether from nutrition or empty-calorie, sugar-rich drinks and snacks—the more weight you'll gain. Your weight will decrease if you consume fewer calories than your body needs.
Eating a high-calorie meal like a large takeaway hamburger, fries, and a milkshake can total 1,500 calories in one sitting. This is one meal alone. Yet another concern is that most people who consume food do not use their body's physical exertion to counteract it, and many of the calories they take in end up as excess body fat.
Poor Diet and Its Role in Obesity
The single most significant cause of obesity is a poor diet. If you're eating excess calories, you will gain weight. The more refined your food is, the higher its calorie count is likely to be. Over time, if you don't cut back on calories and take in only healthy foods, your diet will become imbalanced, and you will begin to gain weight.
It takes time for someone to become obese. Slowly, over time, it develops as a result of poor food choices and lifestyle decisions, such as:
● Eating High-Fat, High-Sugar Processed Food And Fast Food.
● Drink too much alcohol – drinking is often closely tied to being overweight, as there are a lot of calories in alcohol.
● Eating out A Lot – you might also feel compelled to order appetisers or desserts while eating out, and they might have a higher fat and sugar content.
● Consuming more than your body needs – eating more when other people around you are eating large portions could also indicate overeating.
● Excessive consumption of sugary beverages, such as fruit juice and soft drinks.
● Comfort eating – you may eat to boost your self-esteem if you are feeling low or depressed.
There is a tendency for families to develop unhealthy eating habits. Parents may instil poor eating habits in their children at an early age and continue them into adulthood.
|
Unhealthy Habit |
Impact on Weight |
|---|---|
|
Regular consumption of fast food |
High in saturated fat and calories |
|
Drinking sugary beverages (soda, fruit juices) |
Adds “empty” calories with little nutrition |
|
Excessive alcohol intake |
Alcohol is calorie-dense and lowers metabolism |
|
Frequent eating out |
Larger portions, more fat/sugar in meals |
|
Comfort eating |
Often leads to overeating during stress/depression |
Lack of Exercise: A Leading Cause of Weight Gain
Obesity is often related to a lack of physical activity. Many people have jobs where they spend a significant portion of their day sitting at a desk. Besides walking or biking, cars are their only form of transportation.
People resort to viewing TV, going online, or playing computer games to de-stress.
If you're not physically active, you don't expend the energy given to you by the food you eat, and the body stores the extra energy
as fat.
Adults should exercise for at least 150 minutes a week, as recommended by the Department of Health and Social Care. This doesn't need to be all in one go but can be done in portions over the week. You could, for example, exercise for thirty minutes a day, five days a week.
Weight loss may require more exercise if you are overweight. The best course of action may be to start slowly and gradually increase the amount of activity you do every week.
|
Category |
Examples |
|---|---|
|
Dietary |
High-fat foods, sugary drinks, large portion sizes, frequent takeaways |
|
Lifestyle |
Sedentary job, minimal physical activity, prolonged screen time |
|
Genetic |
Family history of obesity, inherited appetite signals, slow metabolism |
|
Medical |
Hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, corticosteroids, antipsychotic drugs |
|
Emotional |
Comfort eating, stress, depression-related overeating |
How Genetics and Family History Influence Obesity
Your genes can significantly impact your body mass. Everyone is born with a specific DNA blueprint, and some people are naturally more predisposed to weight gain than others. If you were lucky enough to inherit genes that make it easy for you to maintain a healthy weight, congratulations! But if you weren't so fortunate, don't be discouraged—you can work with what you've got and still be in good shape.
Most people can lose weight, even if they suffer from rare genetic disorders that cause obesity.
If you inherit a significant appetite from your parents, losing weight may be more difficult, but it's still possible. While some genetic traits inherited from your parents, such as a large appetite, may make it more challenging to lose weight, that certainly does not make it impossible.
Environmental factors, such as poor eating habits acquired during childhood, often play a more significant role in obesity than genetic factors. In many cases, obesity has to do with environmental factors such as childhood eating habits.
Medical Conditions and Medications That Can Cause Obesity
There have been cases when underlying medical conditions have contributed to weight gain. These include:
● Low-functioning thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) - where your thyroid gland produces hormones in lesser quantities
● Cushing's syndrome – a disorder which produces high levels of hormones due to a deficit of adrenaline or cortisone
Despite the prevalence of these conditions, which often hinder weight loss, proper diagnosis and treatment can significantly reduce their impact.
Medicines like corticosteroids, drugs used to treat epilepsy and diabetes, and those used to treat mental illness, like antidepressants and medication for schizophrenia, can lead to weight gain.
|
Medical Issue or Drug |
Effect on Weight |
|---|---|
|
Hypothyroidism |
Slows metabolism, leading to weight gain |
|
Cushing’s Syndrome |
Causes excess fat storage, particularly in the torso |
|
Corticosteroids |
Increase appetite and fat retention |
|
Antidepressants/Antipsychotics |
Can cause metabolic changes and increased appetite |
|
Diabetes medications |
Some may promote weight gain depending on type |
