Causes of Obesity – Short Summary
Genetic, environmental, psychological, and other factors all play a part. Here are some of the more common causes of obesity.
Genetics and Obesity
Obesity tends to run in families, which suggests a genetic link. However, although children of obese parents have a 25-30 percent extra liklihood of becoming obese themselves, part of this increased risk of obesity is due to poor family eating habits and nutrition, rather than an ‘obesity gene.’ In any event, the fact that obesity has increased so much in the last few decades appears to discount genetics as a significant cause of overweight.
Environment/Culture and Obesity
Environment also strongly influences obesity. An environment where people eat high fat and high sugar diets and take little exercise, causes more problems with excess weight and obesity than one where people eat low fat diets and get regular exercise.
Emotional Factors and Obesity
Many people over eat when they’re stressed, bored or angry. Over time, the association between an emotion and food can become firmly fixed. Depression or stress are also causes of obesity and other patterns of disordered eating.
Lack of Physical Activity and Obesity
Lack of physical exercise is definitely one of the major causes of weight gain and obesity. Lack of physical activity caused in part by too much TV/computer games is strongly linked with obesity levels, especially in young people.
Causes of Obesity – Summary
The causes of obesity are various and often interlinked – one reason that weight loss drugs or simple dieting, by themselves, are usually inadequate to treat those suffering from obesity. Typically, obesity treatment involves a combination of diet, exercise, medication and counseling. Even then, long term results of such obesity treatment are mixed.
For more, see Obesity
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