Causes Of Obesity, A Slow Killer! Top Tips In Understanding It
Excessive caloric intake and lack of physical activity are thought to explain most cases of obesity, but a number of cases are due primarily to genetics, medical reasons or psychiatric illness and increase reliance on machine. A good knowledge of its causes gives you a better chance to avoid its complications. A review identified other possible contributors to the recent increase of obesity or overweight as:
1. Natural selection for higher BMI
2. Decreased rates of smoking, because smoking suppresses appetite
3. Epigenetic risk factors passed on generationally
4. Insufficient sleep
5. Environmental pollutants that interfere with lipid metabolism
6. Decreased variability in ambient temperature
7. Increased use of medications that can cause weight gain
8. Proportional increase in ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier
9. Pregnancy at a later age (which may cause susceptibility to obesity in children)
While there is concrete evidence supporting the influence of these mechanisms on the increased prevalence of obesity, the evidence is still inconclusive. The following has strong influence on rise in obesity today.
Foods provide us with the nutrients we need for healthy bodies and the calories we need for energy. It is logical to assert that if we eat too much, the extra food turns to fat and is stored in our bodies. If we overeat regularly, we gain weight, and if we continue to gain weight, we may become obese.
The widespread availability of nutritional guidelines has done little to address the problems of over eating and poor dietary choice. As societies become increasingly reliant on energy-dense, big-portion, fast-food meals, the association between fast-food consumption and obesity becomes more alarming.
The agricultural policy and techniques in the United States and Europe have led to lower food prices. In the United States, subsidization of corn, soy, wheat, and rice through the U. S. farm bill has made the main sources of processed food cheap compared to either fruits or vegetables.
A sedentary lifestyle plays a major role in obesity, since calorie consumption in excess of calorie expenditure leads to obesity. Both adults and children devote lesser time to exercise as a result of longer work hours at sedentary jobs, a decline in physical education programs in schools, and increased participation in sedentary recreational activities. Such activities as browsing the Internet, playing video games, and watching television. More so, many of the labor-saving devices of the modern lifestyle, such as cars, elevators, personal computers, and remote controls, promote a sedentary lifestyle. Discovery from some studies made stipulate that, more than 26 percent of adults reported no leisure-time physical activity. This lack of physical activity has reduced the overall amount of energy expended in the course of a day, contributing to the development of obesity.
Obesity is partially determined by the genetic makeup of a person. Studies that have focused upon inheritance patterns rather than upon specific genes have discovered that 80% of the offspring of two obese parents were obese, in contrast to less than 10% of the offspring of two parents who were of normal weight. Researchers believe that the cause of obesity in humans is complicated and most likely involves the interactions of multiple genes with lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity.
Effect of medical and psychiatric illness
Certain physical and mental illnesses and the pharmaceutical substances used to treat them can increase risk of obesity. Medical illnesses that increase obesity risk include:
1. several rare genetic syndromes (like Cushing's syndrome)
2. Some congenital or acquired conditions (like hypothyroidism or growth hormone deficiency)
3. And the eating disorders (binge eating disorder and night eating syndrome)
The risk of overweight and obesity is higher in patients with psychiatric disorders than in persons without psychiatric disorders.
Certain drugs may cause changes in body composition or weight gain; these include insulin, antipsychotics, antidepressants, steroids, certain anticonvulsants and some kind of hormonal contraception.
More information about obesity
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Treating Obesity With a Vegetarian Diet
Exercise for Weight Loss and Obesity
