What are the common causes of obesity?

Obesity is a medical condition that is becoming a problem in the 21st century. The causes of obesity include (bur aren’t limited to):

• Overeating
• Improper nutrition
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Stress
• Chemical imbalances
• Genetics 

Obesity reduces life expectancy, and what life people do have is riddled with diseases, illness, and an ever-increasing amount of time at the doctor’s office.

When a person has too much body fat, he is considered obese. The excess fat can have a harmful effect on a person’s health. Knowing if a person is overweight or not is measured through the BMI or Body Mass Index, as it compares the weight and height of the person.

There are several diseases linked to the causes of obesity such as and heart disease, breathing troubles during sleep, type 2 diabetes, specific types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. 

These diseases are among the reasons why life expectancy in many overweight and obese people are reduced.

Obesity is also found in children. Many of today’s children suffer from child obesity as a result of the modern comforts that our highly technological world offers.

Poor diet is a factor of obesity. Eating too much high calorie food coupled with a lack of physical activity will certainly cause a person to gain weight. Every day, more and more parents drown their children in fast food diets.

With today’s generation, sedentary lifestyle is also a major factor of obesity. A lot of us are so dependent on the Internet, there’s almost no need to go out of the house. Children are also becoming quite “lazy” at an early age, preferring to watch the television or play computer games rather than getting into sports and other physical activities. These factors cause child obesity.

Phsyiological and Psychological Causes

Another factor of obesity is medical and psychiatric illness. Several physical and mental illnesses, especially the medications that are taken for these conditions, may play a certain role in a person’s obesity. Congenital and other acquired conditions could also be a cause; among them are hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, and eating disorders (binge eating disorder and night eating syndrome). However, obesity is not considered to be a psychiatric disorder, and as a result, is not listed in the DSM-IVR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) as a psychiatric illness. Although this factor is not among the common causes of child obesity, if your child’s obesity is not countered at an early stage, he may develop several physical and psychological difficulties that can be difficult to deal with.

Whatever the cause of obesity is, one thing is for sure; the rise of obesity in many countries should be controlled. Adult and child obesity is slowly eating up the population. Start being conscious of your food intake and your weight. Getting a grip on your weight needs discipline, motivation, self-respect and a good and healthy lifestyle.

To understand more about the Causes of Obesity, click here.This page is designed to give you an overall view of what the causes of obesity are and attempts to outline ways to prevent childhood obesity.