Top Contributory Factors Leading to Obesity

Experts define obesity as an overweight due to the accumulation of adipose tissue, according to WebMD. Various methods are used to determine the mass of such tissue. The calculation of body mass index (BMI) is the method generally used.The results of various international studies indicate that obesity is becoming more common. Obesity has become a major public health problem, even more important than malnutrition and infectious diseases. Obesity is complicated because it is the combination of dietary, lifestyle, genetic, psychological, and social factors.

Dietary factors

A person gets obese based on diet by either taking a lot of calories, or with the intake of the wrong type of food. With regards to quantity, The average number of calories ingested everyday is to compensate the number of calories used or will be used for activity. Someone that’s sedentary has different needs than that of an active person, it is easy to understand. Excessive caloric intake relative to needs leads to a significant weight gain. Food quality wise, it plays an important factor, too. Lipids (fats) play a major role in becoming obese. Excessive consumption of carbohydrates ar converted to sugars, which then will be stored as fat if they are not immediately spent.

Lifestyle

It is the inactivity of someone in the broad sense that plays greatest factor that cause obesity. If you don’t get enough physical activity, you are likely to accumulate more calories. Stored calories are converted to fat; accumulation of fat in time without exercise will then result to obesity.

Medical Disorders and Medications

Aurora Health Care informs that, there are a lot of medical conditions, genetic conditions, and changes in body chemicals could help increase the rate of obesity. It affects meal breakdown, the release of gastric juices, and the absorption of minerals and nutrients.

Psychological Factor

There is no typical psychological profile of the obese, in other words there is no personal feature or abnormality of psychism predisposing formally to obesity. Conversely, the occurrence of some psychological problems such as depression or stress can affect weight gain. Similarly, things are becoming more complicated by the fact that obesity in itself helps to develop some abnormal psychological characteristics that could be mistaken as a cause of obesity.

Genetic Factor and Race

There is certainty a genetic predisposition (due to multiple genes, not one), which makes a particular individual or a family more susceptible to obesity. In addition, certain genetic diseases increase the risk of obesity.

Based on State Health Facts, the incidence of obesity differ from on race to another. In the US, obesity hits 62.8% of Caucasians compared to 73.7% of African-Americans. We can see obesity with 69.1% Hispanic Americans and 42.1% Asians. There is a 72.2% incidence of obesity in American Indians and Alaskan natives, while other races have 64.9% occurence of obesity.

The social and cultural factors

One century ago, obesity was rather a synonym for wealth and prosperity. Today, it’s a little the reverse because wealthy people “take care of their bodies.” In all Western countries, there is a relationship between poverty and obesity. This can be explained by poor eating habits and unequal access to care. Less fortunate people do not have the resources to buy the appropriate food groups to keep them healthy. Another factor is the people surrounding you. If they do not practice the habit of eating healthy, it is more likely that you will become like them due to constant exposure.

Finally, knowing these factors will help you not to get worried of being obsessed. All you have to keep in mind, to reduce or eliminate weight gain is to reducing the number of calories you consume and by exercising more.


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