Causes of Obesity

Introduction:

Obesity, also referred to as being overly overweight, is a condition caused when one eats excessive amounts of food leading to storing more calories than one burns. These calories are stored as fats1. Obesity can develop from several causes and is usually influenced by genetics.

Causes of Obesity:

According to the National Institute of Health, the most familiar causes of obesity can be categorized into four causes; lifestyle, environmental, hereditary and medical causes2. However, the main cause of obesity worldwide is still unhealthy diets.

Livestrong, a health-issues magazine, reported that our environment and daily routine influence obesity in the sense that people have become inactive. Inactivity can be based on two factors; physical factors and emotional factors3.

Lack of Exercise:

Technology, which is developing rapidly on a daily basis, is aimed to ease people's lives by providing passive shortcuts, causing them to become lazy4. This action results in shortage of movement and exercise. Therefore, technology causes obesity indirectly5.

One's surrounding can also affect one's health. People have stopped buying healthy food due to its inavailability and expense issues.4 They alternated to eating fast, unhealthy and high-fat meals. This phenomenon is also supported by food companies which encourage this movement towards an unhealthy lifestyle by advertising fast food as more delicious, less expensive and more power providing6.

Gender:

The statistics showed that around 31% of women are obese compared to around 18% men.7 Women are more affected by obesity due to lifestyles. The inaccessibility of safe side walks, cultural and social factors, taking care of kids are some of the reasons that play a vital part...

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...ian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common female endocrine conditions. It affects about 5 to 10 percent of women of reproductive age14. Women who have PCOS often suffer from high levels of hormones called androgens – a steroid hormone that regulates the development of male characteristics-14. This syndrome results in obesity, excessive hair growth, reproductive problems and other health issues.

Conclusion:

Obesity is a common condition that affects thousands around the world. Its causes may vary from simply eating too much to not getting the exercise needed to attempting to quit smoking. Treatment of this condition may be as simple as getting the right diet or exercise, or a planned schedule from one’s physician. Obesity may be heredity or may be a result of any of the above mentioned causes. It is a serious matter to be dealt with yet may be treated easily.