What causes obesity? Most of the people blame their genes for being obese. But many other factors other than your genes are responsible for obesity. Let's find out your causes of obesity:
Definitely a person working for about 12 hours per day,say, sitting in front of a computer or a person working at a call center or even at a bank or insurance company is hardly going to have any kind of physical activity. And obviously the food habits of such a person are going to be influenced by the nature of working hours, that is, he is going to prefer ready-to-eat food material or outside food with more of preservatives and other fattening stuff and that is in turn going to affect his health.
Sedentary lifestyle has become the most common cause of obesity today due to the negligence of common man towards physical activity and uptake of unhealthy dietary practices. Not only the working population but also the students follow a kind of sedentary lifestyle. Sitting in one place and studying continuously for hours without any physical activity. And today, the only leisure time activity for younger generation is watching television or surfing.
According to the current findings, babies born to obese mothers tend to be chubbier and become obese in later years. If the mother is obese, the chances of the kid being obese are almost 30-40% but if both parents are overweight the chances of the child getting obese become twofold, that is, about 80%. Also, there are chances that the child may inherit the metabolic patterns (the rate at which the body burns calories when the body is at rest).
Somehow, it is also observed that if the child is hyperactive or fiddles too much, a large number of calories are burnt up.
Society is again one of the major cause of obesity. An individual from a high class society means luxurious lifestyle, consumption of rich food (say higher intake of dry fruits, cheese, meat), partying and socializing etc. So, this again becomes a major cause of obesity.
A tradition that runs in the family also plays an important role. If consuming higher amount of say ghee or oil has been a practice over years in the family, it cannot be changed easily. Similarly, there are many traditional recipes that run in the families which includes high calorie ingredients. The frequency of consumption of such foods may also contribute as a major reason for obesity.
HIGH INTAKE OF REFINED CARBOHYDRATES AND FATS:
Refined carbohydrates have a high glycemic index, that is, they give a sudden rise in the blood sugar levels. Being very low in fiber, refined carbohydrates are absorbed directly from the gut. These excess of carbohydrates Thus, a diet rich in refined carbohydrates on a daily basis may lead to obesity.
Fats are a concentrated source of energy, almost 9Kcal/gram. Excess of fats may lead to higher fat mass in the body and obesity.
WAY OF LIFE:
If you are into a habit of spending your leisure time just in front of the laptop or television or playing the video games, you are actually ruining your health. This way of life also includes a pack of chips or crispies and a bottle of cold drink, all fattening and unhealthy stuff! Change your lifestyle today itself, conquer your obesity.obesity can occur at any age, this is more common during middle age when physical activity decreases without corresponding decrease in food consumption.
HORMONAL IMBALANCES:
Today, this has become one of the most common and increasing reason of obesity. Thyroid disorders, Poly-cystic ovaries, Hyperprolactinemia all have come up due to the hormonal imbalances. Malfunctioning of the pituitary gland (the gland where these hormones are secreted) may cause such imbalances. While you are asleep, the hormone Insulin controls the rise and fall of your blood sugar levels. If a person is getting inadequate sleep, he/she may have high levels of insulin in the blood and such a person may be a pre-diabetic.
SMOKING:
Nicotine, the major constituent of cigarette is known to increase the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) in the body. BMR is the rate at which your body burns calories at rest. Usually, when a person quits smoking, his/her BMR slows down and causes weight gain. Although this is the case, smoking should be avoided due to the harmful effects of nicotine on the body. Smoking is associated with oral and lung cancers. I don't find this compromise with life is worth anyways.
PREGNANCY:
Many women have an increased caloric intake during pregnancy due to the growing fetus's requirement. But after delivery most of them are unable to lose the extra pounds.
STRESS:
This is the time when probably an individual overeats. It may be due to some failure, frustration, rejection or sometimes even anger or boredom. There is a scientific reason behind this. All these emotions arouse from the brain, at such a time if food is provided to the body, it releases certain endorphins and serotonin which are known to relax your mind. Serotonins are released on consumption of carbohydrate foods such as sugars, potato, chocolates etc. Hence, stress can also contribute to obesity.
TRAUMA:
Any kind of injury to the hypothalamus in the brain may disturb it's regulation. Regulation of hunger and feeling of satiety are controlled by the hypothalamus. Injury to the hypothalamus may lead to uncontrolled feeling of hunger and satiety which may lead to obesity.
These are the various reasons that may lead to obesity.
I hope the above listed reason of obesity would help you to diagnose the one for you.
