What causes obesity & overweight? (2024)

FAQs

What are the main causes of overweight and obesity? ›

Some of the most common ones are: eating large amounts of processed or fast food – this is food that's high in fat and sugar. drinking too much alcohol – alcohol contains a lot of calories. eating out a lot – food cooked in a restaurant may be higher in fat and sugar.

Overweight and obesity result from an imbalance of energy intake (diet) and energy expenditure (physical activity).

If you're asking yourself, “Why am I gaining weight when I barely eat,” several factors may be at play. Your body may be holding onto fat stores if your eating habits are inconsistent or restricted. Or, your weight gain may be the effect of a sedentary lifestyle, medical condition, or long-term stress.

Many factors influence body weight-genes, though the effect is small, and heredity is not destiny; prenatal and early life influences; poor diets; too much television watching; too little physical activity and sleep; and our food and physical activity environment.

The crisis is usually blamed on the increased postwar availability of cheap, highly processed, and calorie-rich foods, as well as increasingly sedentary lifestyles and growing portion sizes.

Reducing calories and practicing healthier eating habits are key to overcoming obesity. Although you may lose weight quickly at first, steady weight loss over the long term is considered the safest way to lose weight. It's also the best way to keep weight off permanently. There is no best weight-loss diet.

People ages 60 and older are more likely to be obese than younger adults, according to the most recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. And the problem also affects children. Approximately 20%, of U.S. children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are obese.

Can you be obese and healthy? ›

Is it possible to be overweight and healthy? Silvana Pannain, MD: Yes, you can be overweight and metabolically healthy. At the same time, we know that obesity is a disease that affects the body in many different ways. Thirteen types of cancer and 200 other health conditions are related to obesity.

People who regularly eat and drink more calories than they burn each day are more likely to gain extra weight, including belly fat. Getting older also makes a difference. People lose muscle as they age. And the problem is worse for those who are not physically active.

Eating too few calories can cause your metabolic rate to slow down, meaning you may gain weight more easily. Your body requires energy when you walk, work out, think, breathe, just about everything else!

On a very simple level, your weight depends on the number of calories you consume, how many of those calories you store, and how many you burn up. But each of these factors is influenced by a combination of genes and environment.

Obesity is a complex and costly chronic disease influenced by many factors. These factors include health behaviors, stress, health conditions and medications, genes, and people's environment.

The main cause of weight gain and obesity is the imbalance between the amount of calories you take in and the calories you burn. Body Mass Index (BMI): It is one way of measuring whether a person's weight or body fat is higher than what is considered a healthy weight for a given height.

Possible causes include anxiety and depression, hormonal disorders, insomnia, and certain medications. Carrying extra pounds isn't necessarily a problem, but it could signal an underlying health concern you'll want to address. The only way to be entirely sure of what it means is to consult a healthcare provider.