The causes of obesity that health experts present are quite a number of factors to consider for the concerned consumer, and more studies are ever made to make the condition even more complicated. Developing awareness of the correlated causes of obesity though may encourage people to be more attentive to their personal wellbeing.

Here are some of the major causes of obesity:

Ø  eating too much fat giving excess energy stored in the body

Ø  too much sugar, starch or other carbohydrates which are also important energy sources convertible into fats

Ø  too much of preprocessed products (no-cook or easy-to-cook) that often have more fat or sugar, for preservation (sweet beverages, soda, cakes, ice-cream, fast food and tetra/foil-packed snacks)

Ø  eating too much food all together, including proteins that could also be converted to fat if over-consumed

Ø  irregular eating habits, like eating much at one time, little at another time, long span in-between some meals, consuming food with high doses of sugar at some times while no sugar at other times – producing an uncontrollable appetite physiology making you deposit more fats in your body

Ø  consuming too much high-calorie alcoholic drinks

Ø  lack of vitamins and minerals, and a generally unhealthy diet decreasing the body’ capacity to burn extra amounts of fats and sugar

Ø  inactive ‘sitting’ lifestyle wherein the body burns little fat and sugar, and

Ø  boredom in daily routine life resulting to excessive eating as a way of getting entertainment

Some specialized studies on health also reveal unanticipated causes of obesity or excessive body weight:

Ø  hypothyroidism decreasing food metabolism, appetite loss and modest weight gain wherein protein deposits in the body cause fat accumulation and fluid retention

Ø  essential fatty acid or good fats (flaxseed oil) deficiency needed by the body to maintain the body’s metabolic rate and also causing cravings for fatty foods

Ø  food sensitivity occurring many hours later as bloating and swelling caused by fermentation of foods, particularly carbohydrates, in the intestines, inflammation and the release of certain hormones that increase fluid retention and weight gain

Ø  cushing’s syndrome producing excess cortisol hormone and resulting to rounded ‘moon face’ and ‘buffalo hump’

Ø  use of certain prescription drugs like steroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antidepressants, diabetic medications, hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives containing estrogen causing fluid retention and increased appetite

Ø  prior kidney, heart or liver disease causing fluid retention and weight gain

Ø  organ enlargement, such as from an ovarian cyst, and obstruction of lymph fluid [next…]

Ø  blood sugar imbalance due to rapid fluctuations in blood sugar levels, then the need for insulin to store sugar away and lower the sugar level, finally triggering cravings for more sweets, and

Ø  emotional eating (BED/ binge-eating-disorder) to respond to stress or depression affecting eating habits and causing weight gain

These are other causes of obesity that are not easy to control. It is therefore up to us to controllably manage our activities and consumption against storing m