Multiple causes of obesity: genetics, endocrine disorders, diet and exercise factors.

Causes of obesity

17. What are the causes of obesity?

There are many causes of obesity, mainly including the following:

(1) Heredity: Obesity is hereditary. This has been observed not only in real life but also confirmed by scientific research. Obesity does have a relatively obvious hereditary component.

Children whose parents are obese are more likely to be obese, and may even be obese from a young age.

One possible reason is genetic, but it is not yet certain which gene locus is related to obesity. Another reason is that families with obese members often have a habit of overeating, and if they feed their children in the same way, it is inevitable that the same disease will occur.

Existing studies have reported that among subjects with a family history of obesity, even those whose weight has not yet reached the obesity standard, their postprandial thermogenesis capacity is lower than that of normal people.

Similar situations are often seen in real life: some people eat a lot but never gain weight; others eat little but gain weight, indicating that there are significant individual differences in food digestion, absorption, and energy consumption.

(2) Endocrine disorders: Obesity is closely related to endocrine function, and endocrine abnormalities are often accompanied by secondary obesity.

Cushing's syndrome, caused by increased insulin secretion in the body, such as insulinoma, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, hypopituitarism, hypogonadism, hypothyroidism, encephalitis, brain injury, brain tumor, or long-term use of certain hormones, as well as metabolic disorders, often leads to obesity as a secondary cause.

(3) Food intake: People’s eating habits and the quality of their diet also play a major role in the occurrence of obesity. Inappropriate pursuit of high sugar, high fat, high protein and various foods rich in starch, especially excessive intake of animal offal and animal fat, as well as the habit of snacking, drinking beer, etc., and lifestyle habits, such as eating late-night snacks and eating before bed, will lead to nutritional imbalance and excessive energy intake, which often easily leads to obesity.

(4) Psychological factors: As the saying goes, a broad mind makes one healthy.

People who are in a good mood, get enough rest, find work and study easy, and are carefree often have a good appetite, eat heartily, are surrounded by people, and sleep a lot.

Conversely, drinking to drown one's sorrows often involves eating snacks while drinking, which can lead to increased calorie intake and obesity.

(5) Less exercise: a sedentary lifestyle.

With social development, the advancement of modern transportation, and the mechanization and electrification of housework, physical activity has decreased, leading to an imbalance between energy intake and consumption. Excess energy is converted into fat, often resulting in obesity.

Athletes, coaches, actors, and manual laborers who stop exercising or change jobs and become light physical or mental laborers may experience nutritional excess if they do not adjust their diet accordingly and continue their previous eating habits that relied on physical labor. Over time, this leads to the accumulation of body fat and eventually obesity.

(6) Physiological factors: After men reach middle age and women reach menopause, various physiological functions and metabolism decline, and physical activity decreases. Conversely, as age increases, family finances become more comfortable, children are raised, and conditions improve in all aspects, food intake increases. Therefore, it is easy to consume too much energy and consume less energy, leading to obesity.

For example, some women who have good nutrition during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, but fail to participate in physical labor or exercise in time after childbirth, have a much higher probability of becoming obese.

(7) Environment: Eating a lot to keep warm in a cold environment, such as men drinking white wine or eating spicy food, can also cause obesity.

People who work as chefs or housewives have more opportunities to come into contact with food, and therefore have more opportunities to eat and taste various foods, which makes them more prone to obesity.