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Causes of Obesity
Now that you know what being obese means, you may find it helpful to understand what causes obesity. There are a number of factors that influence overweight or obesity and the subject is often the topic of debate among many experts. However, there are some factors that all experts can agree on.
Behavior
Behavior is often at the top of the list. By behavior, we are referring to consuming too many calories and not getting enough physical activity. Often times people who are obese due to behavioral reasons find that an underlying cause may be causing them to eat as a form of comfort.
The good news is that you can control your behavior and change it to effectively lose weight and keep it off. However, you will need to identify and work through the reasons behind your behavior in order to effectively overcome them. You can talk with your doctor to find out the best way to define and treat behavioral obesity.
Your Enviroment
Another cause of obesity is the environment around you. Your surroundings, such as home, work, school, or community can provide barriers to or opportunities for an active lifestyle. People who are on the go may find themselves eating out more often, which makes it harder to eat healthy. People who work at a desk all day may not get as much exercise as they need.
By identifying what environmental conditions may be contributing to your weight problem, you can come up with solutions to overcome them, such as finding ways to exercise in your office or by choosing healthier places to eat out and healthier foods to choose from those restaurants.
Obesity that is largely contributed to behavioral and environmental factors has the greatest opportunities for prevention and treatment. Another cause of obesity that is not as easily treated is genetics.
Heredity and Genes
Heredity plays a large role in determining how susceptible people are to overweight and obesity. Genes also influence how the body burns calories for energy or stores fat.
However, it is important to realize that having overweight or obesity in your family does not mean you are destined to be overweight or obese yourself or that you can not effectively lose weight if you already are overweight or obese.
For more in depth information, you can visit the Office of Genetics and Disease Prevention, a division of the Center for Disease Control.
For more information on obesity, see:
If you think you are overweight or obese, talk with your doctor about designing a plan to help you lose weight and live a healthier life.
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