Causes Of Obesity

We all know that if your weight exceeds the guidelines established by your insurance company, you could be denied affordable insurance. It's easy to decide to lose weight, but actually losing it requires more than just the decision. It's true that eating less, eating the right foods, and exercising more are all important, but junk food, over-eating, and avoiding physical activity are just a few of the factors that are causing Americans to become more obese than ever.

If you want to lose weight, you have to first know what's causing your weight gain. Here are five causes of increased weight gain among the general population of the United States – common causes, that haven't yet made it into the common vernacular:

1. The Air we Breathe: Americans are smoking less, and spending more time in air conditioned environments. While the chemicals in cigarettes DO cause cancer, they also stimulate weight loss. Air conditioning, on the other hand, is a more subtle cause: Without air conditioning, you have to burn calories either by moving your muscles to stay warm, or sweating to cool off, but in our hermetically sealed temperature controlled offices and homes, we rarely have to do either.


2. Sleep Deprivation: It's no secret that skipping sleep makes us cranky and lethargic, but did you know that a 2006 study also linked sleep deprivation to weight gain? Proper rest is an important part of your body's metabolic process – without it, you'll put on pounds. Americans are sleeping less than ever.


3. Modern Medicine: While we're fortunate to live in an era where we can solve many medical problems by swallowing pills, many medications, including anti-depressants, blood pressure drugs, diabetes drugs, oral contraceptives, and steroids cause weight gain, or list it as a possible side effect, and our use of such drugs is increasing. It's not just the drugs we take ourselves, either – consider the hormones used in commercial beef – that can contribute to weight gain, as well.


4. Older Populations: As a people, Americans are getting older, and middle aged people tend to be more obese than younger, more active people. As well, there's evidence that suggests the older a woman is when she gives birth, the more likely her child is to be obese. American women are routinely giving birth in the mid-to-late thirties, and even their early forties. (There is also evidence that obese people are more fertile than thin people, which only multiplies this issue.)


5. Stress: While all of the above factors were named in a 2006 report by David B. Allison, PhD, director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which was published in the International Journal of Obesity, another cause of weight gain is stress. Americans are working longer hours, facing an unstable economy, and worrying about the environment, and all that stress means two things: one, our bodies are producing more cortisol, which stimulates fat storage, and two, we're turning to food as a source of comfort.
   

While the five factors listed here do contribute to obesity, a proper diet and regular exercise are still recommended to combat – or at least control – weight gain. It's also important to realize that there are other obesity causes being discovered and studied in order to find solutions.