With such a large portion of the worlds’ population now considered overweight and obese, it is important to understand the how and why. One of the reasons why we find ourselves becoming overweight and obese is through a decrease in our energy balance.
What this means is that normally our weight is controlled and balanced by equaling out the calories we get from food (energy IN) with the energy we spend from breathing, digesting, and through physical activity (energy OUT) In order to be balanced your energy IN must equal your energy OUT.
With this also comes physical inactivity. Without getting up, moving around and increasing your heart rate, you will not be able to get out your OUT put in energy. In fact, statistics show that more than two hours a day in front of the television has been linked with overweight and obesity. Just by walking more would make a big difference in the long run. Otherwise the imbalance can lead to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and other serious health problems.
But what about the area we live in, can our environment effect our becoming overweight or obese? The answer to this is of course yes. For the very young and older generation alike, having a lack of area to become physically active in can make it harder and even encourages obesity. Even your work environment and schedule can make it hard. If you are among the millions of people out there that sit at a desk all day, it can be quite hard to get any physical activity in while at work. But what if the environment is your family itself?
Often times those that are overweight or obese grow up with parents and/or siblings that are also the same way. And what can happen is that they grow up being given over sized portions of food. What’s more, these foods that they grow up with are not healthy. All families should have access to fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains. Unfortunately these types of foods are often too expensive for the normal family unit and this has been like that for generations. However, we also pass more down to our children than that.
Often times you will see that obesity runs in the family. Studies show that you are twice as likely to be overweight if both your parents are. What they say happens is that your genes may also affect how much fat gets stored in your body, as well as where you carry that excess fat. But with other cases like this, physical activity and healthy eating habits can fight against it. But what if you eat healthy enough and get good exercise but still are obese?
A tough issue to handle is when your being overweight is something you could not prevent. This is when a medical condition is at the root cause. Some of these medical conditions include an under-active thyroid, also known as hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, as well as Polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS. These conditions are caused by a person’s body not responding like is should, certain medications that one would need to take for a health problem, and other physical issues within the body that may cause hormonal changes.
Other issues that also affect your weight and can lead you to being overweight and obese are emotional factors, smoking, age pregnancy, and lack of sleep. With emotional factors, depression, stress, and boredom can lead to overeating and taking on food for comfort. The same can also be said about smoking. When a person tries to stop smoking they often substitute the comfort and need of a cigarette with food.
With age also come weight gain and the possibility for obesity. The reason behind this is that you loose muscle as you get older, and most often if you are unable to be as active as you need to be. Also with age come issues like menopause that can cause weight gain. But there are other issues that come up in life that also cause weight gain.
Pregnancy and issues with sleep are big factors in gaining excess weight. With pregnancy the reasons are more obvious than lack of sleep. You may be surprised to learn that studies have found people that report only 5 hours of sleep per night are more likely to have obesity problems than those that sleep a full 7-8 hours. One of the main reasons behind this is that when you sleep, your body takes that time to release hormones that control your appetite as well as your body’s use of energy. Furthermore, to compound the problem, people who get less amounts of sleep commonly have a higher amount of a hunger causing hormone called ghrelin found in their bodies.