This article talks about the causes of obesity and weight gain. Weight gain is often seen as common amongst the ones who lack willpower but it's not true as apart from overeating there are other genetic disadvantages along with other factors that cause a person to gain weight.
• Genetics: The children of people suffering from obesity are more likely to be obese but obesity is not completely predetermined as what a person eats has a major effect on their genes. But some people have a genetic susceptibility to obesity and weight gain.
• Junk Food: Processed foods have refined ingredients and are mixed with additives. They are cheap and made so tasty which promotes overeating. They are engineered and designed in a way to get people hooked to them and are very hard to resist.
• Food Addiction: Sugar and high-fat junk food stimulates the brain in a certain way and has the same effects on our brain as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, etc. Junk food addiction is very common in today’s society where people lose control and struggle with their eating behaviour similar to a person struggling with nicotine or alcohol addiction. Food addiction and cravings are difficult to overcome for high fat and sugary foods.
• Marketing: Unhealthy products are aggressively marketed as healthy with misleading claims about the product and the market is targeted especially towards children. Childhood obesity is very common these days and children are addicted to junk foods as they lack knowledge and can be easily misled.
• Insulin: Insulin resistance and high insulin levels are linked with being overweight and obese. So it is important to manage and lower insulin levels by eating a diet high in fibre and by reducing the intake of refined carbs.
• Medications: Some drugs can cause and promote weight gain as they tend to reduce the no. of calories burned and also increase appetite. Examples: antidepressants, antipsychotics, etc.
• Leptin Resistance: It is the appetite-reducing hormone and is produced by the fat cells. High leptin levels are directly linked to a reduced appetite but in obese people, the leptin does not work properly as it is not able to cross the blood-brain barrier, this leptin resistance is a leading factor to more weight gain and obesity.
• Sugar: It is a contributor to obesity and increased energy storage.
In conclusion, it is very important to focus on your eating habits and make certain lifestyle choices. Obesity is not solely caused by only lack of willpower as there are other factors that contribute to this global problem. So the modern food eating habits must be revised and changed to solve this problem.
References:
• Teff, K. L., Elliott, S. S., Tschöp, M., Kieffer, T. J., Rader, D., Heiman, M., Townsend, R. R., Keim, N. L., D'Alessio, D., & Havel, P. J. (2004). Dietary fructose reduces circulating insulin and leptin, attenuates postprandial suppression of ghrelin, and increases triglycerides in women. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 89(6), 2963–2972. https://doi.org/
• Patten, S. B., Williams, J. V., Lavorato, D. H., Khaled, S., & Bulloch, A. G. (2011). Weight gain in relation to major depression and antidepressant medication use. Journal of affective disorders, 134(1-3), 288–293. https://doi.org/
• Weickert, M. O., & Pfeiffer, A. (2018). Impact of Dietary Fiber Consumption on Insulin Resistance and the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes. The Journal of nutrition, 148(1), 7–12. https://doi.org/
• Bouchard, C., Tremblay, A., Després, J. P., Nadeau, A., Lupien, P. J., Thériault, G., Dussault, J., Moorjani, S., Pinault, S., & Fournier, G. (1990). The response to long-term overfeeding in identical twins. The New England journal of medicine, 322(21), 1477–1482. https://doi.org/