Leading Causes of Weight Gain and Obesity

It's linked to a cluster of disorders called metabolic syndrome. These conditions include hypertension, diabetes, and abnormal lipid profiles in the blood.

Compared to people of normal weight, persons with metabolic syndrome have a substantially increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Many scientists have spent the last few decades trying to determine what leads to obesity and what can be done about it.

Obesity and Willpower

Many assume that weak willpower is at the root of the obesity epidemic.

That isn't quite correct. Although poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle are primary causes of weight gain, some people are more unable than others to rein in their appetite.

However, there are several biological factors, such as genes and hormones, that contribute to excessive eating. Some people have a genetic predisposition towards obesity.

1. Genetics

There is considerable heritability in obesity. There is a strong correlation between having obese parents and having obese offspring.

That doesn't prove that the likelihood of being overweight is fixed. What you put into your body has profound effects on your DNA.

When people in non-industrialized countries adopt Western eating habits, they quickly become overweight. Environment and the signals they gave to their genes changed, but their DNA did not.

Simply put, your genetic makeup does play a role in your propensity to put on weight. This is clearly shown by studies of identical twins.

2. Engineered Junk Foods

Extremely processed foods typically consist of highly refined components combined with various additives.

These items are made to be low in price, store well, and taste delicious, making them difficult to pass up.

Manufacturers of consumables aim to maximise profits by maximising food appeal. However, they also encourage excessive eating.

These days, processed meals rarely resemble their natural counterparts. These items are highly engineered in order to hook the consumer.

3. Food Addiction

In fact, many people draw parallels between the consumption of these foods and the addiction of narcotics like alcohol, cocaine, nicotine, and cannabis.

Some people develop an addiction to junk food. In the same way that persons with alcoholism lose control over their drinking, these people lose control over their eating as well.

Substance abuse is a complicated problem with a steep learning curve. Addiction is characterised by a loss of agency on the part of the individual when the brain's biochemistry takes over decision-making.

4. Aggressive Marketing

Sometimes they use unscrupulous methods, such as trying to pass off really unhealthy foods as nutritious ones.

The statements made by these businesses are equally misleading. Even worse, their advertising is directed squarely towards the young.

Children today are developing obesity, diabetes, and junk food addiction at alarming rates, far before they are mature enough to make such choices for themselves.

5. Insulin

Insulin is a crucial hormone because it controls how much energy is stored in the body.

It's one job to signal fat cells to take in more fat and hang on to the fat they already have.

Many overweight and obese people, especially those who eat a Western diet, develop insulin resistance. As a result, insulin levels rise throughout the body, and food is converted into fat stores rather than usable fuel.

6. Certain Medications

The use of these medications will not weaken your resolve. They change the way your body and brain work, potentially lowering your metabolic rate or making you hungrier.

7. Leptin Resistance

Another hormone with a significant impact on obesity is leptin.

It is made by fat cells, and its levels in the blood rise as body fat percentage does. This is why persons who are overweight tend to have higher leptin levels.

High levels of the hormone leptin are related to decreased hunger in otherwise healthy adults. When functioning normally, it will relay information to the brain regarding the extent of your body fat.

For whatever reason, leptin is unable to penetrate the blood-brain barrier which means it isn't able to do its job in many obese people.

Leptin resistance is a disease that researchers believe plays a major role in the aetiology of obesity.