Obesity: What are the Causes?

Perhaps no other area within the field of nutrition is more intensively researched and written about than subject of obesity. Obesity is indicated by an abnormally high proportion of body fat. If we are at least 20% above our ideal weight, we are obese, according the authorities on the subject. Obesity is a serious condition because it increases the risk of developing various chronic health problems.

What causes of obesity? Most overweight persons are too heavy because they are eating too much and are not active enough. Research in this field suggest that many different factors such as genetic, social, environmental, and cultural, are involved in the development of obesity and that these factors influence each other in different ways.

Environmental factors that may contribute to obesity include lifestyle as well as behavioral issues. Family traits, for example, can be important variables. In very rare cases, it is possible to become obese as a result of a serious disease affecting part of the brain that regulates appetite.