Causes Of Obesity

There are various causes of obesity, and in some people it is true that they have a much more difficult time shedding pounds than most other people do. Obesity is now largely considered to be an epidemic in the Western world by many health practitioners and industry experts. Indeed, some previous studies have even suggested that there are people who are healthier being overweight than they are in trying to shave off extra pounds. However, obesity is beyond being overweight.

According to the online Medical Encyclopedia, "Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death...Twenty to forty percent over ideal weight is considered mildly obese; 40–100% over ideal weight is considered moderately obese; and 100% over ideal weight is considered severely, or morbidly, obese. More recent guidelines for obesity use a measurement called BMI (body mass index) which is the individual's weight multiplied by 703 and then divided by twice the height in inches. BMI of 25.9–29 is considered overweight; BMI over 30 is considered obese."

Therefore, it needs to be recognized that there is probably nothing "natural" about obesity, but it is brought on by some kind of distortion. Being overweight is relatively healthier and easier to manage than being obese. Being obese leaves one more open to having a compromised immune system (because the body's systems are overtaxed), less able to live a fully active life, depression due to lack of energy, and significantly increased risks of heart disease and high cholesterol leading to strokes or heart attacks.

Medical and health researchers almost universally agree that one of the leading causes of the obesity epidemic in the West is the high-starch, high-fat diet consumed at the very same time that so many people fail to get adequate physical activity or exercise. The body naturally has an instinct to consume fats, sugars, and starches because during physical activity these are the body's primary fuels. If these fuels become depleted the body then turns to burning off its own muscle in the form of burning protein to get energy. So the often maligned fast-food restaurants are not serving anything that is inherently "evil".

Nevertheless, the problem is the fact human instincts have not kept pace with human technological development, which has freed up a great deal of time for people that once was taken up quite largely by varying degrees of physical activity. While only a few "Luddites" argue our technology is killing us and should be halted or turned back, it is true that people need to wisely reconsider their eating options as well as making up for less need for physical labor by voluntarily taking up an exercise program.

In fact, diet and exercise remain the two best ways of treating obesity. Consuming less Omega-6 fat (such as what is found in steak and fried foods), replacing it with more Omega-3 fat (found in great abundance in seafood), eating less starch and less preserved or denuded ("refined" or "enriched" ) foods and more fresh fruits, leafy vegetables, and legumes, and entering into a regular exercise regimen (under, at least at first, a doctor's guidance) are all vitally important keys to fighting obesity.

All of these things are better than relying on expensive, powerful drugs that have potent side effects.

But another equally important way of fighting obesity is getting sufficient rest and sleep. Recent research has exploded onto the scene with its findings that people who regularly get less than at least six hours of undisturbed sleep per night are much more at risk of putting on additional weight than people who get six to eight hours per night (although the same research finds that excessive sleep, beyond eight hours, also packs on the pounds). The reason for this causing increased risk of obesity is that when the brain's lymbic system begins to calculate a high-stress situation (which it assumes to be the case when there are prolonged times of insufficient rest), it sends out chemical signals that alter the body's metabolism, slowing it down to preserve precious energy reserves in case of a "flight-or-fight" situation.

Our modern world with its many new kinds of stresses all too often triggers insomnia. Exercise and good dieting, however, also help fight this condition.

If you find yourself waking up at all hours of the night or you know for a fact that you snore, you should get checked for possibly having sleep apnea. A disruption of the breathing during sleep, sleep apnea has also been linked to significantly increased risk of becoming obese.