Causes for Obesity

I don't think there is any one reason that people are obese. I think it is a combination of reasons, including the person themselves, I was only offering another perspective, which is a reality for some. I do not think of this in terms of "blame" but I think in terms of "getting real" and knowing all the facts and possibilities and not being narrow minded or thick skulled and then taking all the information, make an informed decision and then act.

Unfortunately, I think this is bigger than anyone individual (no pun intended), but a whole society's problem.
 
I didn't use internet sites for infor....it was a paper for a class, so mainly used books and health magazines.


I can go try and find my paper and post of list of the sources (lol if I can find it.)
 
Miss Kalie,

I am suggesting that your post about some populations reacting differently to different foods indicates that the root of the problem is diet. If the diet changes, the results will change. It may well be that aboriginal populations do not react well to certain foods and these reactions may be dictated by genetics but the answer is to change diets. Genes provide a context in which diet operates to produce body weight. The genes do not cause a poor diet. The poor diet comes from a variety of factors ranging from socio-economic change to personal choices.
 
Now that you phrase it that way...ok I can take that and agree with it to a certain extent.

All I was suggesting is that obesity has a number of factors and should not be assumed that every obese person just chose not to take care of themselves.
 
We are all responsible for what we put in our mouths. Many people are ignorant of the ramifications of their diets and lack of exercise but in the end, we have to take responsibility.
 
Yes, obesity has many, many factors. So what.
What is important is losing all those extra pounds, no matter the cause.

I look for all kinds of excuses for my being overweight. But I know better.
I can give you 50 reasons why diets will not work for me...and I am stuck being overweight forever.

I am just taking in more calories than I burn.

And whenever I go on a diet, and just count my calories, and keep the total calorie count for the day below a certain number...I lose weight.

So now I just started another diet. I am counting the calories of every little thing I eat.
And I keep the calories down.
And I am losing 1 pound a week.
When I lose the 25 pounds, I will stop the diet.
Then I will re-adjust my eating habits, and keep that weight off for a few months.
Then I will go on another calorie counting diet.
And I will lose another 20-30 pounds.

So don't fool yourself into not dieting. Calories do count.
Florine Marks said on TV: "No matter what diet you are on, counting calories is the only method that really works."

Here is the calorie counter I use:


My goal is to weigh what my driver's license says.​
:)​
 
Actually,

I am not dieting, thank-you-very-much! Diets do not work. I am make a whole life change to make room for a new way of healthy living.


and sooo what you ask, well the so what is, if people don't have all the information then they are not informed and therefore not making the best possible decisions they could be.

Taking in more calories than you are burning is a factor and if you didn't know that, you wouldn't be able to change it. You made my point for me. Thanks!
 
What a great read.

I can't say as I agree with all of the nature vs. nurture arguments I've read here, but what I can say about myself is as follows:

I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Essentially, it's a catch-all name for a collection of symptoms caused by a hormonal imbalance. One of my symptoms is being overweight in the 'male' way - much of it in my stomach area. This is the kind of fat that puts people at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, so it's a good thing I'm finally losing it.

The thing about PCOS is this: which came first, the weight gain or the PCOS? It's so hard to tell. My tipoff was my irregular menstrual cycle, which wasn't present until my early teens, so PCOS could have been present factor even during my childhood (thought I wasn't a particulary big child).

Like Kallie, I'm making lifestyle changes that I'll have to stick with forever. I'm not 'on a diet', I've changed my diet. I can't eat like everyone else and not gain weight. It's a physical impossibility for me.

I think that, generally speaking, we're ignorant about our bodies, our digestive systems, our metabolisms, and our basic dietary needs - and how they work together to create the person we are... obese or not. I learned some pretty bad eating habits from my mom - one of which was to skip meals, another was calorie-counting (1000 a day!! YIKES!)... and I watched her diet and yo-yo pretty much my whole life. Because I thought I was eating well (good and nutritious foods), I didn't believe there was anything I could do to lose weight. And because I had seen my mom (and my younger sister as well) try and fail again and again, I never tried.

I've learned a buttload of stuff in the past 2 weeks about nutrition and how your body processes food, and applying that to my life in conjunction with exercise has worked for me. I've lost 7lbs in 7 days. I doubt it'll continue at this rate but that's a dang good start!

However... I'll have to stick to this kind of diet for my whole life. Because I can't eat the way other people eat without gaining weight. That's genetic, or as a result of my PCOS which was a result of being overweight in the first place, take your pick.
 
i agree this was a good read, but i don't agree that you are destin to be fat cuz your whole family is fat, it is a learned behavior that can be changed. My family is full of obese folks, but we have some terrible eating rituals, so there is your cause and effect, I have chosen to stop the insanity and will have you know that my kids are not fat, they are healthy and happy, i do not buy sweets or white bread or chips and crap like that, and this is what has made the diffrence, I did not want my children to suffer from obesity and so taught them diffrent eating patterns. No skipping meals, no midnight snacking, no TV dinning, and so they are doing good. I know that their are some individuals with legitamate reasons beyond their controll for weight gain, but that usually involves like 20 or so pounds not 100 or so. so there is my 2 cents!:D
 
OK, I have to add that, with weightloss, there are psychological issues as well, just not physical.

I know a person who's parents were very strict with nutrition and now have a very hard time dealing phychologically with binging and is overweight.

I think it is all about balance and knowledge. Strictness is just as bad as not doing anything at all. They are both too extreme and unhealthy in one way or another and definately not teaching a child to have a heathly relationship with food either way.
 
You are off to a great start, and you are so correct...this isn't a diet. I agree
with that, and have taken that philosphy into my eating. Keep us posted on your progress!
 
Environmental factors definitely contribute to weight gain. Including toxicity. The program I'm on focuses on cleansing toxins from the body so the body can function the way it is supposed to. It cannot function properly if there are toxins and pollutants gumming up the works. There is evidence linking toxicity to obesity. The body will build fat cells around the toxins it ingests through air, water and foods to protect itself, storing them as fat.

Also, there are hormonal issues that contribute to weight gain including thyroid issues and other hormonal issues such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) - which I have. The number one side effect of this condition is weight gain. I quote: "PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) is a hormonal imbalance linked to the way the body processes insulin after it has been produced by the pancreas to regulate blood sugar (glucose). "
 
Avi2Kat said:
They did miss 1 of the true reasons.. thyroid problems.. If your thyroid is not working right yes it can make you fat.

But 1/2 the stuff they give is bull*.
Click to expand...

I would have to disagree with this statement. If your thyroid is not working right it will not make you fat. It may make it harder to loose weight, but not impossible. Just a tiny bit harder, but who said it will be easy? Thyroid problems do not come at you out of nowhere - yo-yo diet can easily be the reason of underactive thyroid. What I am trying to say, I guess, is that we have to take responsibility for our own body and make sure we understand how it works and treat it right. I used to hear so much excuses "I am fat because of my thyroid"! I am a leaving proof that even with severely underactive thryroid you can loose weight.:)
 
actually thats not true a hypothyroid can make you gain weight, most definately. Its one of the many reasons they tell you to talk to a doctor before losing weight. They will test for you things like this just to make sure you're not beating your head against a wall.

And this........
There is evidence linking toxicity to obesity. The body will build fat cells around the toxins it ingests through air, water and foods to protect itself, storing them as fat.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying its for sure not true, I haven't read up on it enough to say. But my first initial reaction was. If that was true we'd all get deathly sick the minute we started losing weight. Storing a toxin in fat would absolutely not protect the body, fat is just as connected in and on our body as say for instance the heart. Its not like this is your body and over here is the fat and the body can use it as a locker room to store all the dirty undies. And remember fat is actually a good thing in the body, we all need a certian amount of it for the body to properly function so it stands to reason something that important to us would not be used as a toxic waste barrel. Of course thats just my initial reaction to that statement. Who knows i'm probably wrong.
 
I am agree with you. Exactly these are the main reasons of obesity. If some one wants to avoid obesity, he/she need to take care of these. We all know about these facts but always neglect. So dont neglect those things which harms you.
 
Tomble said:
It's true. I believe it's because

1. nictotine is a stimulant
2. smoking dulls your sense of taste, making food less appealing
3. people who quit sometimes replace smoking with snacking.
Click to expand...

thats pretty interesting. one of my distant relatives took up smoking to lose weight and her doctors told her she needs to not smoke ... she gained twice as much as she lost :( unfortunately last I heard she was bed bound :(
 
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