Causes of obesity

Obesity

Obesity is an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation, which may cause a health risk, and the body mass index can be used to find out whether or not one is obese or not. The body mass index is defined as an indicator for measuring the body weight in kilograms to a square in meters, and the person is considered infected Obesity if the body mass index is equal to 30, or more, while if the index is equal to 25, or more.

Causes of obesity

Many factors cause obesity and weight gain, the most important of which are the following:

• Genetics: Sometimes the cause of obesity can be hereditary. The burden of developing a child with obesity is greater if his parents have it unless it is under the influence of other factors in addition to the genetic modification of the food.

• Processed foods: contain refined ingredients, and additives; To make it delicious, inexpensive, and with a long shelf life; To attract the consumer, excessive intake of these foods increases weight.
• Food addiction: Many high-fat processed foods and sugars stimulate the brain’s reward system (Reward centers), and these foods can cause addiction in people who are susceptible to this, as the person loses control of his nutritional behavior.
• Insulin: Several studies have indicated that high insulin levels may be one of the causes of obesity. Insulin plays an important role in regulating energy stores in the body; As it urges the body’s fat cells to store fat and preserve the fat it, on other hand, it is possible to reduce insulin levels by refraining from eating simple sugars, refined carbohydrates, and increasing the intake of dietary fiber.
• Some medications: These include antidepressants, diabetes medications, and antipsychotics, as these medications alter the functions of the body and the brain, by increasing appetite, or by lowering the metabolic rate.
• Leptin resistance: the hormone leptin is produced by fat cells, and its levels in the blood increase as the body’s fat mass increases; Therefore, the levels of leptin are high in people with obesity, and it can be said that the rise of leptin in healthy people is associated with decreased appetite.
• Sugar: the consumption of added sugar leads to an increase in energy storage, which leads to obesity due to a change in hormones and biochemistry in the body, as its consumption is related to weight gain, and added sugar consists of glucose and fructose, and glucose can be obtained from other food sources, such as starches, but Most of the fructose consumed is from sugar, and excess fructose intake can lead to insulin resistance.
• Lack of physical activity: due to the use of devices and modern transportation, and lack of movement may lead to reducing the number of calories the body burns and regulating insulin levels; As the instability of its levels may be linked to weight gain.
• Lack of sleep: Less sleep causes stimulation of ghrelin, which increases appetite. On the other hand, lack of sleep leads to fewer amounts of the hormone leptin that reduces appetite.

Complications of obesity

Obesity is associated with many health complications that can be dangerous to human life, and these complications include the following:

• Type 2 diabetes.
• Heart diseases.
• Hypertension.
• Gallbladder diseases.
• High cholesterol.
• Sterility.
• arthritis.
• A stroke.
• Fatty liver disease
• Sleep apnea
• Respiratory problems.
• Some types of cancer, such as breast cancer, colon, and endometrial cancer.