What Causes Obesity - Essay Example

Some of the major causes for obesity are : Several studies say that environmental factors are among the major factors responsible for obesity. Lifestyle behaviors such as what a person eats, his friends, the people whom the person gets in touch, his surroundings, physical activity etc. are some of the factors. Genetics can also be causes of obesity, but it is not yet sure how much it is affected because the food habits of the family also may be the cause. Even so, science shows that heredity is linked to obesity.

Obesity often is viewed as the result of a lack of willpower, weakness, or a lifestyle "choice"--the choice to overeat and under exercise. The belief that persons choose to be obese adds to the hesitation of health professionals and patients to accept the use of long-term appetite-suppressant medication treatment to manage obesity. Obesity, however, is more appropriately considered a chronic disease than a lifestyle choice. Obesity is the net result of an excess of energy consumption over expenditure.

Obesity is a condition of excess body fat. Obesity is associated with too many adipose cells (hyperplastic obesity), adipose cells that are too large (hypertrophic obesity), or both. While changes in the size of adipose cells may occur at any age, the number of adult cells are fixed and determined by weight gain during certain periods of childhood development; fat cell numbers are established by late adolescence and, once established, do not decline. Being overweight or obese increases the risk to many diseases and health conditions, like Hypertension, Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides), Type 2 diabetes, Coronary heart disease, Stroke, Gallbladder disease, Osteoarthritis, Sleep apnea, Respiratory problems and some Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon).

Factors that must be considered as contributing to causation are: heredity, overeating, altered metabolism of adipose tissue,