Developing awareness of the causes of excessive weight gain may encourage people to be more attentive to their personal wellbeing.
Here are some of the major causes of obesity:
- eating too much fat giving excess energy stored in the body
- too much sugar, starch or other carbohydrates which are also important energy sources convertible into fats
- too much of pre-processed products (no-cook or easy-to-cook) that often have more fat or sugar, for preservation (sweet beverages, pop, cakes, ice-cream, fast food and pre-packed snacks)
- eating too much food altogether!
- irregular eating habits, like eating much at one time (binge), little at another time, long span in-between some meals, consuming food with high doses of sugar at some times while no sugar at other times – producing an uncontrollable metabolism making you deposit more fats in your body
- consuming too many high-calorie alcoholic drinks
- lack of vitamins and minerals, and a generally unhealthy diet decreasing the body’ capacity to burn extra amounts of fats and sugar
- inactive ‘sitting’ lifestyle wherein the body burns little fat and sugar, and
- boredom in daily routine life resulting to excessive eating as a way of getting entertainment
Compared with a healthy weight man, an obese man is:
- five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes
- three times more likely to develop cancer of the colon
- more than two and a half times more likely to develop high blood pressure – a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease
An obese woman, compared with a healthy weight woman, is:
- almost 13 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes
- more than four times more likely to develop high blood pressure
- more than three times more likely to have a heart attack
A BMI of 30 to 35 has been found to reduce life expectancy by an average of three years, while a BMI of over 40 reduced longevity by eight to 10 years, which is equivalent to a lifetime of smoking.