The most laconic answer to this kind of question is that we eat too much and we burn too little. The whole issue of overweight and obesity could only remain in the sphere of aesthetics and fashion, were it not for the fact that this phenomenon has an ever-wider reach and, what’s worse, entails more and more dangerous effects on our health and even whole life. What are the most common causes of weight gain?
Causes of weight gain - first sin - bad habits
There is no doubt that the most common cause of weight gain is incorrect eating habits combined with a lack of physical activity. Over the past several decades, the way we eat in our culture has changed fundamentally. While previous generations consumed much more natural food with a high fibre content, modern people eat primarily processed products, and our diet contains large amounts of sugar and fat, including saturated fatty acids, while low in complex, slow-digesting carbohydrates and fibre. These types of products contain a lot of calories, but they do not feed enough, which means that we eat more and more of them.
Causes of weight gain - second sin - irregular meals
The second common mistake about eating habits is the irregularity of consumed meals and their insufficient amount during the day. We get fat because instead of four or five meals of varying quality and quantity, we eat junk snacks throughout the day and eat a very rich dinner in the evening, while it is known that the body during sleep is not able to burn large amounts of calories, which results in an increase in body fat, not to mention the other ailments caused by evening carvings.
Causes of weight gain - third sin - comfort
We are gaining weight also as a result of the amenities that modernity has given us. Cars, elevators, remote controls for televisions, gates, roller blinds, the growing dominance of sitting work over physical causes that we move much less than before, so we have fewer opportunities to burn calories. And although the awareness of the need to lead an active lifestyle is becoming more and more common, we still have a lot to catch up on in this area.
Eating emotions
In modern medicine, the term compulsive eating is used to mean the phenomenon of psychological addiction, consisting of uncontrolled attacks of carvings even when the body does not feel hunger. Although you can’t talk about compulsive eating in every snack, many people react in this way to feelings of frustration, anxiety or other stressors.
An adult reacting in such a way to stress unconsciously repeats established patterns, but emotional food not only does not solve our problems, but it can get us into a vicious cycle - we are stressed, so we eat too much, gain weight, we become obese and as a result, we have an additional stress factor.
Weight gain as a result of slower metabolism
Slow metabolism and less physical activity are also the causes of weight gain, which is why we gain weight with progressing age. This phenomenon mainly affects postmenopausal women and results from lower demand for calories while maintaining the same eating habits. In other words, the metabolism slows down, we also slow down the pace of life and do not change the way we eat. So you should limit the number of calories consumed and do not forget about physical activity. In some cases, excessive weight gain may be genetic, but in general, overweight or obesity in subsequent generations is more the fault of traditional family eating habits than genetic conditions.
The only diagnosis of the causes of overweight, including psychological conditions, then a balanced diet, regular diet and systematic physical activity can save us from excessive kilograms.
