We all understand how weight is gained and lost. It’s pretty simple: you eat a lot and exercise little—you gain weight. You eat less and exercise a lot—you lose weight. But it’s really not that plain. If it were, why would 30% of Americans be suffering from severe weight problems, like obesity?
The more precise way to lose weight is not simply to eat less, but to consume fewer calories. One slice of cake or one hamburger can have more calories than a full home-cooked entrée. Ironically, these high-calorie foods are rarely nutritious or filling. Unfortunately, in today’s society, people seem to have less time to cook meals and are enticed by the fast food drive-thru, settling for cheap convenience over nutrition.
Understanding the Obesity Epidemic
Since the obesity epidemic has taken such a stronghold in developed nations, particularly in the United States, it’s crucial to examine its roots and not just give it a cursory glance. What are the underlying causes of obesity?
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not view obesity as merely a physical state but as a chronic disease. Obesity is a complicated health problem resulting from a slew of factors, including genetics, metabolism, behavior, culture, environment, and socioeconomic status.
The basic cause of weight gain or loss is an energy imbalance. If you consume the same amount of calories that you burn, your weight will remain unchanged. If you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Conversely, if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. The greater the imbalance, the larger the weight gain. However, your eating habits and how efficiently you burn calories depend on various factors that you may not have much control over at first glance.
Obese individuals are often genetically predisposed to their weight problems. They may have an unusually slow or dysfunctional metabolism, or they may have food allergies—such as an addiction to refined sugar. Certain genetic diseases, like Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome, are also often associated with obesity. Additionally, some diseases and medications can contribute to weight gain; for example, steroids can trigger intense, uncontrollable weight gain.
However, how one interacts with their environment usually determines their weight. A person with a genetic predisposition to obesity may weigh less than someone of the same height, age, and gender without such predisposition. Behavior ultimately drives weight gain and loss, which means the soaring rates of obesity in America can potentially be mitigated.
But why is obesity a new issue in 21st-century America? Over the past few decades, the culture and environment in the United States have changed, along with the weights of the majority of Americans. Many people are now working full-time jobs that force them to sit in front of a computer all day. Women, in particular, are entering the workforce, and it’s speculated that this focus on careers has contributed to higher obesity rates among women than men. Moreover, aggressive advertising campaigns lure Americans into fast food restaurants. Urban sprawl means that people no longer walk or bicycle to their destinations but drive instead. In a society where food is abundant but physical activity is hardly encouraged, obesity flourishes.
Another interesting factor contributing to obesity is socioeconomic status. While wealthy developed nations have citizens who battle severe weight issues, those from lower-income backgrounds are more likely to be obese than those from higher incomes. It appears that individuals with financial concerns are more tempted to buy cheap, unhealthy fast food instead of investing time and money into healthier home-cooked meals. Additionally, those from lower socioeconomic statuses often have less education about healthy eating and less time to engage in leisurely physical activities that help burn off calories.
In the Stone Age and even into the early 1800s, overweight women were considered beautiful, fertile, and healthy. Today, however, that perception has changed, and yet obesity has actually increased. This phenomenon brings us to another counterintuitive influence on the obesity epidemic: the portrayal of ultra-thin models as the ideal of beauty in America. The average female supermodel is five feet eleven inches tall and weighs 117 pounds, while the National Center for Health Statistics reports that the average weight for an adult female in the United States is 162.9 pounds. The gap is stark and telling. If the beauty idealized in today’s popular culture is unattainable for most, it may encourage self-hatred and depression, potentially leading to overeating rather than healthy weight loss.
The causes of obesity can also begin at an early age. Children and teenagers are not categorized as obese (that label is reserved for fully developed adults), but according to the Surgeon General, 13% of children aged six to eleven and 14% of adolescents aged twelve to nineteen were overweight in 1999 alone.
If bad eating habits and low physical activity are normalized at home and school, children are likely destined for lifelong struggles with weight issues and possibly obesity. However, if educational programs are designed to support families and cafeteria food is limited to only nutritious options, the obesity epidemic may become a thing of the past.
While certain populations have higher rates of obesity than others, obesity rates in general have increased across all races, genders, ages, and socioeconomic statuses in America. This means it’s a significant problem that can’t be dismissed simply because the solution seems straightforward on the surface. To address the issue, one must recognize the reasons behind it. By thoroughly examining the causes of obesity, society can make significant progress toward solving the problem!
