There are various reasons for being overweight. It does not always result from nutritional laziness or a poor diet. Too much body weight can be psychological or emotional. Then eating is treated as a kind of addiction and is referred to as food addiction. Therefore, the fight against excess weight is as difficult as the fight against other stimulants. The causes of being overweight may be due to genetics or physiological factors. Treatment of excess weight is possible only after diagnosing its causes.
The most common causes of excess weight
There are many reasons for obesity or simply being overweight. Many factors influence this. Here are the most common reasons that are relevant to most people today.
Hereditary factors
Children are often overweight because their parents are overweight. It is likely that parents pass on genes to their children responsible for eating food and converting it into energy. If the mother or father is obese in the family, there is a high risk that the child will be obese. In this case, prevention is especially important. Obesity does not have to occur. Only the predisposition is inherited, not the disease itself. It is the main reason to find weight loss programs.
Physiological factors
Physiological factors may regulate overweight in children or adults. That is, it may depend on the appetite. Treatment of overweight should begin by reducing excessive appetite. Appetite depends on the size of meals, their frequency, composition, and taste.
In addition to food, the appetite is influenced by the central nervous system, including neurotransmitters. Noradrenaline stimulates the craving for carbohydrates, and serotonin lowers this craving. With such knowledge, we know which substance to stimulate to work. Thus, you should test the best diet for weight loss.
Psychological causes of excess weight
Overweight arises when a person loses control over their appetite—large amounts of food eaten to turn into excess body fat. There is obesity. People who suffer from this type of problem tend to close in on themselves. They avoid contact with others because they are afraid of negative reactions.
Being overweight becomes an excuse to explain failures. Sad people consume more food as comfort. They avoid physical activity, cycling, running, swimming, skipping rope, or riding a scooter. Thus, the vicious circle is closed.
Unhealthy lifestyle and the problem of overweight
The main causes of being overweight are an inadequate diet rich in fat and a lack of exercise or any other physical activity. Additionally, consumed alcohol enhances weight gain. Alcohol supplies the body with “empty” calories. Unfortunately, more and more of us do not have time to eat a healthy and wholesome meal (e.g., healthy breakfast or a vitamin-rich, easily digestible dinner) and instead use fast-food restaurants and bars.
Not only does deep-frying take place there, but also adding caloric mayonnaise or sauces to food. Besides, most of the dishes there are made of fatty pork. The mentioned lack of physical activity causes the metabolism to slow down, and the extra calories are not burned.
Overweight is a disease – its treatment can be carried out under the supervision of a specialist, just like slimming children. Treatment of overweight should begin with changing the diet and introducing physical activity.
Overweight and obesity: what is the difference?
Overweight is the accumulation of body fat over the accepted norms, occurring to a moderate degree and resulting in increased body weight. It is not obesity yet, but it can lead to it. So you need a diet plan.
Obesity, in turn, is an advanced, even pathological excess of adipose tissue, significantly exceeding the physiological needs of the body. Obesity itself is a dangerous chronic disease, often treated with medication, and can lead to many other dangerous conditions and complications.
How to check whether we are still overweight or obese? Appropriate measurements should be made, which uses BMI – one of the most popular body mass indexes.
BMI index
The BMI, or body mass index, also known as QueteletaII, is used to determine normal body weight in adults. It is calculated using a simple equation that uses weight and height. According to WHO, the normal BMI, showing the optimal weight-to-height ratio, ranges from 18.6 to 24.9.
For adults, the BMI value indicates:
- <16.0 – starvation
- 16.0–16.99 – emaciation
- 17.0–18.49 – underweight
- 18.5–24.99 – correct value
- 25.0–29.99 – overweight
- 30.0–34.99 – I degree of obesity
- 35.0-39.99 – II degree of obesity (clinical obesity)
- ≥ 40.0 – III degree of obesity (extreme obesity)
You can also choose the best weight loss apps. In addition to the BMI index, obesity diagnosis, testing, and further classification include:
- WHR (waist-hip ratio) – waist-hip circumference ratio,
- Anthropometry – measuring the thickness of the skin fold,
- Measurement of the body’s electrical bioimpedance – or body composition analysis.
Obesity – types
There are different types of obesity, the classification of which depends on the cause of the occurrence or distribution of adipose tissue in the body. Due to the basis of obesity, we can divide into:
- Primary or simple – occurring in the vast majority of cases resulting from the dependence of genetic, biological, and environmental factors. This obesity is the result of supplying an excessive amount of energy in food about the body’s energy needs;
- Secondary, which may appear in the course or as a result of another disease. Secondary obesity can also be the result of taking certain medications.
Due to the distribution of adipose tissue in the body, obesity can be divided into:
- Generalized (simple) – adipose tissue is evenly distributed throughout the body,
- Visceral-abdominal (android),
- Gluteus-femoral (gynoid).
The causes of obesity
Diagnosing obesity allows you to determine the causes of excessive accumulation of adipose tissue and defines the type of obesity. Only then can you decide on the treatment of obesity and the form of weight loss.
Being overweight depends on many factors and can be both genetic defects and lifestyle. It is worth noting that sedentary people with metabolic problems carry more weight than active and cheerful people. It is worth noting that psychological and physical problems are a common combination that forms negative factors leading to excess weight.
However, whether or not genetic anomalies are involved, the main cause of simple obesity is a disturbed energy balance of the body. This means that the energy provided to the body from food significantly exceeds its needs and is stored in the form of adipose tissue.
Other factors that contribute to the development of obesity:
Incorrect diet – eating large amounts of high-calorie food, processed products with no nutritional value. Excess sugar and saturated fat in foods;
- Overeating;
- Sedentary lifestyle;
- Physical inactivity;
- Excess stress;
- Psychological disorders.
Slimming – effective methods
Weight loss will look different if you try to lose a few unnecessary kilograms and different in the case of excess body fat, indicating overweight or obesity. Before you try to lose weight on your own, it is worth consulting a specialist. If you are slightly overweight, you can seek advice from a dietitian. Still, when dealing with obesity, a doctor should make the diagnosis and, together with the patient, determine the treatment. Good diet plan for weight loss will be the best options.
In the case of secondary obesity, the deciding factor in the type of slimming therapy will be the direct cause of the patient’s weight gain. Losing weight when diagnosed with simple (primary) obesity will primarily require changing eating habits and thus following a proper diet, introducing the physical activity, taking care of healthy sleep, relaxation, and avoiding stimulants.
Where to start?
First of all, we must start with a clearly defined goal. Don’t tell yourself, “I need to lose weight,” but set a specific goal. Let it be a given number of kilograms at a given time – it may be the first day of the holiday, birthday, wedding, or a smaller size of clothes or fewer centimeters in circumferences. Think about how important it is to you.
How To Lose Weight Fast?
Do you want fast and visible results? Are you wondering how to lose weight? Diet and physical activity must go hand in hand. Most people who want to lose weight and get rid of unnecessary fat around the thighs or abdomen go to the gym, run on a treadmill, do hundreds of sit-ups, and keep the board for hours. Set best diet plan and start trainings.
Surely you’ve heard from someone more than once that he goes to the gym to get rid of fat or exercise to turn fat into muscle. You may have heard people say that since they stopped going to the gym, their muscles turned to fat. These, known to everyone, statements are nothing but myths. In that case, questions arise – how to lose weight, how to build muscle tissue, or how to slim the body? Chose galveston diet or any other option.
The truth is, by exercising at the gym, we build our muscles that don’t directly impact fat burning. If we want to build up our biceps or shoulders, we grab dumbbells and do all the known raises, thrusts, and flexes. From training to training, our biceps and shoulders grow. To reduce the waist circumference, we lie down on the mat and do crunches at the end of each workout. What is happening in this situation? The same as with the biceps – our abdominal muscles grow, not become concave.
