Factors Affecting Obesity

Factors Affecting Obesity 

Obesity has become a global issue and it is rising, everyday year, month, day and even minute. What can be done to stop this from growing? Well, the answer to this is simple. We must look into the reasons why obesity is increasing among humans of all races, cultures and genders. By looking at the factors that can influence obesity, we deal with it. We need to look out for these factors to stop obesity from increasing and do something about it. 

Prenatal and Postnatal Influences

Early life plays an important part in increasing risk of obesity. According to research, mothers who smoke or are overweight will give birth to a child who has increased risk of becoming obese later in his/her life. Excessive weight gain during infancy increases adult obesity.

Unhealthy Diet

As we are advancing with technologies so are we with are portion sizes. One donut of half the palm hand size has developed into the size of a full palm hand size over the years. One small 250ml cup has been upsized to 500ml bottle for normal drinking purpose.

Apart from that, more refined grains, high content of fat and sugary items as well as high red meat intakes have led the birth of a western diet that is contributing to obesity in children and adults.

Too much Television

Due to interesting and competitive seasons and movies being shown, more people are hooked to their televisions screens that causes binge eating as well as decreases physical activity since more time is spent sitting and watching.

Less Sleeping

Life in the current decade has become increasingly busy, there is less time to take care of oneself and get some sleep. According to research, people who sleep less are plausible to be overweight or obese as hormones are released that increases hunger.

Decreased Physical Activity

As technologies advance, walking is replaced by moving cars, taking stairs has been replaced by electronic lifts, going to the library to look up something has been replaced by the touch of small devices known as mobile phones and laptop. Hence, decreasing physical activity. 

Aggressive Marketing

Increasing marketing of unhealthy food have led to increased choice of intake in this modern world.

Stress and Emotional Factors

People tend to eat more when they are experiencing feelings of boredom, stress, anxiety or are upset.

Genetic

According to various studies, the kind of food one tends to eat has impact on the gene expression.

Food Availability

The kind of food people eat is highly the result of the types of food available to them. In supermarkets and local shops in Pakistan, one type of food can be easily spotted. The junk food. It is available almost everywhere. However, it is hard to find a bowl of salad or fruit or any other unprocessed or healthy item in a local shop. 

Also, the cost of healthy versus the junk and unhealthy is huge. For instance, a packet of chips will cost around 10 to 50 rupees, whereas, a bowl of salad/fruit will start from 120 onwards.

Medications

Weight gain is a side effect of many pharmaceutical drugs. Antidepressant is one of them.

Engineered Junk Food

Since the basic concept of junk food is to a longer shelf life and a taste that is too good to be true, they are heavily engineered and are far from whole foods.