Top 10 causes of obesity (and how to fight each)

The causes of obesity always involve overeating and lack of physical activity, however also other factors that may be involved and that make it easier to gain weight.

Some of these factors include genetic predisposition, hormonal disorders, emotional problems, decreased dopamine levels and even infection with a specific virus.

Thus, the main causes of obesity and how to fight each of them are:

1. Genetic predisposition

Genetics is involved in the cause of obesity, especially when the parents are obese, because when both the father and the mother are obese, the child has an 80% chance of developing obesity. When only 1 of the parents is obese, this risk decreases to 40% and when the parents are not obese the child has only a 10% chance of being obese.

Even though parents are obese, environmental factors have a major influence on weight gain. However, it may be more difficult for a teenager or adult who is obese since childhood to be able to maintain their ideal weight because it has a greater amount of cells that store fat, and that easily become full.

What to do to lose weight: Daily exercise and a low-fat diet should be part of the routine. Weight loss drugs can be recommended by the endocrinologist, but with willpower it is possible to reach the ideal weight, even without having to resort to bariatric surgery.

2. Hormonal changes

Hormonal diseases are rarely the sole cause of obesity, but about 10% of people who have any of these diseases are at greater risk of being obese:

hypothalamic, Cushing's syndrome, hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome, pseudohypoparathyroidism, hypogonadism, growth hormone deficiency, insulinoma and hyperinsulinism.

However, it is necessary to take into account that whenever the person is overweight there are hormonal changes involved, but this does not always indicate that this is the tail of obesity. Because by reducing weight these hormonal changes can be cured, without the need for medication.

What to do to lose weight: Control the disease that is involved in excess weight, and follow a diet of reeducation and exercise daily.

3. Emotional disorders

The loss of a close person, a job or bad news can lead to a feeling of deep sadness or even depression, and these favor a reward mechanism because eating is pleasurable, but as the person feels sad most of the time. time, he does not find the energy to exercise, to be able to spend the calories and fat he has ingested more in a time of anguish and pain.

What to do to lose weight: It is important to seek help from friends, family or a therapist to overcome this sadness or depression, finding new motivation to live. Exercising, even if you don't feel like it, is an excellent strategy because physical effort releases endorphins into the bloodstream, which promotes a feeling of well-being. Eating foods rich in tryptophan daily is also a good help. But in addition, it is also advisable not to drown your sorrows in a brigadeiro pan, in fast food or a jar of ice cream, and remember to always have a low calorie diet to be able to really burn the accumulated fat.

4. Remedies that put on weight

The use of hormonal drugs and corticosteroids also favor weight gain and can promote obesity because they swell and can lead to increased appetite. Some remedies that put on weight are diazepam, alprazolam, corticosteroids, chlorpromazine, amitriptyline, sodium valproate, glipizide and even insulin.

What to do to lose weight: If possible, you should stop taking the medicine, but only medical advice, if it is not possible to exchange the medicine for another, the solution will be to eat less and exercise more.

5. Infection with the Ad-36 virus

There is a theory that infection by the Ad-36 virus is among the causes of obesity because this virus has already been isolated in animals such as chickens and rats and it has been observed that the contaminated ones end up accumulating more fat. The same has been observed in humans, but there are not enough studies to prove how it influences obesity. What is known is that the infected animals had more fat cells and they were fuller and thus sent hormonal signals for the body to accumulate and store more fat.

What to do to lose weight: Although this theory is confirmed to lose weight, it will be necessary to spend more calories than you eat. This just indicates the level of difficulty that the person may have to lose weight and maintain the ideal weight.

6. Decreased dopamine

Another theory is that obese people have less dopamine, a key neurotransmitter to feel good and satiated, and with its decrease the person ends up eating more and increasing their calorie intake. It is also believed that even if the amount of dopamine is normal, its function may be compromised. It is not yet confirmed whether this decrease in dopamine in the brain is a cause or consequence of obesity.

What to do to lose weight: In this case, the secret is to increase the production of dopamine by exercising and eating foods such as boiled eggs, fish and flaxseed, which increase serotonin and dopamine and are responsible for giving the sensation of pleasure and well-being. be in the body. The endocrinologist may also indicate the use of remedies for weight loss, which decrease appetite so that it is easier to stick to the diet.

7. Changes in Leptin and Ghrelin

Leptin and ghrelin are two important hormones to regulate appetite, when their functioning is not properly regulated the person feels more hungry and therefore eats a greater amount of food, and more often during the day. Ghrelin is produced by fat cells and the more cells a person has, the more ghrelin it will produce, however, in obese people it is common to find another factor that is when ghrelin receptors are not working properly, so even though there is a lot of ghrelin in the body, the feeling of satiety never reaches the brain. Ghrelin is produced in the stomach and indicates when a person needs to eat more, because it increases appetite. Studies in obese people have already confirmed that even after eating a lot the amount of ghrelin in the body, it does not decrease and therefore always feels more hungry.

What to do to lose weight: Although you can confirm by blood test any change in the mechanism of leptin and ghrelin, the solution to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. However, in that case you may need to take medication to control your appetite. See what are the remedies for weight loss that the endocrinologist can indicate.

8. Lack of physical activity

Lack of daily physical activity is one of the main causes of obesity because doing exercises that make your shirt sweat for at least 40 minutes every day is the best way to burn your ingested calories or accumulated fat. Being sedentary, the body cannot burn all the calories ingested through food and the result of this is the accumulation of fat in the region of the belly, arms and legs, but the more weight the person has the more areas are filled with fat, such as the back, under the chin, and on the cheeks.

What to do to lose weight: The only way out is to stop being sedentary and do some physical activity every day. Those who do not like the gym, should take a walk down the street, for example. But the ideal is to make it a habit and for it to be pleasant and not a moment of pure suffering, you should choose a physical activity that you like a lot but that is enough to move and sweat your shirt. When the person is bedridden and cannot move or is very old, the only way to lose weight will be through food.

9. Food rich in sugar, fat and carbohydrates

Excessive consumption of foods rich in sugar, fat and carbohydrates is the main cause of obesity because even if the person has other factors involved, there will be no accumulation of fat if the person does not eat. If the person has a low metabolism, the greater the chances of accumulating fat, in which case the solution is to eat less, but if the person has a faster metabolism, he can eat more and not put on weight, but these are not the majority of population. Binge eating that is when a person eats a lot in a few minutes is also a major cause of obesity but in any case, food can be a refuge when your emotions are not well controlled.

What to do to lose weight: Doing a restart in the brain, deciding to eat well and following a dietary reeducation is essential to be able to stop being obese. There is no need to go hungry, but everything you eat should be simple, without sauces, without fat, without salt and without sugar, with a low amount of carbohydrates. Vegetable soups, fruit salads are always welcome and all treats are prohibited. To be able to maintain your diet and stop being obese the most important thing is to find motivation. Writing in a notebook the reasons that make you want to lose weight is an excellent strategy. Pasting these motifs on the wall, a mirror or wherever you are constantly watching can be of great help to always feel motivated to stay focused and really lose weight.

10. Other common causes

Other factors that also favor weight gain and may be related to obesity are:

• Stop smoking because the nicotine that decreased appetite is no longer present, favoring increased calorie intake; Taking a vacation because it changes the daily routine and eating tends to be more caloric at this stage; Stop exercising because your metabolism body goes down quickly, although the appetite remains the same and with that more fat ends up being accumulated; right.

In any case, treatment for obesity always involves diet and exercise, but the use of drugs to lose weight can be an option, especially for those who need to have bariatric surgery, for example, to reduce the risks of surgery.

What does not work to lose weight

The main strategy that does not work to lose weight is to follow a fad diet because these are very restrictive, difficult to fulfill and because even if the person gets thin very fast, they will probably put on weight again as fast as they lost weight. These crazy diets usually take a large number of nutrients, and can make the person sick, discouraged and even malnourished. For this reason, it is best to undergo a dietary reeducation guided by a nutritionist.