Causes of Obesity in America

Obesity reduces life expectancy with the accumulation of excessive fat in the body. Unmonitored caloric intake and the absence of physical activity leads to a condition that not only limits activity, but also causes severe depression. This condition is also the result of genetic susceptibility and psychiatric illness. Though the condition can be cured with rigorous dieting and a strict physical exercise regime, the application of the program is not always easy. A number of anti-obesity drugs are making the rounds these days, but not without a myriad of side effects. Bariatric or obesity surgery is another option being tapped to deal with the disease.

The fast-food scene in America and the hectic lifestyle that leaves little or no time for meal monitoring is exposing a large number of adolescents and adults to the onset of obesity, one of the causes of death worldwide. Cases of childhood obesity and adult obesity are increasing in the United States, leaving authorities battling with a serious public health problem. Obesity is a complex disease that becomes long term if not addressed in time. Research on obesity reveals that US medical interventions such as weight loss surgery have resulted in alleviated physical and emotional problems that have only added to the adverse social consequences of the disease. It is hence important to understand the causes of obesity and reverse the applications to keep the disease at bay.

Causes of Obesity in America:

• Weight gain is mainly from increased calorie intake from food than the body uses or burns via normal and work related functions. The absence of physical activity in addition to an exercise regime has resulted in the unused calories being stored as fat.
• Morbid obesity is genetic in nature. This means that in the absence of diet monitoring and sufficient exercise, the condition is coupled with the inherited tendency to gain weight, genetically. This is clearly seen in the uncorrelated body weight of children who are adopted in the US and their foster parents. Diabetes and heart disease are also inherited from certain ethnic groups.
• The hectic modern lifestyle and environment in the US encourages the intake of readily available and inexpensive fast food. Most of these meal components are high in fat. In the case of adults, long hours of white collared jobs, call-in fast food and insufficient physical activity magnify the fat storage capacity.
• In the case of children and adolescents, compulsive nibbling between meals and swallowing of food leads to teen obesity. Also unmonitored snack consumption while watching television or playing video games which is a huge indulgence in the US results in the onset of the condition.
• Dealing with work-related stress that is compounded by personal home-related pressure often leads to depression and subsequently, overeating. This ripples on towards decreased inclination for physical activity.

There are many factors that can lead to obesity. Genetic factors, depression, wrong eating habits, the endocrine factor and higher economics are some of the leading triggers. Research on obesity in America and other developed nations in the world has revealed that other than excessive body mass, overweight results in shortness of breath, fatigue, circulatory and respiratory disorders and increased risk of atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and varicose veins. Routine activities take a back seat in time due to enormous mass and psychological imbalances.