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Overweight and Obesity

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Overweight and Obesity
Overweight is having extra body weight from muscle, bone, fat, and/or water. Obesity is having a high amount of extra body fat.
What causes obesity & overweight?
A number of factors can play a role in weight gain. These include diet, lack of exercise, factors in a person’s environment, and genetics.
Food and Activity
People gain weight when they eat more calories than they burn through activity. This imbalance is the greatest contributor to weight gain.
Environment
The world around us influences our ability to maintain a healthy weight. For example:
• Not having area parks, sidewalks, and affordable gyms makes it hard for people to be physically active.
• Oversized food portions increase calorie intake, making even more physical activity necessary to maintain a healthy weight.
• Food advertising encourages people to buy unhealthy foods, such as high-fat snacks and sugary drinks.
Genetics
Genetics plays a great role in obesity. Genes can directly cause obesity in such disorders as Prader-Willi syndrome.
Genes also may contribute to a person’s susceptibility to weight gain. Scientists believe that genes may increase a person’s likelihood of becoming obese but that outside factors, such as an abundant food supply or little physical activity, also may be required for a person to put on excess weight.
Health Conditions and Medications
Some hormone problems may cause overweight and obesity, such as underactive thyroid, Cushing syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Certain medicines also may cause weight gain, including some corticosteroids, antidepressants, and seizure medicines.
Stress, Emotional Factors, and Poor Sleep
Some people eat more than usual when they are bored, angry, upset, or stressed.
Studies also have found that the less people sleep, the more likely they are to be overweight or obese. This is partly because hormones that are released during sleep control appetite and the body’s use of energy.

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