What Factors Contribute to Obesity?

Several key factors have been associated with obesity:

Genetics: This has not yet been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, but researchers believe they have found a gene that is responsible for obesity.

Diet: One of the most important factors. Diet involves the type of food, how much food is eaten, how often food is eaten and the macro-nutrient ratios of the food consumed.

Physical Activity Level: This is also a highly important factor, weighing in (no pun intended) just behind diet in order of importance. Raising activity levels can help increase the metabolism and balance some of the hormone levels when not taken to extremes (less than 2 hours per day).

Metabolism: Metabolism is the rate at which calories are burned doing different activities (including rest), it can be affected by the diet, activity levels, overall health as well as certain medications.

Decreased Thyroid Function: Causes hormone imbalance and affects metabolism.

Other Diseases: See chapter 5, many diseases affect the body’s ability to digest and assimilate food properly, leading to excess fat storage.

Emotions: A big component of the problem, can lead to lethargy (inactivity) and overeating, poor self-esteem and a seemingly endless cycle of despair and indifference.

Ethnic background/ cultural behaviors: Cultural and religious traditions often revolve around food and studies have shown that people eat up to 40% more than normal in a social setting. An example of this is that most people claim to gain weight during the holidays.

Economic Status: Lack of financial resources often leads to buying inexpensive, “nutritionally challenged” (a newly coined politically correct term for food that is BAD for you!) foods.

Artificial Food Ingredients:...

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...sential fatty acids. None of these wonderful benefits remain in white flour. White flour is wheat that has been ground into flour, had all of the bran and endosperm removed (the parts with all the health benefits) and then it is chemically processed for that lovely white color and extended shelf life. Of course they “enrich” it by adding lots of vitamins and minerals back in… not the same as before though, they get these from rocks which are, of course, much less useable in the body.

Many people find themselves developing rashes and other symptoms of allergy from consumption of white flour products. It affects your ability to concentrate, contributing to the ADHD epidemic and adds empty carbohydrate calories, contributing to weight gain. I honestly wonder whether one might find more nutrition and flavor by chewing on a cardboard box (don’t try this at home!).