5 Causes of Obesity That are NOT Excessive Eating

3. Food Knowledge

As we mentioned, education is a key factor is fighting against any problem you may face in life, and obesity is no different. Considering that a lot of people aren’t aware of how nutritious or unhealthy the food they eat on a daily basis is, it can add up over a lifetime.

Certain foods that we may think are good for us, either due to ignorance or misinformation, can end up being detrimental. This can hinder your attempts to eat a balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight no matter how hard you try. Portion control is another key thing to consider because just because a food is deemed healthy doesn’t mean one can eat exorbitant amounts of it. Everything in moderation!

4. Metabolism & Hormone Imbalance

Metabolism is the body’s ability to effectively break down the food we eat and convert it into energy. When a person’s metabolism isn’t functioning at maximum capacity, under-utilized calories may harvest themselves as body fat, leading to an increase in weight.

Whether someone has a high or low metabolism can depend on several factors. One, as we mentioned earlier, could be related to genetics. The other most common factors include illnesses that cause a hormone imbalance in your body, such as hypothyroidism, Cushing’s Syndrome, depression, or other neurological problems. Furthermore, if someone is one medication like steroids or antidepressants, either in relation to the previously mentioned illnesses or not, it can also affect your metabolism, trigger unhealthy cravings, and cause excess weight gain.

5. Psychological influences

We mentioned that although excessive eating is only a small part of what causes obesity, it does still exist. But in several cases, what leads to such binge eating can be related to psychological reasons or mental health issues.

Mental health problems like depression and anxiety go hand-in-hand with obesity. Either one can trigger the other, thus making both problems worse. When people feel sad, angry, anxious, or just plain bored with life, a lot of the times, they may turn to “comfort” food. Furthermore, this will reduce their motivation to get up and move around, thereby decreasing their physical activity. The weight gain then makes them feel worse about themselves, making them care less about what they eat, so on, and so forth. It’s a vicious cycle, really.