Why do people gain weight?

Why do people gain weight? Listed below are a few reasons you may already know.

Typical eating habits

The process of gaining weight occurs when people consume more calories than they burn through activity. Weight gain is primarily caused by this imbalance. A person’s eating habits can be broken down into two sub-patterns that are associated with weight gain; the choice of food and the timing of eating. 

A variety of reasons lead people to eat at night, including satisfying cravings, coping with boredom, and coping with stress. A typical example is eating large portions of highly caloric foods while watching television or using a computer. There’s no doubt that in such situations, you’re prone to consuming an entire bag, carton, or container before you even realise it. Besides adding unwanted calories to the body, eating too close to bedtime can also cause indigestion and difficulty sleeping.

Lack of physical activity

As opposed to walking to local shops and carting bags home, we drive to megastores, park near the entrance, put our purchases in a shopping cart, and drive home with them or have them delivered. Many daily chores are now automated, including vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, and a host of other appliances that reduce physical effort.

The recommended amount of exercise per week is 150 to 300 minutes. On average, that’s about 30 to 70 minutes per day. 

Despite the fact that exercise contributes to a variety of health benefits, and research suggests that it can help patients lose weight and maintain weight in the short and long run, patients often have trouble committing to a regular exercise program and maintaining that program.

Rhythms of sleep

Studies have linked short or disrupted sleep with one of the major health problems associated with obesity: metabolic syndrome. This condition consists of high triglycerides and cholesterol, hypertension, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance, among other symptoms that can lead to heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.

Sleeping seven or more hours per night is associated with a 33% greater likelihood of weight loss compared with sleeping fewer hours. It is recommended that you limit your screen time before sleep, reduce your caffeine intake, and go to bed at a consistent time if you have poor sleep quality.

Lifestyle dominated by sedentary activities

The lack of physical activity is a major contributor to weight gain and chronic diseases. Sedentary activities encompass working a desk job, watching television, driving, and using the computer or phone. A study has also shown that excessive screen time can negatively affect your health and contributes significantly to unintentional weight gain. Bringing the slightest change into your lifestyle like exercising and sitting less can make a huge difference to your health. 

Weight gain can be attributed to PCOS and hypothyroidism. The symptoms of PCOS can be worsened by hypothyroidism, including weight gain, irregular periods, and insulin resistance, but it can also cause other symptoms as well. Dysrhythmias (slow heart rates) and goitres (enlarged thyroid glands) are some of the most common conditions.

Stress of stress

Stress can contribute to weight gain. In order to prevent stress-related weight gain, you need to work on managing stress, whether it has to do with overeating and unhealthy eating patterns, or increased levels of cortisol (the primary stress hormone). 

Stress can affect your body in a noticeable way, even if you don’t notice it at first. Stress affects your physical, mental, and emotional health in many ways, from tight muscles to headaches, irritability, and feeling out of control. The effects of stress often become apparent right away. Weight gain, for instance, may take time for you to notice as a way your body responds to stress.

There can be serious, long-term health consequences resulting from stress peaks or when stress is difficult to manage. A chronic state of stress can lead to depression, hypertension, insomnia, heart disease, anxiety, and obesity.

Genes 

Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to account for the obesity epidemic. Nevertheless, there is evidence that alterations in several genes can contribute to obesity by increasing the desire for food and calorie intake. An inherited pattern of inherited obesity can be caused by a specific variant of a single gene (monogenic obesity).

Sources:

1. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/basics/causes.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fobesity%2Fadult%2Fcauses.html
2. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-people-become-overweight#:~:text=Excess%20calories%20are%20stored%20throughout,by%20creating%20more%20of%20them.