Obesity is considered as the 5th leading cause of death worldwide. More than 600 million people come under the bracket of obesity. 4.5 million children below the age of 5 years are obese.
Shocking. Is it not? But did you also know that obesity is preventable? All of the statistics mentioned above can be reversed. Mentioned below are some of the hidden causes of obesity.
- There has been an increase in the number of mental illness and depression cases; it is not something that can be talked about that easily. It takes a lot courage to open up about ones mental illness. Anti-depressant medications that have been prescribed to those who have been diagnosed with depression tend to have side effects on the metabolism and food intake of the individual. Which makes them increase weight.
- As per research, artificial sweetners increase our craving for sweet food. Their zero calorie marketing has severe to adverse affects on our mind and body. The hypothalamus (our reward centre) tends to get severely affected, thereby making us crave more sweets and gain weight.
- The 9 endocrine glands present in our body secrete 100 kinds of hormones to help regulate the metabolism and fat absorption in our body. If these glands are affected in any way such as hyperthyroidism, hypoglycaemia or diabetes, there can be a change in our body weight. Getting the endocrine glands checked is a must, to rule them as a cause of weight gain or not.
- The phrase “low fat” is like music to our ears, we consume these products without batting an eye. Did you know that consuming these products are not good for you? These tend to be packed with more sweets than we were aware of. Which is probably why, we are not losing any weight.
- Diets which tend to reduce our essential calorie intake may work in the beginning, thereby showing us results. These do not work in the long run, as doing so tends to put the body in a state of starvation. Here, the body does not interpret these diets as a diet, but as starvation. Thereby beginning to accumulate all fats in the body leading to weight gain and not loss.
- When an individual is stressed, they tend to release two hormones, namely cortisol and adrenalin. Cortisol tends to increase fat deposition, whenever the body feels like it may be in danger by understanding it as starvation. This makes us crave more food. Those how have chronic stress syndrome, tend to overeat making them gain weight. Even if they try and reduce weight they feel as though they cannot thereby stressing themselves even more and increasing their weight.
- Being sleep deprived is as common as any other state of being, now-a-days. This is because people do not get sufficient hours of REM (rapid eye movement), making them feel tired and unable to exercise. Being unable to sleep at night also has an effect on your metabolism, by increasing food craving; especially at night. This is how the concept of midnight snack came into existence and increasing your weight.
Here are some ways which you may not have knowncould be responsible for your weight gain. Now that you know the hidden causes, you can take some steps towards a healthier lifestyle.
