Main Causes of Obesity

This essay explores the main causes of obesity and discusses intervention strategies to prevent and treat obesity. It highlights factors such as unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, eating disorders, medications, smoking, and mental health. The essay also discusses intervention strategies including healthy diet programs, daily physical exercise routines, smoking cessation programs, psychological counseling, pharmacological support, and surgical intervention.

Running head: MAIN CAUSES OF OBESITY
Main Causes of Obesity
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction:
Among the myriad of different non-communicable health conditions, obesity
represents one health concern that affects a vast majority if patient populations worldwide
(Skinner et al. 2016). Obesity can be defined as the state of excess body weight which has the
potential to cause detrimental impact on the physical and psychosocial health of the
individuals. Anyone having a BMI that is greater than 30.0 are considered to be obese or be
suffering from obesity (Locke et al. 2015). Obesity is a grave health adversity that paves way
for various other health concerns such as diabetes, cardiovascular health disorders, renal
disorders and even osteoarthritis (Mikhail et al. 2018). With respect to the demographic
context of United Kingdom, obesity is a significant public health concern (Locke et al. 2015).
Considering the statistical data, more than 30% of the adult population in the United
Kingdom had been clinically diagnosed with obesity having BMI index greater than 30.0; the
undiagnosed or underdiagnosed rates are presumed to be much higher (Keaver et al. 218).
Hence, undoubtedly, obesity is a grave health issue and there is need for efforts to minimize
the impact of the disease on the population. This essay attempts to explore the exact reasons
contributing to the predominance of this disease in the UK demographics and factors that can
help address the major contributors so that it is turn results in reduction of the incidence rate
of the disease.
Discussion:
Main Causes Of Obesity:
Unhealthy Diet:
According to several authors, unhealthy diet, characterized by a high intake of fats
and carbohydrates and low intake of dietary fiber is one of the key risk factors of obesity,
especially in developed countries. Skinner et al. (2016) suggests that in developed nations, the

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availability and choice for food is higher, which along with the competitive pricing of junk
food have led to an increased consumption of fat and carbohydrate rich food in UK and
thereby have caused a significant increase in obesity in the country (Burgoine et al. 2018). It
has also been pointed out that sugaredbeverages and bottled juice are also key contributors to
the rise in obesity. Other studies have suggested that fried food also increases risk of obesity
(Musaiger et al. 2016).
Lack of Physical Activity/ Sedentary Lifestyle:
Risk of obesity also increases due to a lack of physical activity or when the physical
activity is not enough, leading to the buildup of fat. According to Myers et al. 2017, sedentary
lifestyle increases the risk for obesity as well as type 2 diabetes. It has been suggested by
several authors that physical inactivity can significantly increase risks of several health
conditions, apart from obesity and diabetes and include cardiovascular diseases, high blood
pressure, osteoporosis, arthritis and depression (Gibbs et al. 2015).
Eating Disorder:
Brownell and Walsh (2017) pointed out that Obesity can also be caused due to eating
disorders such as compulsive eating or binge eating, also known as Bulimia Nervosa (BN)
and Binge Eating Disorder (BDE). Such condition leads to the consumption of unnecessarily
high amount of food regularly or whenever under stress. Eating disorders can also increase
risks of various co morbidities associated with obesity and also adversely impact the mental
health of the person (Da Luz et al. 2017).
Medications:
Obesity can be caused due to several medications and their side effects. Several
antidepressants are known to increase appetite over time and therefore increasing risks of
obesity, especially among overweight individuals. Similarly, antipsychotics, diabetes

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medications can also increase the risks of obesity by affecting the metabolic rate of the
body.Additionally antihistamines, blood pressure medications,oralcontraceptives and
corticosteroids are also known to increase obesity risks (Ronsley et al. 2015; Troyanova-
Wood 2018;Suchon et al. 2017)
Smoking:
Wang et al. (2015) suggested that smoking can increase the risks of obesity and the
effect increases with an increase in the number of cigarettes smoked each day (frequency of
smoking). According to Skinner et al (2016), smoking impacts the fat distribution of the body,
which increases the risks of obesity. Also, other studies have suggested that the when
smokers attempts to quit smoking, the sudden cessation can also cause an increase in body
weight (An 2015; Shaikh et al. 2015).
Mental health:
According to Shaikh et al. (2016) a history of mental illness can increase risks of
obesity and at the same time, obesity can increase the risks of psychological disorder. Cook et
al. (2016) suggested that mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), depression and anxiety can also increase the risk of obesity apart from eating
disorders. Others have suggested a low self-esteem or a negative body image can also cause
binge eating and obesity (Locke et al. 2015).
Some Intervention Strategies and their success rates:
Several interventions exist to prevent and treat obesity, each with differing success
rates. Discusses below are the interventions:

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Healthy Diet Programs:
Burgoine et al. (2018) have suggested that a healthy diet characterized by low intake
of fats and carbohydrate and increased consumption of dietary fiber can significantly reduce
risks of Obesity. According to Musaiger et al. (2016), consuming one to two serving of leave
vegetables every day can reduce the risks of obesity by up to 63%. Other authors have
suggested that by adapting a healthy, fiber rich diet can significantly reduce risks of both
obesity and diabetes. Similarly stopping the consumption of sugaredbeverages and bottled
drinks can also reduce obesity risk by about 47% (Burgoine et al. 2018).
Daily Physical Exercise Routines:
Increasing physical exercise levels have shown to have helped to reduce body weight
and therefore reduce risks of obesity (Maliniak et al. 2018). Various types of physical activity
routines can be used, depending on the age and fitness of the individual. According to Gibbs
et al. (2015), 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate intensity physical exercise can reduce the risks of
obesity by 35%.Chastin et al. (2015) have also added that exercise helps in the breakdown of
fats and strengthening of muscles which improves the fitness of the individual.
Smoking Cessation Program:
Even though some studies have suggested that smoking cessation can increase the
risks of obesity, it has also been pointed out that such effects are temporary, and on the longer
term, cessation of smoking can reduce the risks of obesity. The effectiveness of the strategy
however is not very clear since there are various factors involved such as the diet of the
individuals, frequency and duration of smoking, physical activities as well as genetic and
mental health factors (Shaikh et al. 2015).

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Psychological Counselling:
Psychological intervention can be used to help individuals overcome mental health
conditions that increase the risks of obesity such as bulimia nervosa, depression, anxiety, or
PTSD. Interventions such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) can be used to change
problematic behavior such as binge eating and can be significantly successful to treat or
prevent obesity (Manzoni et al. 2016).
Pharmacological Support:
Medications which are commonly prescribed to treat Obesity includes orlistat,
lorcaserin, topiramate, naltrexone, buproprion, liraglutide and phentermine. These
medications either blocks how the fat is absorbed by the body (like Orlistat) or by
suppressing the appetitive (like lorcaserin) (Troyanova-Wood 2018). Sometimes a
combination of different medication along with additional intervention strategies are used for
maximum benefit. Ronsley et al. (2015) have also pointed out that the efficacy of these
medications mainly depended on the success of the other interventions.
Surgical Intervention:
Surgical procedures that aim to aid weight loss are called bariatric surgery. There can
be different types of surgeries, each having a different mode of aiding weight loss. The
surgery can be of three main types such as blocking procedures that blocks or limits the
absorption of food, restrictive procedures that reduces the size of the stomach thereby
reducing consumption, and mixed procedures which can use a combination of blocking and
restricting strategies (Angrisani et al., 2015).
Conclusion:
From the above study, it could be understood that Obesity can be caused by several
factors, many of which can be controlled or managed in order to reduce the risks of obesity.

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Considering the fact the Obesity can increase risks of several health conditions, it is therefore
necessary to understand its preventative and management strategies, which have also been
studied briefly.

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