FACTORS

1. Energy-Intake: Imbalance between energy intake and expenditure thereof causes extra fat in the body, giving rise to many odd clinical signs & causes.

2. Heredity: It has been seen that, in certain, families, there is a tendency to fatness. Eating patterns, genetic factors and activity are closely related t economic, social and cultural factors and such factors are handed down from one generation to another. But, genetic factors do influence body fat and distribution thereof.

3. Endocrine Factors: This factor influences both pathological and physiological states. Hypogondalism, hypothyroidism and hypopituitarism are also contributory factors for causing obesity. Sometimes, Cushing’s syndrome is also accountable for obesity. On the contrary, clinical tests of certain person also do not reveal any endocrine disorder, leaving aside some glaring and rare exceptions. In women, obesity is a common symptom during menstrual periods-at the time of puberty, during menopause and during pregnancy.

4. Social Factors: Our audio-video publicity, in magazines, papers, T.V.radio and other such means have contributed a lot to the changes in our eating patterns, styles and habits. Eating an eatable of a particular brand had become a symbol of social status, problems multiply when we sacrifice out natural instincts to eat, to play second fiddle to fast food, junk food, fried food and canned pouched or bottled food. The bitterest fact is that hunger and satiety are compelled to be relegated to back-seat, instead we are led by external factors, like taste of food, availability and environment. Unluckily, obese persons are more prone to such pranks and temptations. What is required is, either it is not available or what is available is not required. In such case filling the belly seems to be the main object. Obeses persons eat more but have the lowest energy-expenditure. Imbalance between food (more) intake and less expenditure of energy which is main cause for obesity and resultant diseases.
Very often and especially in social gatherings and functions, obeses persons are indiscreet in eating those very food items which are harmful to them. Obese persons are generally avaricious people and they can’t control themselves. They are more led by taste than by necessity.

Expenditure of Energy: simple principle is to eat when you are hungry and never eat stomachful, but these golden principles are given a go-bye by the greedy obese persons. It is also an oft-repeated maxim that ‘After lunch, rests a while, and after dinner ‘walk a mile.’ But ‘rest’ does not and should mean a 2-3 hour sleep after lunch, rather it should be a ‘Nap’ only. Physical activity must commensurate with the amount of food intake. It should not however, construe that exercise will rectify all the dietary over-indulgence.

Obese have been seen to lead an inactive and inert life. When there is no physical activity to expend energy, generated by eating food, there is bound to be extra fat which, inturn, is enough capable to enlarge scope for host of diseases. In whatever form physical activity is resorted to, it must suffice to burn the calories generated by food-intake. It is no use over-loading your system with extra calories, when you do not have an urge to expend energy. It is a also maintained that thermic response to food may be less than normal in the obese persons, thus leading to greater and more conservation of energy.

Drug-Induced Obesity: Constant and prolonged use of oral contraceptives, insulin, steroids, and phenothiazines stimulate appetite and thus the patient is inclined to eat more. After pregnancy and delivery of child, especially when the confined and nursing mothers are given aforesaid medicines, there is every change of their gaining weight, and thus become obese. Pendulous abdomen and heavy back are the symptoms during postnatal period,

General: Obesity should not be confused with weight gain, because one can have over-weight due to retention of fluid in the body, due to renal, cardiac
or hepatic, and clinical tests hardly reveal such manifestations until there is increase, at least by about 15% of extra-cellular fluid.

Obese people should follow, as a matter of practice and conviction, certain norms and disciplines, such as health charts, weight charts, calorie-based diets, alternate diets, height and weight charts (please refer to relevant chapters and also at the conclusive stage of this book, for further guidance and knowledge) to work a scheduled plan so that they can shed their extra weight.