Factors That Increase Your Risk for Obesity
According to this CDC report, more than 36 percent of adults in the United States are obese.
Obesity is the presence of an excessive amount of body fat. It is a health condition that affects men, women, and children. Some risk factors for obesity are more obvious than others. Some of these factors are easy to control and others are not.
- Genetics
Genetics determine the traits you are born with, which you cannot control. Your genes are responsible for how your body stores fat and where it is distributed throughout your body, as well as the conversion rate of food to energy. We do not all burn calories at the same rate.
- Lifestyle
Your family’s traits and traditions, and your current lifestyle, play a huge part in your health. If one or both of your parents are obese, your chances of being obese are dramatically increased. Aside from genetics, children tend to adopt the eating habits and life style of their parents.
- Lack of activity
When you don’t exercise as often as you should, you don’t burn enough calories. When we consume more calories than we burn, they are stored as fat. A walk around the neighborhood is a simple form of exercise, and a good way to increase our activity level.
- Poor diet
It is difficult not to give in to the temptation of junk food. Chips, soda, cake, cookies, and fast food are all subject to overindulgence. A poor diet is typically low in nutrition, but high in empty calories and unhealthy fats.
- Medications
Some prescribed and over-the-counter medications can cause obesity. Some medications require you to change your diet to accommodate the changes that will occur within your body due to the side effects of the medicine. Depending on the illness that is being treated, this side effect may be a necessary evil, making this risk factor extremely difficult to control.
- Hormonal Imbalance
Hormonal changes that occur during puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause can affect your metabolism, appetite and fat storage. An underactive thyroid is one of the leading causes of hormonal weight gain. Chronic stress and insulin resistance can offset hormone levels as well. This is a factor you may find hard or impossible to control.
If you’re overweight and having a hard time losing weight, contact our highly skilled medical providers at NuFemme Rejuvenation clinic in Milwaukee, WI.
