10 Possible Causes Of The Obesity Epidemic
By chester
It's well accepted that reduced physical activity and fast food are linked to obesity. But the evidence that these are the main causes of obesity is largely circumstantial. To stimulate debate, experts suggest 10 other possible causes of obesity, outlined in the International Journal of Obesity.

1. Sleep debt. Getting too little sleep can increase body weight. Today, many get less shut-eye than ever.
2. Pollution. Hormones control body weight. And many of today's pollutants affect our hormones.
3. Air conditioning. You have to burn calories if your environment is too hot or too cold for comfort. But more people than ever live and work in temperature-controlled homes and offices.
4. Decreased smoking. Smoking reduces weight. People smoke much less than they used to.
5. Medicine. Many different drugs including contraceptives, steroid hormones, diabetes drugs, some antidepressants, and blood pressure drugs can cause weight gain. Use of these drugs is on the upswing.
6. Population age, ethnicity. Middle-aged people and Hispanic-Americans tend to be more obese than young European-Americans. Americans are getting older and more Hispanic.
7. Older moms. There's some evidence that the older a woman is when she gives birth, the higher her child's risk of obesity.

Calcium may help you live longer: study (Reuters)
Reuters - Getting a bit more calcium in your diet could help you live longer, new research suggests.
High-fiber diet linked to lower lung disease risk (Reuters)
Reuters - People who get enough fiber in their diets, particularly from whole grains, may have a lower risk of developing chronic lung disease than those who eat few high-fiber foods, a new study finds.
Diet, Exercise Can Improve Thinking (HealthDay)
HealthDay - MONDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- A good diet and regular exercise may help the mind function better, a new study suggests.
Pre-Diagnosis Diet Linked to Ovarian Cancer Survival (HealthDay)
HealthDay - THURSDAY, March 4 (HealthDay News) -- Healthy eating habits lead to longer survival for ovarian cancer patients, U.S. researchers say.
Gene test claims to show what diet works best (AP)
AP - Diet not working? Blame your genes. That's the pitch behind a new test that claims to show whether people will do better on a low-fat or a low-carb weight loss plan.
Plant-focused diet may curb breast cancer risk (Reuters)
Reuters - Diets high in vegetables, fruits and soy might cut the risk of developing breast cancer by 30 percent, new research suggests.
Your best diet? It might be in your genes (Reuters)
Reuters - Can't lose weight on a low-fat diet? Maybe you need to cut carbs instead, and a new genetic test may point the way, maker Interleukin Genetics Inc reported on Wednesday.
A Cheek Swab to Choose Your Diet Plan? (HealthDay)
HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- Wondering if you'd do better to cut carbs or fats to lose weight? A DNA test using a cheek swab may reveal which approach would work best for you, new research suggests.
Popular Diet Plans Can Unclog Arteries (HealthDay)
HealthDay - MONDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Any one of three heart-healthy diets -- low-fat, low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean -- can reverse the thickening of artery walls that can lead to heart attack and stroke, an Israeli study indicates.
Study: High-fat diets raise stroke risk in women (AP)
AP - A moment on the lips, forever on the hips? A bad figure is hardly the worst of it. Eating a lot of fat, especially the kind that's in cookies and pastries, can significantly raise the risk of stroke for women over 50, a large new study finds. We already know that diets rich in fat, particularly artery-clogging trans fat, are bad for the heart and the waistline.

Women are giving birth at older and older ages.
8. Ancestors' environment. Some influences may go back two generations. Environmental changes that made a grandparent obese may "through a fetally driven positive feedback loop" visit obesity on the grandchildren.
9. Obesity linked to fertility. There's some evidence obese people are more fertile than lean ones. If obesity has a genetic component, the percentage of obese people in the population should increase.
10. Unions of obese spouses. Obese women tend to marry obese men, and if obesity has a genetic component, there will be still more obese people in the next generation.

These other contributing factors deserve more attention and study. Even more explanations include: a fat-inducing virus; increases in childhood depression; less consumption of dairy products; and hormones used in agriculture. What do you think can be attributed to the epidemic?

Chester is a health nutrition consultant and is the owner of AstroNutrition - a provider of premium health nutrition and sports supplements. Check out our Health and Fitness Blog!