Last Updated on February 25, 2021
Food is not always the cause of obesity. 72% of men and 63% of women around the world are overweight and for different reasons. The thing is, many people blame obesity on bad eating habits or poor diet, or a sedentary lifestyle, but those are not always the reasons behind it.
Sometimes obesity is outside of your control because of certain health conditions, medications, environmental factors, or simply genetics.
If you’re wondering why your diet is not working, check out these five causes of obesity or reasons why you’re gaining weight that might have nothing to do with food.
1. Environmental chemicals
The environment surrounding us and our habits can immensely affect our health and body weight. External chemicals, scientifically known as “obesogens,” get into our bodies through the products we use and the things we consume, which then seem like hormones to our bodies when they can actually be harmful.
Being exposed to certain chemicals in your environment, such as phthalates or bisphenol A (BPA) found in most plastics, can result in weight gain as these chemicals tend to increase fat storage in the body.
In fact, Environmental Protection Agency (
EPA) found chemicals from plastics in 93% of urine samples in the United States.
2. Hormones that cause obesity
Hormones in the body could also be behind obesity. For example, the hormone leptin produced by fat cells and secreted in the bloodstream is responsible for how the body manages the storing of fat.
Excess fat cells in your body can produce leptin hormone, and excess leptin can lead to obesity.
You should seek medical help if you want to regulate leptin levels and keep yourself healthy. You can take it upon yourself to get enough sleep, exercise, lower your sugar intake to help fix leptin levels.
3. Underactive thyroid
An underactive thyroid is one of the overlooked reasons behind weight gain and can be one of the main causes of obesity.
When your thyroid glands are not producing enough thyroid hormones, excess accumulation of water and salt in your body can lead to weight gain.
