Causes of Obesity

We are getting fatter. Approximately 39.6% of US adults were characterized as obese in 2016 compared to 13.4% in 1980.

Even more alarming, obesity in kids has also been increasing. In 2016 18.5% of US children were obese compared to just 4% before 1980.

Experts on the subject have projected that by 2030, nearly one in two US adults will be obese, and nearly one in four will be severely obese.

In as many as 29 states, the prevalence of obesity will exceed 50%, with no state having less than 35% of residents who are obese.

This is serious because obesity is inked to many health problems. It increases your risk of developing diabetes, cancer, chronic inflammation and heart disease.

The Causes of Obesity

So, what’s the reason for this obesity epidemic? What are the causes of obesity? Here are three well known causes of obesity and one that will surprise you.

1. Calories in Versus Calories Out

When you take in more calories than your body needs for everyday activities and functions, your body stores the rest. This leads to weight gain.

This energy imbalance has increased over the past 20 years because we are less active (energy out). We are also taking in more calories (energy in) because we’re eating more calorie dense foods like processed foods and take-out.

2. It’s in Your Genes

Some people believe they are genetically programmed to be obese. Fortunately, that’s rarely the case.

Although genetics is widely believed to be associated with obesity, genes can only explain 2.7% of an individual’s weight issues.

So, the two most commonly given explanations - energy balance and genetics - cannot fully explain the shocking increases in obesity observed in the US and worldwide.

3. It’s in Your Gut

In the past several decades there’s been a lot of interest and research in the role your gut plays in your health. Specifically, your gut bacteria, a.k.a gut microbiome composition. So, it’s now well-established that obesity is associated with the composition of your gut microbiome.

This research has also found that there are numerous things that can mess with your gut microbiome. For example, the typical “Western Diet” of highly processed, calorie dense foods and fatty meats is messing with your gut.

And so is exposure to some toxic chemicals like arsenic and mercury. The changes caused by this exposure might increase your risk for obesity.

4. Exposure To Obesogens

Researchers are now examining the role that toxic chemicals plays in the world’s obesity problem. The fourth cause of obesity, called The Obesogen Hypothesis, proposes that environmental chemicals, termed “obesogens,” promote obesity.  

This fourth cause of obesity impacts the other three.

Calories In/Calories Out - Because of obesogen exposure we eat more, metabolize calories less efficiently, shift energy balance to favor calorie storage and increase the size and number of your fat cells. Obesogen exposure can also change the amount of food needed to increase weight or the amount of exercise needed to lose weight.

Your Genes - Some obesogenic effects are linked to adulthood exposures. But there is a rapidly growing body of evidence that suggests the toxins you were exposed to as a baby and a child will cause you to be overweight as an adult.

You can essentially be reprogrammed by obesogens to have a slower metabolism, more or larger fat cells and more abdominal fat as an adult. Even low-level exposure during fetal development and infancy may cause irreversible effects in adulthood.

And these changes can be passed to future generations, making them more susceptible to obesity.

Your Gut - Many known obesogens, like BPA and two common dietary emulsifiers, carboxylmethylcellulose and P-80, can and do change your gut microbiome. The information available indicates that they can change the types, number and function of bacteria in your gut.

These microbiome changes can alter metabolic activity and liver function, increase inflammation in your intestine and inhibit the functioning of a key regulator of fat and glucose metabolism.

Your Endocrine System and Obesogen Exposure 

Scientists who study obesogens believe obesogen exposure is an under-recognized and understudied cause of obesity.

This makes sense because nearly every aspect of appetite control, metabolism and fat storage is regulated by the endocrine system. Many endocrine organs and hormones work together to regulate metabolism and body weight.

And many obesogens can interfere with normal endocrine regulation because they are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

Plus, guess where EDCs love to hang out in your body? That’s right – EDCs are fat loving chemicals that ‘prefer’ to be stored in your body fat.

Since fat cells act much like an endocrine organ, releasing hormones related to your appetite and metabolism, they are prime targets for endocrine disrupting toxins.

Bottom Line - Obesogens are thought to cause obesity by:

1. Increasing the number of fat cells in your body.
2. Increasing the size of your fat cells by programming fat cells to store more fat.
3. Affecting how your body metabolizes fat.
4. Affecting the hormones that influence your appetite, food preferences and energy metabolism
5. Disrupting your gut bacteria (microbiome).
6. Causing epigenetic changes (modifications to DNA) that are passed to future generations. making them more susceptible to obesity.

Obesogen Toxins

In the EPA Toxicity Reference data base (ToxRefDB) there are approximately 100 chemicals linked to increased body weight and/or increased blood glucose, and pancreatic effects. The following chemicals have received a lot of attention as obesogens.

Keep in mind, much of what is known about obesogens comes from animal studies. Plus, this is a new field with lots of unknowns. But the evidence is mounting.

New human studies are being done. And new suspected obesogens are continually being discovered. Here are some of the more common and well-studied ones.

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Protecting Your Health

Maintaining a healthy weight can be tough. Exposure to obesogens is making it even tougher. Since obesity leads to many health issues, reducing your obesogen exposure in addition to eating a healthy diet and getting lots of exercise is an effective healthy weight combo.

In the article Obesogens, An Environmental Link to Obesity (EHP 2012) Dr Blumberg, who coined the term obesogen, stated that he believes “the effects of early-life exposure are irreversible, and those people will fight a life-long battle of the bulge. However, if such people reduce their exposure to obesogens, they will also reduce health effects that may arise from ongoing adulthood exposures.”

You can reduce your exposure to obesogens by:

• Filtering your drinking water
• Switching to organic produce
• Reducing the high fat foods in your diet
• Using only natural pesticides
• Reducing the plastic and canned goods in your life
• Avoiding stain-resistant and stick-resistant coatings
• Eating more whole foods, less processed foods

For the best ways to protect yourself and your family from the toxic chemicals that make you fat check out my ebook Sabatoging Skinny and Dr. Blumberg's new book The Obesogen Effect. 

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