5 Things That Raise Your Obesity Risk

Obesity is one of the fastest growing epidemics across the world. People of all ages are crossing the ‘safety’ threshold as far as body weight is concerned, paving the way to health problems of all kinds and also a hit to their self-image. The modern lifestyle is constantly blamed for increasing obesity risk, which is true, but it isn’t the only factor. There are some other things which increase your risk of becoming obese in the future, five of which are:

Genetics

Genes play an important role in body composition, especially your body fat percentage.

Your body fat and even body mass are directly affected by your genes, down to the way the fat is distributed in the body. Similarly, genetics play a major role in metabolism, which indicates how quickly the stored fats in the body are converted into energy as well as the calories required and calories burned through physical activity by a person. If your parents or any other family member have been obese, it means a greater obesity risk for you.

Family Lifestyle

Family lifestyle is influential in many aspects of life and obesity is no exception. If junk food, eating at odd hours, TV dinners and lack of physical activity are part of your family’s lifestyle, you will find it hard to minimize your risk of being overweight.

Physical Inactivity

Needless to say, physical inactivity increases your obesity risk. A sedentary lifestyle leads to nothing except potentially fatal diseases. You keep consuming calories without burning any. These extra calories are converted to fat by your body and then stored, leading to weight gain. Depending on your lifestyle, this weight gain can be rapid.

Mindless Eating

There are times you find yourself engaged in mindless eating even though are already feeling full. Generally, people snack on junk food. Even when you feel hungry at an odd hour, you are more likely to eat a cheeseburger than cereal. All these foods which you eat mindlessly are high in calories, exacerbating your weight problem.

Lack of Sound Sleep

Not getting enough sleep, 7 to 8 hours on average, can increase your risk of obesity. This is because changes in the sleep cycle alter the metabolism rate which means your body does not convert calories into energy as quickly as it usually does.

So, these are 5 things that raise your obesity risk. Avoiding most of these is difficult, no doubt, but it is something you have to do if you want to maintain a healthy body weight and prevent obesity.