One of the most common misconceptions about weight gain is that, the only reason that you’re gaining weight or overweight is because you eat too much and not exercise enough. Well that may be true, but it is not the only reason for weight gain. There are different other reasons why people gain weight without overeating and with proper exercise.
Obesity and weight gain is a big epidemic affecting a huge part of the world. It has been causing early deaths and lower lifespans. Though, eating too much is not the only cause of this epidemic. Did you know that people have been eating less quantity of food than the time when World War II just ended? Even though the quantity of food decreases the average weight of people have risen significantly. This may seem puzzling at first, but the explanation is quite simple. During the early years, fast food, processed foods, commercialized way of eating, easy access to items, technology and so on didn’t exist. If it did, it is nothing like it is today. Now a day you can sit on the coach and do almost anything. You can shop for groceries online, order food with a simple phone call, be entertained for hours on end; all this by sitting in the comforts of your own sofa. We may consume smaller quantities of food, but we burn less than we take in.
We spend most of our time sitting in front of a computer than being active and this sort of activity is quite common. Some of us work a 9 to 5 jobs that require us to be sedentary the whole day. When we go home, we either take the bus or sit in the comfort of our own car. When we get home, we use elevators instead of the stairs. We as a generation has become less active due to the benefits of technology.
What we weigh depends on balancing the calories we burn and the calories we take in. You may not be eating too much, but if you keep on sitting on your behind all day you’re not burning enough to counter what you’ve consumed.
Another misconception about weight gains is the term “Diet”. There is a small truth about this process, but it this doesn’t cover the whole scope of it. You’ll see commercials promising weight loss for a month of this diet or eating this type of food diet and so on. Yet you are left with the notion that after losing the weight through this diet, it will have no effect on your body. That is not true, our body adapts to our behavior and activities. Sudden lower caloric intake can make you lose weight, but it can also affect your whole system. It can affect your digestion and metabolism. You’ll notice that in some weight loss shows, contestants are required to lose a huge amount of weight in a short period of time. After their back breaking weight loss regiment, they tend to gain the weight back just after a few months of leaving the show. This is caused by the body’s ability to adapt to a certain lifestyle. During the show they go through a diet that limit their caloric intake and increase their energy burned. As soon as they go back to their everyday life, the body is not able to adapt quickly to the change causing the weight gain. If you do plan to go on a diet, learn to ease in your normal everyday life with the diet. Change of lifestyle and healthy eating habits are still the best option though.
Glandular Problems can be a reason of weight gain, but only a small amount of overweight or obese people are actually affected by this problem. If you want to identify if you have this issue, you have to take a blood test. The blood test can show that your thyroid gland is under active. However, only a few cases of glandular problems result to obesity.
It’s common for people that have tried to lose weight and failed before, are more likely to give up on their following attempts. The first attempts can corrupt your motivation and cause them to give up half way.
These are some of the few reasons for weight gain. It can be a simple process and difficult at the same time. We as the human race has expanded and grown, yet our body’s ability to adapt to it, isn’t in sync. That is why we need to work harder and eat better to become fitter versions of ourselves.
