It can also lead to disordered eating, avoidance of physical activity and avoidance of medical care. The effects of weight bias and obesity stigma can be particularly severe for children. When children and youth are bullied or victimized because of their weight by peers, family and friends, it can trigger feelings of shame and lead to depression, low self-esteem, poor body image and even suicide. Weight-biased attitudes from teachers can involve lower expectations from students, which can lead to low education outcomes for children and youth with obesity.
Policies are needed to prevent weight-victimization in schools, and parents can advocate for their children with teachers and principals by expressing concerns and promoting awareness of weight bias in schools. This is our chance to re-orientate the rules in favour of preventative healthcare, and to discourage unhealthy eating behaviours in childhood before they become entrenched habits for life. As many doctors and health organisations have been arguing for years, a vote for proper regulation of food and drink advertising, especially to children, is a vote for better public health and for a future generation of healthier adults less afflicted by chronic disease.
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Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the obesity epidemic. Nevertheless, how people respond to an environment that promotes physical inactivity and intake of high-calorie foods suggests that genes do play a role in developing obesity.
Genes give the body instructions for responding to changes in its environment. Variants in several genes may contribute to obesity by increasing hunger and food intake. Rarely, a clear pattern of inherited obesity within a family is caused by a specific variant of a single gene monogenic obesity.
Most obesity, however, probably results from complex interactions among multiple genes and environmental factors that remain poorly understood multifactorial obesity.
Health care practitioners routinely collect family health history to help identify people at high risk of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and some forms of cancer.
Family health history reflects the effects of shared genetics and environment among close relatives. Families cannot change their genes, but they can encourage healthy eating habits and physical activity. Those changes can improve the health of family members—and improve the health history of the next generation. Learn more about obesity and genomics. Some illnesses may lead to obesity or weight gain. Drugs such as steroids and some antidepressants may also cause weight gain.
Research continues on the role of other factors in energy balance and weight gain such as chemical exposures and the role of the microbiome.
People who have obesity, compared to those with a healthy weight, are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, including the following: 5,6,7. Obesity and its associated health problems have a significant economic impact on the US health care system, 11 including direct and indirect costs.
Indirect costs relate to sickness and death and include lost productivity. Productivity measures include employees being absent from work for obesity-related health reasons, decreased productivity while at work, and premature death and disability. In addition, obesity has implications for armed forces recruitment.
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