Obesity Causes & Prevention. Many factors influence body weight—genes, though the effect is small, and heredity is not destiny; prenatal and early life influences; poor diets; too much television watching; too little physical activity and sleep; and our food and physical activity environment. What Tips the Scales Toward Excess Weight? The causes of obesity are as varied as the people it affects. At its most basic, of course, obesity results when someone regularly takes in more calories than needed. The body stores these excess calories as body fat, and over time the extra pounds add up. Eat fewer calories than the body burns, weight goes down. This equation can be deceptively simple, though, because it doesn’t account for the multitude of factors that affect what we eat, how much we exercise, and how our bodies process all this energy. A complex web surrounds a basic problem. What are some of the factors that increase the risk of obesity?
Genes Are Not Destiny Prenatal and Postnatal Influences Unhealthy Diets Terms of Use. CDC Obesity Slides. Food N' Me™ ChooseMyPlate. Chances of Dying. Nutrition.gov.