Causes Of Being Overweight Or Obese

What are the causes of being overweight or obese? Why are Americans physically inactive? Maybe because we spend so much time in front of our TV's and computers either at work or at school, not to mention the amount of time spent on social networking sites. On average, Americans spend about 2 hours per day watching TV instead of being active. Ever go to Europe or other parts of the globe, people spend more time walking to work or school or socializing by taking a walk or a bike ride.Our school kids spend less time on physical activities. People who are inactive have a tendency to gain weight, simply because they do not burn those calories they took in from foods and drinks. Having an inactive lifestyle leads to various health risks such as coronary heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and other health related problems.

Our environment plays a role in causing people to become overweight or obese. For example, many sidewalks are lacking from our neighborhood streets-making it unsafe for recreation. Without adequate sidewalks, parks or affordable gyms thus, reducing the number of overweight or obese individuals becomes a daunting task. Our work schedules mandate long hours, sitting at a desk coupled with a long commute causing Americans to become overweight or obese. Super-sized food portions. Americans are surrounded by huge amounts of food at brunch, restaurants, movie theaters,warehouse stores. Many of these portions can feed a few people at the same time. When we take in more calories than we burn our bodies stores that fat causing us to become either overweight or obese. In some of the low-income neighborhoods, they are hard pressed to find a supermarket which sells healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes these foods are more expensive so they are not purchased. instead, these individuals decide to eat at a fast food place where the food is not too healthy or for just plain convenience after a long day at work or school. The media does not help either, there are countless ads for food companies, many of them targeting children. These foods contain high-calories, high fat and sugary drinks. These ads should be monitored or limited just like the cigarette commercial ads