What are the risk factors for class III obesity?
What are the risk factors for class III obesity?
There are several risk factors for class III obesity. Some risk factors can be changed, such as lifestyle habits. Other risk factors, such as age, genetics, race and ethnicity cannot be changed. Healthy lifestyle habits can decrease your risk of developing obesity.
Risk factors for developing obesity include:
- Certain eating behaviors: Consistently eating more calories than your body uses and eating foods high in saturated fats, trans fats and added sugar can contribute to fat storage.
- Lack of physical activity: Having a sedentary lifestyle and not participating in frequent physical activity put you at a higher risk of developing obesity.
- Lack of sleep: Many studies have revealed a link between high BMI and people who do not get enough sleep. Sleep loss causes a hormone imbalance in your body that promotes overeating and weight gain.
- High amounts of stress: Chronic stress affects your brain and triggers the production of hormones, such as cortisol, that control your energy balances and hunger cues, which can make you eat more and make your body store more fat.
- Your age: The risk of fat storage weight gain increases as you age.
- Your sex: Females have more body fat as a percent of body weight than males from puberty onward and tend to gain more fat during their adult life than males. Going through pregnancy and menopause can also contribute to excess fat storage.
- Your race: In the United States, rates of obesity are highest in non-Hispanic Black people, followed by Hispanic people, then white people. While people of Asian descent have the lowest rates of high BMIs, they may have high amounts of unhealthy fat in their abdomen.
- Certain genetic syndromes: Prader-Willi syndrome, Bardet-Biedl syndrome, Alström syndrome and Cohen syndrome are associated with obesity.
- Certain endocrine conditions: Hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can cause weight gain in the form of fat storage.
- Certain medications: Antidepressants, antiepileptics, antihyperglycemics, sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones and glucocorticoids can contribute to weight gain in the form of fat storage. Talk to your healthcare provider if you notice weight gain while you are using one of these medications. Ask if other types of medication that have less of an effect on your weight can treat your medical condition. Do not stop taking any medication without talking to your provider.
While you can’t change some risk factors for obesity, it’s important to remember that healthy lifestyle changes can help decrease your risk of developing obesity.