Obesity Psychological factors

Obesity is probably the oldest metabolic disturbance. People in a society become obese as soon as enough food and leisure are available to cause an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Obesity is becoming a more important risk factor for the development of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. It has multiple causes the development of obesity is a complex interaction between genetic, psychological, socioeconomic and cultural factors. Individuals have unique genetic and environmental factors that affect how food is processed there are, therefore, individual differences in susceptibility to obesity. 

The psychological and social problems of the obese spill over to people of normal weight as well. There is continual advertising pressure for slimness , and newspapers and magazines are full of propaganda for slimness and diets for weight reduction. This may be one of the factors in the development of major eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia (section 8.3.1.1). 

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