Why is it so easy to gain weight?
There are many reasons for gaining weight, but it’s often a combination of factors. The world we live in and our experiences can make it harder to be a healthy weight.
In most countries around the world, more and more people living with overweight or obesity. This varies between countries, and unfortunately, the United Kingdom, United States and Australia are among those most affected.
There is a general agreement that these changes have occurred because the world we live in has changed so much over the last century. We travel by car and tend to do less active jobs, which means our lives can be less active. We also have a wider range of food and drink available to us at all times of the day, everywhere we go. These foods are often highly processed and high in fat and sugar, meaning we consume more food and energy. The world we live in, with all of these factors and our experiences, makes it harder to be a healthy weight.
Credit: Cancer Research UK
Life experience can affect our weight, and you may have experienced difficult or upsetting times in the past. You may have been struggling with your weight since childhood.
Daily life can be hard for you at times, and you may have challenges to deal with, for example, caring responsibilities, health or family problems. You may feel that food or drink help you to feel better when life is difficult. This may mean that you comfort eat or eat a lot in a short space of time when life is stressful. While you may wish to make changes to improve your health, you might not feel fully confident to do this on top of your daily challenges. You may also find it difficult to be active because of health issues.
This means you may eat a bit, or maybe a lot more than you need at times, and you may not be regularly active. When you have more food and are less active, the extra energy not used is stored, and you put on weight.
Other individual factors can also influence your weight.
These may include:
• Mental health, trauma.
• What and how much food is eaten, the reasons we eat.
• Genetics and family history.
• Hormones, other health conditions, medications.
• Previous attempts to lose weight.
• Physical activity levels, time spent being inactive.
• Lack of sleep.
• Income.
• Where you live, work.
• Your community, social environments, access to services.
Making the right changes for you
Setting the right goals, making achievable changes, and having the support you need can help you with your healthy weight to feel healthier and better in yourself. Life can be challenging, so choosing small steps that work for you can help you feel confident and more in control of your feelings and weight.
You may find that a good way to start your journey is to work on your well-being so that you are ready to make the right changes for a healthier you.
Here are some individual reasons for weight gain:
Continue your journey
Click on the next page Long-term healthy weight management to continue your journey.
