Obesity: Maybe We Share Some of the Blame - washingtonpost.com

Being weight challenged these days this article caught my eye since it says something I tend to think is probably true in a number of ways. 

The idea that we're too fat because we eat too much and exercise too little is based largely on "circumstantial evidence," according to a recent report in the International Journal of Obesity. Investigators from the University of Alabama point to at least 10 other possible reasons we are getting too big for our britches. Here are the top three:

• We don't get enough sleep.

This could be a vicious cycle. What with sleep apnia being a bigger problem among those with excess weight.

• We have more air conditioning.

I wouldn't count on this one going away anytime soon. If the past few summers are any indication, air conditioning will become even more prevalent right up until nobody can afford the energy cost.

• Our hormones have been disrupted.

How well I can relate. Back in '97 I had a bout of Pericarditis that hung on for months. It took very high dose steroids to finally kick the problem but in the process my body changed and I haven't been able to get back to that point since. Each year it gets harder just to maintain.

This study sounds like it is headed in the right direction. Our concentration on just one cause of obesity is probably leaving many people wondering why cutting calories and exercising is not working for them. I know for me eating salads everyday and walking for an hour or better every evening and still not seeing a difference made it hard to maintain the practice (and I like salads). 

Source: Obesity: Maybe We Share Some of the Blame - washingtonpost.com