That’s Why People Get Overweight

The world population is getting fatter. Self or third party debt? We explain what science knows about it.

That’s what it’s about:

More and more people are overweight

Obesity is spreading around the world like a pandemic. While the number of malnourished people has fallen sharply, the proportion of overweight people has tripled in the last 40 years. To illustrate the problem, here are a few numbers:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 25 percent of all people worldwide are overweight or even obese.
• It is even more drastic among adults, where almost 40 percent are at least overweight. The WHO comes to a clear verdict: “Overweight kills more people than underweight”.
• The situation is even worse in Germany and other industrialized nations. In Germany, around 67 percent of adult men and more than 50 percent of women are already overweight.

The basic rule is: the older, the more body weight the average German carries around with them. However, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) uses the data from the KiGGS study to point out that the proportion of overweight children has been increasing for years.

When are you overweight?

As a rule, overweight is determined via the BMI. If this value is over 25 (kg/m²), one speaks of overweight. A person with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. But that doesn’t have to mean anything for the individual. Even muscle men can easily get over it with their mass – and are anything but unhealthy.

The percentage of fat in the body is important for the health classification of overweight via the BMI. Especially the so-called visceral fat on the abdomen is related to diseases.

That’s why we need to talk about it:

Being overweight is bad for us

For many experts, being overweight is a predicted early death. Not even smoking can hold a candle to obesity, according to an analysis presented in 2017 at the annual congress of the American Society of General Medicine. According to this, Americans lose far more years of life through obesity than through smoking. A large meta-study calculated that obese people live 10 to 50 percent of their adult life with a disease.

And almost all common diseases of civilization today are probably related to being overweight. They restrict, lead to an early death and usually result in other clinical pictures. Some of the common concomitant or sequelae of being overweight include:

• Cardiovascular problems (e.g. heart attack)
• Metabolic diseases (e.g. diabetes)
• Mental disorders (depression, e.g. due to fat shaming)
• Joint and muscle problems (e.g. joint wear)
• Organ damage (e.g. fatty liver)

But these threats alone don’t seem to stop the majority of adults from gaining even more weight as they get older, as the numbers show. Obesity (professionally: obesity) counts as a chronic disease, which many people are not aware of. The health consequences and limitations usually develop insidiously over years and over time behaviors manifest that are also difficult to discard.

Opinions differ on why people suffer from it. Some consider it self-inflicted, others deny all guilt. So why is it that the world is getting fatter and therefore presumably sicker?

But:

Not everyone can do something about their excess weight

The origin of our research was the accusation from the Quarks community that being overweight is actually easy to explain: all calories have to go through your mouth and if you discipline yourself accordingly, you won’t be overweight or lose weight again.

Yes, there is something there, but it simplifies and distorts the obesity debate. Obesity has many different and usually multiple causes. It seems certain that anyone can become overweight. Some will do it faster, others can afford more. We will now explain to you in three chapters which factors play a role in this:

Imprinting before and immediately after birth

• evolution
• genetics
• pregnancy
• breastfeeding phase

Let’s start with the animal kingdom. As much as great apes are like us—we share 99 percent of our genes with them—there is one very simple difference: great apes don’t get overweight. This “right” is reserved for us humans and researchers are now better able to explain why this is so. Okay, so they’re not sitting on the couch, and they’re not cramming chips down their throats and gulping down sugary soda, sure. But even if that were the case, a person next to it would gain weight much faster.

Compared to bonobos, for example, human body fat makes up nine times the proportion of the body. In evolutionary terms, this could be explained by the spread of man and the periods of thirst and hunger that he had to bridge during the conquest of all continents. From a biochemical point of view, fat is an excellent store of energy and therefore our body very quickly falls into the mode of storing excess calories for hard times (unfortunately clearly visible) in fat reserves.

Humans gain weight faster than apes

Incidentally, gorillas and orangutans also have fairly boring, sedentary lifestyles, although orangutans tend to perch in the treetops rather than on the ground. So while gorillas and humans spend many hours a day sitting down, again only humans become overweight and obese. According to researchers, this cannot be explained by diet alone.
Rather, the metabolism differs between apes and humans. In the eyes of many researchers, our species is predestined to be permanently active. No other mammal can run a marathon as effectively and quickly as we can. But as much as evolution has improved us over the past two million years, all of this is getting in the way of us today in the 21st century. Today, we’re sedentary than ever, burning fewer calories, and this is likely to result in us consuming more calories than we burn more often.

Obesity is a civilization disease

In the 21st century, obesity continues to rise, particularly in developed countries and among young people. It is a dangerous interaction between our imprint and physical conception and today’s lifestyle that leads to it. A lot is already fixed in our genes and some people are born with a higher risk of being overweight. This is the case, for example, if …

• … the parents are overweight.
• … the mother (is) suffering from diabetes.
• … the birth weight is particularly high.

Of course, this is not an irrevocable destiny. However, the first few months (and here we include pregnancy) are particularly important in preparing every living being for the world out there. In addition to our genome and the simple sequence of base pairs, epigenetics allows us to adapt quickly to different environmental conditions.

However, malnourished children can also become overweight. Scientists in countries like India have been observing this for decades. They suspect that poor mothers’ nutrition leads to the children being epigenetically prepared for a kind of drought. But if things turn out differently, these children gain weight particularly quickly and develop lifestyle diseases such as diabetes with an above-average frequency.

In the same way, the first year of life also seems to lay some foundations for further development and health in later life. Breastfeeding children for only a short time later correlates with overweight children and adults. It is possible that the children eat more calories and a slightly different composition with artificial food, which could have an effect for years and affect the metabolism.

One thing is certain: Evolution, genetics and the weeks before and after birth partly program our metabolism as a child for our entire life – and thus have an influence on how people process their calories on a daily basis. Some are more likely to gain fat than others and have a harder time getting rid of it.

Brain, Psyche and Health

• stress
• Mental disorders
• Diseases

Obesity is not just a matter of the stomach. For many people, the cause lies much higher in the body, namely in the brain. This is also our most energy-intensive organ, but for our topic it is above all an important and unfortunately often fatal control unit. The problem of not being able to lose weight and quickly falling back into old patterns is anchored right here.

Habits are essential for human survival. However, since they are controlled subconsciously, they quickly throw a spanner in the works when it comes to ambitious diet and exercise plans. Everyday relaxation routines and the tendency to snack are programmed too much. Reasonable thinking is often at a disadvantage when compared to these subconscious decisions.

Eating can mean happiness and intoxication

There are also certain areas in the brain that do anything but help us lose weight. Researchers have been able to identify certain brain circuits and processes in mice, for example, that put us in a kind of intoxicated state when we eat high-calorie food – one of the reasons why chocolate makes us happy, as the saying goes.
Animal experiments also indicate how crass our body thirsts for more and more calories: rodents, for example, accepted short electrical shocks in experiments in order to get a sugary solution. That would be like getting a slightly painful blow every time you reach for a lemonade – and yet you don’t stop.

People eat more when they are stressed

Even during the meal, some people do not feel full. For a long time, scientists assumed that the “satiation hormone” leptin was responsible for this. It was thought that it would not reach the brain in sufficient concentration in overweight people. In the meantime, however, it has been shown that there are no differences between slim and fat people. The reason for the lack of satiety must therefore lie in the nerve cells.
Especially in stressful situations, many people reach for chocolate bars or other sweets – and it actually works. The problem: In today’s working world, stress is part of everyday life. Reaching for sweets then happens regularly and our brain subconsciously stores how much these two things increasingly belong together.

We are fooled when we eat

In the hustle and bustle, we often eat faster. The problem: The feeling of fullness then only sets in hesitantly – and even so we have consumed more calories. A simple but common practical tip is therefore: We should take more time to eat, chew in peace and let the body react to the nutrients. Protein-rich meals are even more filling, so the effect could be increased even more without starving yourself.

In general, we should listen to ourselves more when eating, because what the food industry and fast-food restaurants put in front of us satisfies our primal human cravings, but rarely has anything to do with healthy, natural nutrition. Additives and composition are cheated – the main thing is that you eat more and want to eat it again next time.

Mental stress can set in motion a vicious circle

Obesity arises and increases not only in one’s own body, but also in coexistence with the environment. Anyone who becomes overweight over time has a difficult time in today’s society. The beauty ideal in times of Instagram and Co. gnaws at self-confidence and increases shame. This is stressful for people who are overweight, some of whom are increasingly isolating themselves or no longer want to take part in many social activities – but in sports and leisure these are precisely the ones that would be good for them (healthwise). For those affected, a disparaging look may suffice. A certain disgust with obesity is particularly insidious. It makes healthy people aware of the health effects, but at the same time it inhibits those affected from becoming active.

In depressive, stressed phases, however, the subconscious can signal again: sugary food makes you feel better – and the vicious circle continues.

Other diseases can also lead to the inevitable accumulation of body weight. A sufficiently long sleep is one of the prerequisites for staying slim. People with chronic sleep problems are more likely than average to be overweight. Anyone affected by this is not at fault for being overweight. Likewise, but rarely, hypothyroidism is responsible for the fact that the metabolism does not work as it does in most other people.

One thing is certain: stress, mental disorders, illnesses: It is not only our body that influences whether people gain weight, the psyche also plays its part – and usually aggravates the situation of those affected.

Environment and Behavior

• social environment
• nutrition
• activity and sports
• education and workplace

In addition to body and mind, the social environment in particular plays a decisive role in how likely it is to become overweight. The environment in which a person grows up is a trigger-down factor, so it also influences the other points we have listed: diet, activity and education mostly depend inevitably on how and where one grows up.

Up until adulthood, these factors are largely influenced by others. The person has no influence on whether they grow up in an academic or an uneducated family or how much value the parents place on education. As a rule, trends in income and leisure activities can be determined from the level of education of the parents and the environment.

The rough rules here are: Socially disadvantaged people may be more likely to be overweight because…

• … processed, high-calorie and sugary foods are consumed more frequently, while fruit and vegetables are eaten less frequently.
• … they move less in their free time, spend more time in front of the television or smartphone and usually sit down.

This is also one reason why we tend to gain weight as we age. From around the age of 30, muscle mass dwindles without sufficient exercise and training. However, it is one of the most loyal energy consumers in our body. Anyone who breaks down is more likely to build up fat mass.

What the data on obesity says so far

It sounds plausible that little exercise leads to obesity in the long run. However, scientific studies do not agree on this at all, quite the opposite. Again and again, large reviews speak of the fact that there is no clear evidence. How can that be?

In most studies, the researchers merely establish a statistical link. If you sit a lot, you are often overweight. Fat people often sit down. An example: Has the man gotten fat because he was suddenly sitting more and more, or is he sitting so much today because he was getting fatter and fatter before? Anyone who does not inquire about the personal history in detail will learn nothing about the real cause. It is often the hen-and-egg principle that, given these statistical relationships, it is not possible to say with certainty what was the first and therefore the cause.

And few or no studies ask about personal life history, the calories in meals over decades, and the amount of time spent sitting and exercising in everyday life over decades. This is where the search for what causality is and where we only recognize connections usually ends.

However, the type of work could contradict the “poor and fat” thesis, after all, many blue-collar jobs are physically demanding and thus increase daily energy consumption. If the job burns a lot of calories every day, why aren’t those people with office routines the ones who gain the most weight?

There are several theses:

• The energy consumption during physical work is overcompensated by high-calorie food.
• On average, people with office jobs have a higher level of education and have a higher body awareness. They therefore pay more attention to diet and exercise in their free time.
• Diet may have a greater impact on weight gain than lack of exercise.

All theses sound somehow plausible, but science has not yet found a clear, general answer. It is probably the same as so often: several factors occur at the same time and their shares are distributed differently in each case.

One thing is certain: the type of diet, our activity and sporting behavior determine our calorie intake and our theoretical risk of gaining weight – but our social environment and level of education also inevitably contribute to whether we become overweight or not.

And now?

There are ways to shed the pounds

The advice and solutions must be as individual as the causes and factors for obesity are varied. Blanket tips from women’s magazines are only the first step to inflated expectations that make failure and subsequent relapse more likely.

It is important for those affected to seek professional advice as early as possible. The only thing worse than late is not doing it. In this way, plans can be drawn up together that are in line with everyday life, requirements and personal background. This combines:

• nutrition
• Movement
• behavior

Most importantly, these plans must work over the long term. Anyone can burn off hundreds of calories from extreme exertion for a few days at a time, but in the long run it’s doomed to fail. Perhaps it is easier to integrate the suggestion into everyday life to increase everyday activity, i.e. to take the stairs without exception, to walk or cycle more often. Many of those affected take the recommended 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day and thus around 350 kilocalories. That alone would only burn a pound of fat after 28 days, but it’s one of the easiest transitions.

There are no miracles, losing weight is more of a marathon than a sprint

Discipline pays off in the end. Even the different programs don’t melt dozens of kilos or more from one moment to the next. A guideline of the German Obesity Society names the average reduction of official programs with mostly two to ten kilos in one year – but sustainable.
If you want to lose more, you can and should use even more options. There is plenty of evidence of the effectiveness of surgical measures, such as stomach reductions or bypasses. This prevents excessive amounts of food from being ingested. In this way, patients lose between 40 and 80 percent of their excess weight. Except in the case of extreme obesity (BMI over 50), however, such measures are only considered when all others have already failed.

Less overweight ensures quality of life – and more years of life

Otherwise, it helps above all to fight the causes of chronic obesity – and that starts very early. Losing weight not only helps you, but affects the next generation. Little things like healthy school meals, less fast food and sweets, advice and offers of help for overweight children and young people can prevent health problems in old age. This saves the state millions and billions for health care and – as a small motivation at the end – probably ensures a few years of better health for each individual affected.