The condition, in which excess accumulation of fat occurs in the body to the extent that it has negative effects on your health, is known as obesity. An individual is considered obese if his/her bodyweight is at least 20% higher than it should be. Also, the body mass index (BMI) above 30 denotes that a person is obese. Obesity is not just an epidemic; it is a health dilemma, which harms the overall well being of the people all over the world.

Causes
Your body weight increases if you consume more calories than you burn or burn fewer calories than normal. Your body weight will stay the same if you balance your energy intake and expenditure. The causes of obesity are as follows:

Inactive Lifestyle
Owing to technological advancement, our lifestyles have become sedentary and most of us are not physically active as our ancestors used to be. Most people today spend a lot of time in front of the TV and computer, which leads to less physical activity. Studies show that more than 2 hours of TV viewing leads to obesity. Modern conveniences do not demand as much physical activity as they did earlier. Since the calories that you consume are not burned and this leads to excessive weight gain.
Environment
Our environment does not support an active lifestyle, and in fact, encourages the occurrence of obesity. Some reasons include:

There is a lack of sidewalks and safe places for recreational activities. Affordable gyms are rare.
Our work schedules are hectic and most of us do not find time to have a good workout or a walk.
Food portions available today are huge and much more than our daily basic requirements. We consume a lot of energy but do not spend it.
High calorie soft drinks and good snacks are aggressively marketed, which adds to the problem, especially childhood obesity, as children are more affected by such advertisements.


Genes Recent studies show that genes have a strong influence of an individual's weight. Obesity tends to run in families. If one or both of your parents are obese, there are higher chances of you being overweight. This is because of genes and also because of the fact that children adopt the habits of their parents, including eating habits. If parents consume a high calorie diet, children also become overweight. Other factors such as smoking, overconsumption of alcohol and emotional factors also cause obesity.

Obesity treatment
It is important to treat this health condition and prevent it. Treatment for obesity includes a good combination of exercise, healthy diet, and lifestyle alteration. Medications to cure obesity are also available on the market. Orlistat, marketed as Xenical, is a prescription drug used for the treatment of obesity. It works by preventing the absorption of fat from your diet. Best results can be got when this obesity treatment is used in conjunction with a low-calorie diet. Exercise regularly and try to hit the gym at least 4 times a week.