Be it a brother, a sister, an uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece, grandparent, parent, son, daughter, yourself, etc., someone in almost every family is simply fat; and not just fat, obese. It didn't happen overnight, either. Society wasn't always haunted by obesity. This overweight condition gradually made her way into our modern day world and has now become mainstream and chronic for many people.

The contributing factors to this global overweight problem are many and complex. The list of factors could take pages to fill in; however, here are just a few of the more intense factors:

1. Overeating (the most obvious cause of obesity)

Now overeating doesn't necessarily imply eating too much. Overeating simply means that you are consuming more calories than you can possibly burn in a day. It is the calories and not the food that creates obesity. You can realistically stuff yourself all day with low calorie foods and not gain a single pound. There are also different types of calories. Calories from fat burn off much slower than calories from carbohydrates. But be careful because calories from carbs do turn into fat if they are not burned off fast enough.

2. Genetics

Unfortunately, when it comes to obesity and being overweight, not all of us were created equal. Our metabolisms are very different from one another. Some of us burn fat very easily and some of us don't. It is important to identify where our bodies fit in. Being genetically prone to being overweight doesn't necessarily mean we can't live healthy lives. It just means we might have to be a little more disciplined and possibly have to make certain sacrifices that others don't have to make, in order to avoid obesity. Some of the greatest bodies out there belong to people that are genetically prone to being overweight. They have simply decided that they aren't going to let their genetic condition make them overweight and have instead used it as a motivating force in their favor.

3. Environment (Where you live, your socioeconomic status, and your cultural background)

Technology has made life easier for most of us but it has also been a contributing factor of obesity. People in rich first world countries are more prone to being overweight than those in the third world. Why? Several reasons. We use a car to drive two blocks. We eat high calorie fast foods and microwave dinners. We even use a drive through to get them. People in third world countries don't have these options. Cars are a luxury only the elite can afford. Drive-thrus are almost non existent. People don't walk or run for the sake of exercise. They simply walk because they have to get from point A to point B or they ride a bike.

This type of behavior forces even the genetically prone to being overweight to burn off high amounts of calories. Many of these people are forced to eat low calorie foods because that's the only food they have, making obesity very limited in these countries. Why? Because of people's behavior; no matter how unintentional they may be.

4. Behavior (Our actions and our will power contribute to obesity)

Overweight people behave a certain way. We may possibly suffer from low self esteem. Many times we allow our environment to control the way we live. When that environment makes everything easy, physical activity is greatly reduced and we become obese and overweight. There is a great article about dependence between the problem of excessive weight and people activity types, and also some evidence revealing thee crucial role of behavior, not genetics, in people's getting overweight.

If we are able to modify our behavior (i.e. eating habits, physical activity, determination, the love we have for ourselves, etc.) we will be able to control any of the other factors that contribute to obesity and overweight conditions.