10 Factors Linked to Rise in Obesity

Study finds other factors (besides overeating and getting too little exercise) that could contribute to America's high obesity rates.

• Sleep deprivation boosts hunger
• Pollution and chemicals can disrupt hormones
• Widespread heating and airconditioning use, which prevents the maximum burning of calories
• Use of some medications shown to increase weight
• An aging population prone to obesity
• Decreased smoking rates
• Older women bearing children increases the risk of overweight offspring
• Our ancestry
• Higher fertility among slightly overweight women
• Opposites don't attract when it comes to mating—individuals tend to reproduce with people of a similar body type.

Source: Dr. David Allison; International Journal of Obesity