What do you think is the primary reason for obesity?

People are eating too much and not moving enough. Period.

When I was a kid, I'd get dressed in the morning and go outside and there would be all the rest of the neighborhood kids and we'd play tag, hide and seek, climb trees, rollerskate, ride bikes, etc. And we'd be outside until the street lights came on and then go in for dinner. In the winter, we had snowball fights and built snowmen and anything else we could do.

We also had gym class and daily recess at school.

Now parents are scared to death to allow their kids outside to just play, so the kids are stuck inside except when the parents can arrange a playdate or have time to sit outside and watch them. Schools are fazing out gym and recess in favor of more classroom time. Computers, video games, even streaming things like Netflix encourage couch potato lifestyles.

I think portion control is the biggest problem. I eat any kind of food, I just eat a small amount.

I agree ! Portion sizes are ridiculous, especially at chain restaurants where it is cheap
to eat.

When the power goes out, everyone on my block goes outside and everyone starts chatting. I think TV is a very large contributor with its advertising and it's amazing power for a person to sit on the couch staring at it for hours and stuff food in their mouth the whole time. Without TV, I think the problem wouldn't be such a large issue. That's number one. And, I do feel it drives most of the other things everyone is talking about.

Large portions are also a problem and annoying. It's hard for me to eat out anymore. I was raised that you have to eat everything on your plate. That is ingrained in me. No matter how many times I try to resist it, it is something that I grew up believing. So, I tend to do it. So, I don't like restaurants for that reason. I wish the industry would serve proper portion sizes to people, rather than a meal for 4 on a single plate. But, go look at Yelp sometime. What is the first thing almost everyone comments on...portion size. Everyone wants a large portion. It's a huge factor for Americans.

Next is all the processed food. Just knock it off.

Last, and this is more controversial, due to the way our society advertises, depression, ADD (and all it's variants), bi-polar, and all those kinds of things are becoming more prevalent. This is because of society, not because people actually have problems. Society, mainly the ad industry, is causing this. Women feel less than human because they can't be stick figures. If you can't own the latest toy, you are less than adequate. Look at the messages in advertising. Most of you are desensitized to the messages, but if you stop and really look at a handful of ads, you'll notice that actually they are cruel and saying really bad things about you if you don't get in line with their idea of beauty and success. It is important to be able to afford a $150 bottle of their perfume, and if you can't, you're nobody. This has a really dramatic affect on people over time. Seeing these messages over and over and over does have an effect, even when people say, "that doesn't t impact me". It does. Advertising is almost every companies number 1 expense, just behind R&D. There is a reason for that. It's expensive to mind *kitten* America, but sooooo worth it in the end. But this feeling less because you can't be like the others causes the issues like depression, and then relates into eating as an escape or whatever.

Lack of personal responsiblity

I thought it might be interesting to see what our site feels might be the root cause(s) to our country becoming 66% overweight or obese.

Is it due to?

1. Poor food choices
2. Portion control
3. Lack of exercise
4. Lack of sleep
5. Physical problems (thyroid, hormonal imbalances, diseases, chronic illnesses, genetics)
6. Mental issues (lack of an equal quality of education)
7. Emotional problems (stress, finances, job loss, divorcee or a bad relationship. etc.)
8. Lack of self-control or will-power
9. Lack of availability to get quality foods in some areas
10. Sedentary lifestyles now common place in the work and home environments
11. Fast food restaurants
12. Regular restaurants who in many cases serve portion sizes twice what one should eat
13. TV/Cell phones/Internet/Gaming
14. Something else

1,2, 3, 4,5, 7,8, 10, and 13
I think all of the options are to blame, but my reason for not really choosing #6 is that I think the lack of proper education on nutrition and being healthy only applies to children, adults know what is good for them and what is not and they make their own choices on this matter. #9 I think you can get good foods in any area, maybe not all the variety, but people can make healthier choices out of what is available to them. #11 no one has to eat at fast food, and you can also pick healthier options, that is a personal choice. #12 you can choose to eat only 1/2 of your meal and take the other half home and eat it the next day, just because you are given a large portion, does not mean you have to eat it

Sugar consumption.

Our calorie consumption has gone up steadily in the last 3-4 decades and we've seen a direct correlation in weight gain.

I'm a huge huge fan of Dr. Robert Lustig. The man speaks the truth.

too many carbs and way too many refined carbs (which means we have to eat every couple of hours).
too much fructose (which is a poison and very toxic in high amounts)
processed foods designed to make us want to keep eating. (Food Scientists???? That's just scary).
Lack of protein/fat in the diet (protein is satiating and fat is filling; the entire digestion process takes 5-6 hours. Something is wrong if you are hungry every two hours).
Replaced two macronutrients used for more than just energy (maintenance and repair) with a macronutrient that is nothing but energy. (There are essential amino acids and essential fatty acids but there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate).
Too sedentary for the amount of carbs in the SAD (the more active you are the more carbs your body can handle - but a lifetime of sugar burning will still cause problems later in life. The SAD is a "high-sugar equivalent" diet.)
All this leading to metabolic problems (and an adaption to burning sugar as the main fuel. This elevates basal insulin levels which in turn makes it harder to access fat from storage - to use as energy) and metabolic syndrome.

It's a combination of a bunch of factors. But I can say this: it isn't what the media and the "nutritional experts" say it is.

Because we eat too much and don't move enough.

SUGAR AND HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.

There are so many reason's for it. More jobs are becoming desk jobs, a lot of the food we tend to eat is processed which helps gain weight, we become lazy, we get addicted to the sugars in food (Especially the unhealthy foods) and therefore have more cravings to eat it. Ice cream, milk shakes, cake, chocolate, cheesecake, they are all super yummy so we are going to fill ourselves up with them, especially because we tend to become addicted to things like that.