Financing Options for Weight Loss Surgery
Weight Loss Surgery Process The Surgery Process
Candidate Qualify for Gastric Bypass Am I a Candidate
Causes of Morbid Obesity What Causes Morbid Obesity
Risks Cost Surgery Weight Loss Benefits & Risks
Questions Answers Weight Loss Surgery Frequent Q&A
Patient Pictures Testimonials Weight Loss Surgery Patient Testimonials
BMI Calculator Weight Loss BMI Calculator
Gastric Bypass Weight Loss Surgery Support Groups San Francisco Support Groups
After Weight Loss Surgery Life After Surgery
Cost Payment Weight Loss Bariatric Surgery LAP-BAND Billing & Insurance
Weight Loss Surgery Options Surgery Options
Weight Loss Surgery for Men Weight Loss Surgery For Men
Appointment Center

Causes of Morbid Obesity

gastric bypass obesity weight loss surgery program californa texas mexico illinois washington

Causes of Morbid Obesity
Contributing Factors
Genetic Factors
The Pima Paradox
Environmental Factors
Metabolism
Eating Disorders & Medical Conditions
Causes of Morbid Obesity


gastric bypass obesity weight loss surgery program californa texas mexico illinois washington
Causes of Morbid Obesity

The reasons for obesity are multiple and complex. Despite conventional wisdom, it is not simply a result of overeating. Research has shown that in many cases a significant, underlying cause of morbid obesity is genetic. Studies have demonstrated that once the problem is established, efforts such as dieting and exercise programs have a limited ability to provide effective long-term relief.

Science continues to search for answers. But until the disease is better understood, the control of excess weight is something patients must work at for their entire lives. That is why it is very important to understand that all current medical interventions, including weight loss surgery, should not be considered medical cures. Rather they are attempts to reduce the effects of excessive weight and alleviate the serious physical, emotional and social consequences of the disease.

Back to top
Appointments & Contacts


gastric bypass obesity weight loss surgery program californa texas mexico illinois washington
Contributing Factors

The underlying causes of severe obesity are not known. There are many factors that contribute to the development of obesity including genetic, hereditary, environmental, metabolic and eating disorders. There are also certain medical conditions that may result in obesity like intake of steroids and hypothyroidism.

Back to top
Appointments & Contacts


gastric bypass obesity weight loss surgery program californa texas mexico illinois washington
Genetic Factors

Numerous scientific studies have established that your genes play an important role in your tendency to gain excess weight.

  • The body weight of adopted children shows no correlation with the body weight of their adoptive parents, who feed them and teach them how to eat. Their weight does have an 80 percent correlation with their genetic parents, whom they have never met.
  • Identical twins, with the same genes, show a much higher similarity of body weights than do fraternal twins, who have different genes.
  • Certain groups of people, such as the Pima Indian tribe in Arizona, have a very high incidence of severe obesity. They also have significantly higher rates of diabetes and heart disease than other ethnic groups.

We probably have a number of genes directly related to weight. Just as some genes determine eye color or height, others affect our appetite, our ability to feel full or satisfied, our metabolism, our fat-storing ability, and even our natural activity levels.

Back to top
Appointments & Contacts


gastric bypass obesity weight loss surgery program californa texas mexico illinois washington
The Pima Paradox

The Pima Indians are known in scientific circles as one of the heaviest groups of people in the world. In fact, National Institutes of Health researchers have been studying them for more than 35 years. Some adults weigh more than 500 pounds, and many obese teenagers are suffering from diabetes, the disease most frequently associated with obesity.

But here's a really interesting fact - a group of Pima Indians living in Sierra Madre, Mexico, does not have a problem with obesity and its related diseases.

Why not?

The leading theory states that after many generations of living in the desert, often confronting famine, the most successful Pima were those with genes that helped them store as much fat as possible during times when food was available. Now those fat-storing genes work against them.

Though both populations consume a similar number of calories each day, the Mexican Pima still live much like their ancestors did. They put in 23 hours of physical labor each week and eat a traditional diet that's very low in fat. The Arizona Pima live like most other modern Americans, eating a diet consisting of around 40 percent fat and engaging in physical activity for only two hours a week.

The Pima apparently have a genetic predisposition to gain weight. And the environment in which they live - the environment in which most of us live - makes it nearly impossible or the Arizona Pima to maintain a normal, healthy body weight.

Back to top
Appointments & Contacts


gastric bypass obesity weight loss surgery program californa texas mexico illinois washington
Environmental Factors

Morbid Obesity CausesEnvironmental and genetic factors are obviously closely intertwined. If you have a genetic predisposition toward obesity, then the modern American lifestyle and environment may make controlling weight more difficult.

Fast food, long days sitting at a desk, and suburban neighborhoods that require cars all magnify hereditary factors such as metabolism and efficient fat storage.

For those suffering from morbid obesity, anything less than a total change in environment usually results in failure to reach and maintain a healthy body weight.

Back to top
Appointments & Contacts


gastric bypass obesity weight loss surgery program californa texas mexico illinois washington
Metabolism

We used to think of weight gain or loss as only a function of calories ingested and then burned. Take in more calories than you burn, gain weight; burn more calories than you ingest, lose weight. But now we know the equation isn't that simple.

Obesity researchers now talk about a theory called the "set point," a sort of thermostat in the brain that makes people resistant to either weight gain or loss. If you try to override the set point by drastically cutting your calorie intake, your brain responds by lowering metabolism and slowing activity. You then gain back any weight you lost.

Back to top
Appointments & Contacts


gastric bypass obesity weight loss surgery program californa texas mexico illinois washington
Eating Disorders & Medical Conditions

Weight loss surgery is not a cure for eating disorders. And there are medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism, that can also cause weight gain. That's why it's important that you work with your doctor to make sure you do not have a condition that should be treated with medication and counseling.

Back to top
Appointments & Contacts

News & Events Am I a Candidate? Patient Center
San Francisco Gastric Bypass Support Groups

Gastric Bypass San Francisco CA. News & Events
Support Groups
Seminars

 
How do I know if surgery is for me Obesity Gastric Bypass San Francisco CA. Am I a Candidate?
BMI Calculator Ca. BMI Calculator
Risk Gastric Bypass CA. Risks & Benefits
Weight Loss Surgery Options CA. Patient Testimonials
Patient Testimonials Surgery Weight Loss Ca. Patient Portal
FAQ
About Dr. Feng
Weight Loss Surgery Options Appointment Center For Referring Physicians
Vertical Gastrectomy LAP BAND Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Duodenal Switch Obesity Surgery

Vertical Gastrectomy Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
LAP-BAND® System LAP-BAND® & REALIZE™
Gastric Bypass San Francisco CA. Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass
Duodenal Switch Duodenal Switch

Crystal Springs Surgical Weight Loss Appointments Gastric Bypass San Francisco CA. Appointment Center
Bariatric Surgery Forms Patient Portal
CPMC, Mills Peninsula, Good Samaritan, Seton Hospital, Saquoya, Stanford Medical Center, El Camino, Mountain View Hospital Affiliated Hospitals
Map of CA Hospital Bay Area Map & Directions
Physicians Referring Clinically Morbid Obese Patients Bay Area San Francisco For Referring Physicians
Referral Forms
Why Choose Dr. Feng
About Dr. Feng


Medical Web Site Design