Obesity and Children
Obesity in children is something which we are coming across more and more nowadays. This, to a very great extent, could be attributed to heredity. It is commonly found that a child born to overweight parents, has a 90% chance to become obese

Why heredity causes obesity in children
The question that may cross anyone's mind is, why does heredity cause overweight ? It is because in most of the cases the child simply inherits good appetite and they are not discouraged from eating anything and everything at any time and all the time. This results in faulty digestion and poor absorption, culminating in obesity.

It is also found that children born to mothers who are over-fed with more of artificial and fatty food lacking in nutrition during their last three months of pregnancy, give birth to over-weight children. It is also wrongly believed by most mothers that an over-weight child must be fed more because the size of the stomach seems large. The child is trained to overeat at a very young age and the weight keeps increasing alarmingly.

Obesity in Teenagers
Some girls, due to the abnormal functioning of the hormones during puberty, start gaining weight. Obesity during adolescence, also increases for the same reasons, affecting both the sexes equally.

Teenagers tend to stay awake till late night to study or to watch television. The lack of sleep makes them tired in the morning with very little or no hunger at all. As a result they often skip breakfast before rushing to school or college. A growing boy or girl needs plenty of nutritious food to match the demands of his or her body and a good breakfast is a must. If breakfast is missed, whatever the circumstances may be, a feeling of hunger will be felt during midmorning and the noon meals time being few hours away, temptation to indulge in midmorning snacks will be very difficult to overcome. So once again they tend to skip regular meals and instead munch something or the other like pastries, cakes and other junk food. These snacks have more calories than necessary, but lack in their nutritional value, with result that a host of health problems and obesity follow.

Obesity in Adults
People in business and holding high offices, are prone to obesity, for they are obliged to attend parties frequently, where icecreams and rich desserts are served. Soft drinks and alcohol which flow like water on such occasions, add to the damage.

Those who arc accustomed to high standards of living or who move constantly in high society, tend to enjoy with their friends, eating recklessly and consuming liquor at untimely hours ignoring the after-effects. This is how even normal persons become victims of the self-inflicted habit of overeating. After a heavy party, they just use elevators instead of stairs and drive home and retire to bed immediately. This hardly gives their system enough time or exercise for the digestion of the rich food they have consumed. This too results in obesity.

There are some people who have little or no brain work to do, nor do they have inclination to physical exertion. Such persons do nothing but sit back and enjoy overeating. We find today there is increasing commonality, besides their way of life, in the type of diseases people, rich and poor, suffer from due to obesity or in becoming obese for almost the same reasons.

Obesity among Sportsmen
Leading sportsmen and women of lean build seem to gain weight after a few years. Similarly many athletes and players gain weight once they retire from active sports. So do dancers. This could be attributed mainly to their increasing affluence, social life and the status their profession brings that encourage physical comfort and faulty eating habits. As long as they are engaged in active sports they follow a strict regimen as regards their exercise and food habits. The sudden change in their habits shows itself in their physical appearance distinctly.

Can music cause obesity?
Singers who sing for long hours and musicians who play windpipe instruments like flute, clarinet, shehnai, nadaswaram, etc. are many a time prone to obesity. This is because of the over exertion of their vocal cords. The vocal cord is stretched and exercised continuously. The functions of the thyroid glands which are situated on either side of the vocal cord get affected due to this. At first they develop double chin and bloated neck. This further disturbs the secretion of the hormones of this gland which has a direct effect on weight increase and slowly the whole body becomes obese. At the peak of their career, these musicians are exposed to much publicity and social status that some indulge in alcohol to cope with the strain of this kind of life. Drinking when associated with high living has its own role to play in weight gain.