Abstract

The global sharp rise in the prevalence of obesity has made it a critical public health issue in the last few decades. The obesity epidemic deploys a detrimental impact on the economy with its high healthcare cost. Therefore, Obesity has surfaced as one of the most challenging worldwide problems that requires urgent attention from the healthcare providers, academics and policy makers. The obesity epidemic is the outcome of a multifaceted intricate interaction between environmental factors, genetic susceptibility, and human behaviour. The effect of genetics and disease on weight gain has been well illustrated in several studies. However, environmental factors are likely to be the main factors driving the rise in the obesity epidemic. It is certain that obesity is due to imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Several published epidemiological studies examined different aspects of the aetiology of Obesity. The ever-growing evidence and continually expanding knowledge have demonstrated the complexity of the issue. Utilising evidence from these studies, this thorough review aims at carrying an in-depth analysis of the different factors contributing to the development of the obesity epidemic.

Keywords

obesity, weight gain, health promotion, nutrition, lifestyle, food, genetics, physical activity, public health