Most of us have been taught that obesity is caused solely by ingesting too many calories and/or burning insufficient calories. Other causes of weight gain are rarely considered or discussed by health care practitioners. What are some other causes?

• *Obesogens are chemicals that interfere with normal metabolism and can lead to obesity. They alter fat storage, change metabolic set points, disrupt energy balance and appetite regulation to promote fat accumulation. Many environmental toxins are obesogenic endocrine disruptors which can wreak havoc with your thyroid among other endocrine glands. Various pesticides, food and cosmetic preservatives, PCPs found in fish, and phthalates and BPA frequently found in plastic can all disrupt hormones of the endocrine system and contribute to obesity.
• *Drugs such as some antidepressants, synthetic hormones, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-psychotic drugs can also contribute to weight gain.
• *Liver toxicity from medications, alcohol, and environmental toxins can also contribute to obesity. Reducing or eliminating OTC medications, particularly acetaminophen as well as trans fats, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol can reduce this risk.
• *Food allergies can lead to fluid retention with resultant weight gain. Foods most apt to be allergens include dairy products, corn, soy, wheat, sugar, and yeast. Food allergies are also thought to contribute to food addictions and binging.
• *Excessive ingestion of carbohydrates and/or insufficient protein intake.
• *High glycemic foods cause the release of excessive Insulin which leads to fat storage.
• *Stress causes the adrenal glands to release cortisol which increases the appetite and leads to fat storage, particularly in the abdomen. Poor eating habits during stress, such as increased intake of sugar and carbohydrates, leads to more cortisol release with resultant Insulin release and fat storage.
• *Disruption of intestinal bacteria such as that which occurs with the overuse of antibiotics.
• *Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from seemingly harmless devices such as cell phones, cordless phones, microwave ovens, appliances, and computers can contribute to obesity by interfering with the body’s metabolism, resulting in reduced energy, blood sugar imbalance, appetite stimulation, and loss of natural detoxification, further contributing to weight gain.

 So what can be done? We can start by limiting our exposure to toxic chemicals (obesogens). Buying organic produce, limiting use of plastics to store food, avoiding toxic personal care and household chemicals can all help. We can also limit, reduce of avoid unnecessary medications by conferring with our PCP and bypassing OTCs, opting for healthier lifestyles instead. Diet is extremely important here – avoiding or reducing sugar, processed and other high glycemic foods, alcohol, and trans fats while adding Omega 3 fish oil and a high antioxidant diet (lots of fresh, whole veggies and fruit.) Stress reduction is also critical to lower the body’s production of cortisol and Insulin which leads to appetite stimulation and fat deposition. While obesity is not all about food, choosing a healthier diet can reduce the risk.

I like to think of “holistic” as inclusive of not only the well-known trilogy of body, mind and spirit, but also of the “whole” picture of a health and wellness topic, in this case nutrition. Very often nutritional articles will discuss one component of nutrition but will leave out facts which would help the reader connect the necessary dots toward a fuller understanding of the many factors that contribute to healthy eating.

One such example is the attention that has been given to calorie counting at the expense of true nutrition. While cutting calories can lead  to better nutrition by eliminating unhealthful (and calorie-laden) foods, the focus is usually on “calories in/calories burned” for anticipated weight loss rather than the nutritive or fat-producing value of those calories. We now know that not all calories are created equally – many processed foods cause fat deposition due to the surge of insulin and lack of natural fiber.

Calorie counting led to the current crisis of a “low fat” mentality erroneously touted as healthful several years ago and still ingrained in the minds of many. Low fat foods came at a cost: Increased sugar was added to foods and necessary, “healthy” fats were eliminated along with some unhealthy fats. Today we recognize the importance of foods high in healthy fats for both nutritional content and satiety value. Added sugar and processed carbohydrates actually made us fatter by stimulating fat-depositing insulin as well as appetite-stimulating hormones!

Another example of incomplete nutritional information is the focus on the proposed new food labels. The concern here is to display in bold letters just how many calories per serving the food contains, noting that serving sizes will also be more prominent. The only other change will be that the addition of sugar will be listed. These are pretty lame changes for a country that is seriously overweight and undernourished in the land of plenty!

Perhaps a more thoughtful and useful approach would be to have labels more prominently display all of the ingredients, including which ingredients are genetically modified. Going a step further, labels might also include “warnings” similar to those found on cigarette packages to alert us to the dangers of GMOs, trans fats, hydrogenated fats, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, sodium, preservatives, etc.

Another pitfall to avoid: Don’t be fooled by labels on the front of products that scream “No Gluten”, “Wheat and Soy Free!” or even “Organic” since organic, while preferable to non-organic since it confers a non-GMO product, can also be a highly processed, unhealthy product. The front labels are designed by marketers to confound us, leading us to believe that something which is nutrient lacking is actually “healthy.”

Personally, I favor Michael Pollan’s advice in Food Rules: Don’t eat anything with more than 5 ingredients and don’t eat anything that your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. An even better “rule” might be to avoid most everything that comes with a label, opting instead for real, whole foods!