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.

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.

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.

During the pchycho-social evolution of the human race food became much more than simple means of energy source. Food has become a source of satisfaction and a psychological rewarding tool for most of us.

It is common to connect food intake with emotional conditions (either positive or negative) and to associate events, places, mood alterations with certain flavors, smells and food products. Poorly controlled emotional eating is a type of food addiction and in the genetically predisposed individual can lead to morbid obesity.