What Causes Overweight and Obesity?

Lack of Energy Balance
A lack of energy balance most often causes overweight and obesity. Energy balance means that your energy IN equals your energy OUT. Energy IN is the amount of energy or calories you get from food and drinks. Energy OUT is the amount of energy your body uses for things like breathing, digesting, and being physically active. To maintain a healthy weight, your energy IN and OUT don't have to balance exactly every day. It's the balance over time that helps you maintain a healthy weight. The same amount of energy IN and energy OUT over time = weight stays the same More energy IN than energy OUT over time = weight gain More energy OUT than energy IN over time = weight loss Overweight and obesity happen over time when you take in more calories than you use