WHAT CAUSES WEIGHT GAIN?
A positive or surplus energy balance that is maintained over a long time, despite the mechanisms that regulate body weight, leads to weight gain. It can thus be the result of a prolonged increase in energy intake and/or decrease of physical activity.
Weight gain is not sharp, and it usually divided into three consecutive phases:
a) Preobese static phase: When the individual maintains a positive balance but the weight remains constant.
b) Dynamic phase: sBody weight increases progressively due to the positive balance. This can last several years and on many occasions there may be fluctuations due to patient´s efforts to loose weight and recover the ideal weight.
c) Obese static phase: The energy balance is recovered but weight is greater than in the preobese phase and the body tends to maintain the accumulated weight.