obese-catThese days, we are becoming more conscious of health and fitness. Gym memberships have gone up. More people exercise on a regular basis, and healthy eating is becoming more common as well. However, I found out a few interesting facts about factors that can make you fat without realizing it, courtesy of Yahoo.

For example, did you know that there are certain chemicals that can make you fat? These are called obesogens. Very creative name, huh? Anyway, according to the article, this term is used to refer to chemicals that meddle with human hormones that regulate metabolism. The effect is that a person gains weight. Some examples of obesogens are bisphenol A (plastics, food and drink cans), pesticides (hexachlorobenzene, atrazine), dioxins (meat and dairy products), and phthalates (soft plastics, fragrances). While I think it is good to know about these things, I also realize that if you want to avoid these chemicals, you can’t do anything, can’t eat anything…

Another thing that can make you fat is stress. This is not that surprising to me because I know that stress makes me gain weight. The link between stress and weight gain is not that clear, but there is a link. For me, it is more of comfort eating that makes me gain weight when stressed.

Last, lack of sleep can also make you fat. Scientists do not know yet exactly WHY lack of sleep makes people gain weight but the consensus is that lack of sleep somehow changes the metabolism.

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