Editing Obesity (section)

===Diet===
{{Main|Diet and obesity}}
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<div class="thumbimage">[[File:World map of calory consumption 1961 (v2).svg|200px|alt=(Left) A world map with countries colored to reflect the food energy consumption of their people in 1961. North America, Europe, and Australia have relatively high intake, while Africa and Asia consume much less.]]
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<div class="thumbcaption" style="clear:left">1961
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<div class="thumbimage">[[File:World map of Energy consumption 2001-2003.svg|200px|alt=(Right) A world map with countries colored to reflect the food energy consumption of their people in 2001–2003. Consumption in North America, Europe, and Australia has increased with respect to previous levels in 1971. Food consumption has also increased substantially in many parts of Asia. However, food consumption in Africa remains low.]]
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</div><div class="thumbcaption" style="clear: left; text-align: left; background: transparent">Map of dietary energy availability per person per day in 1961 (left) and 2001–2003 (right)<ref name=Earth09/> Calories per person per day (kilojoules per person per day)
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{{legend|#b3b3b3|<small>No data</small>}}
{{legend|#ffff65|<small><1,600 (<6,700)</small>}}
{{legend|#fff200|<small>1,600–1,800 (6,700–7,500)</small>}}
{{legend|#ffdc00|<small>1,800–2,000 (7,500–8,400)</small>}}
{{legend|#ffc600|<small>2,000–2,200 (8,400–9,200)</small>}}
{{legend|#ffb000|<small>2,200–2,400 (9,200–10,000)</small>}}
{{legend|#ff9a00|<small>2,400–2,600 (10,000–10,900)</small>}}
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{{legend|#ff8400|<small>2,600–2,800 (10,900–11,700)</small>}}
{{legend|#ff6e00|<small>2,800–3,000 (11,700–12,600)</small>}}
{{legend|#ff5800|<small>3,000–3,200 (12,600–13,400)</small>}}
{{legend|#ff4200|<small>3,200–3,400 (13,400–14,200)</small>}}
{{legend|#ff2c00|<small>3,400–3,600 (14,200–15,100)</small>}}
{{legend|#cb0000|<small>>3,600 (>15,100)</small>}}
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[[File:World Per Person Energy Consumption.png|thumb|upright=1.6|alt=A graph showing a gradual increase in global food energy consumption per person per day between 1961 and 2002.|Average per capita energy consumption of the world from 1961 to 2002<ref name=Earth09>{{cite web|url=http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php?theme=8&variable_ID=212&action=select_countries |title=EarthTrends: Nutrition: Calorie supply per capita |website=World Resources Institute |access-date=18 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611160708/http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.php?theme=8&variable_ID=212&action=select_countries |archive-date=11 June 2011}}</ref>]]

Excess appetite for palatable, high-calorie food (especially fat, sugar, and certain animal proteins) is seen as the primary factor driving obesity worldwide, likely because of imbalances in [[neurotransmitter]]s affecting the drive to eat.<ref name=pharmaReview>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bojanowska E, Ciosek J | title = Can We Selectively Reduce Appetite for Energy-Dense Foods? An Overview of Pharmacological Strategies for Modification of Food Preference Behavior | journal = Current Neuropharmacology | volume = 14 | issue = 2 | pages = 118–42 | date = 15 February 2016 | pmid = 26549651 | pmc = 4825944 | doi = 10.2174/1570159X14666151109103147 }}</ref> [[Dietary energy supply]] per capita varies markedly between different regions and countries. It has also changed significantly over time.<ref name=Earth09/> From the early 1970s to the late 1990s the average [[food energy]] available per person per day (the amount of food bought) increased in all parts of the world except Eastern Europe. The United States had the highest availability with {{convert|3654|Cal}} per person in 1996.<ref name=Earth09/> This increased further in 2003 to {{convert|3754|Cal}}.<ref name=Earth09/> During the late 1990s, Europeans had {{convert|3394|Cal}} per person, in the developing areas of Asia there were {{convert|2648|Cal}} per person, and in sub-Saharan Africa people had {{convert|2176|Cal}} per person.<ref name=Earth09/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/1470965/USDA-frsept99b |title=USDA: frsept99b |website=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |access-date=10 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603041758/http://www.scribd.com/doc/1470965/USDA-frsept99b |archive-date=3 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Total food energy consumption has been found to be related to obesity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2009004/article/10933-eng.htm |title=Diet composition and obesity among Canadian adults |website=Statistics Canada }}</ref>
[[File:Prevalence Of Obesity In The Adult Population By Region.svg|thumb|Prevalence of obesity in the adult population by region (2000–2016)|330x330px]]
The widespread availability of [[Dietary Guidelines for Americans|dietary guidelines]]<ref>{{cite web|author=National Control for Health Statistics |title=Nutrition For Everyone |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone |access-date=9 July 2008}}</ref> has done little to address the problems of overeating and poor dietary choice.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Marantz PR, Bird ED, Alderman MH | title = A call for higher standards of evidence for dietary guidelines | journal = American Journal of Preventive Medicine | volume = 34 | issue = 3 | pages = 234–40 | date = March 2008 | pmid = 18312812 | doi = 10.1016/j.amepre.2007.11.017 }}</ref> From 1971 to 2000, obesity rates in the United States increased from 14.5% to 30.9%.<ref name=Flegal2002>{{cite journal | vauthors = Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Johnson CL | title = Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000 | journal = JAMA | volume = 288 | issue = 14 | pages = 1723–7 | date = October 2002 | pmid = 12365955 | doi = 10.1001/jama.288.14.1723 | doi-access = free }}</ref> During the same period, an increase occurred in the average amount of food energy consumed. For women, the average increase was {{convert|335|Cal}} per day ({{convert|1542|Cal}} in 1971 and {{convert|1877|Cal}} in 2004), while for men the average increase was {{convert|168|Cal}} per day ({{convert|2450|Cal}} in 1971 and {{convert|2618|Cal}} in 2004). Most of this extra food energy came from an increase in carbohydrate consumption rather than fat consumption.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Trends in intake of energy and macronutrients—United States, 1971–2000 | journal = MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report | volume = 53 | issue = 4 | pages = 80–2 | date = February 2004 | pmid = 14762332 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5304a3.htm | author1 = Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) }}</ref> The primary sources of these extra carbohydrates are sweetened beverages, which now account for almost 25 percent of daily food energy in young adults in America,<ref name=Caballero>{{cite journal | vauthors = Caballero B | title = The global epidemic of obesity: an overview | journal = Epidemiologic Reviews | volume = 29 | pages = 1–5 | year = 2007 | pmid = 17569676 | doi = 10.1093/epirev/mxm012 | doi-access = free }}</ref> and potato chips.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Mozaffarian D, Hao T, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB | title = Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 364 | issue = 25 | pages = 2392–404 | date = June 2011 | pmid = 21696306 | pmc = 3151731 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMoa1014296 | type = Meta-analysis }}</ref> Consumption of [[sweetened beverages]] such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, and iced tea is believed to be contributing to the rising rates of obesity<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Malik VS, Schulze MB, Hu FB | title = Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review | journal = The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | volume = 84 | issue = 2 | pages = 274–88 | date = August 2006 | pmid = 16895873 | pmc = 3210834 | doi = 10.1093/ajcn/84.2.274 | type = Review }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Olsen NJ, Heitmann BL | title = Intake of calorically sweetened beverages and obesity | journal = Obesity Reviews | volume = 10 | issue = 1 | pages = 68–75 | date = January 2009 | pmid = 18764885 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2008.00523.x | s2cid = 28672221 | type = Review }}</ref> and to an increased risk of [[metabolic syndrome]] and [[type 2 diabetes]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Malik VS, Popkin BM, Bray GA, Després JP, Willett WC, Hu FB | title = Sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis | journal = Diabetes Care | volume = 33 | issue = 11 | pages = 2477–83 | date = November 2010 | pmid = 20693348 | pmc = 2963518 | doi = 10.2337/dc10-1079 | type = Meta-analysis, Review }}</ref> [[Vitamin D deficiency]] is related to diseases associated with obesity.<ref name=WambergPedersen2015>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wamberg L, Pedersen SB, Rejnmark L, Richelsen B | title = Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency and Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Metabolic Complications in Obesity: a Review | journal = Current Obesity Reports | volume = 4 | issue = 4 | pages = 429–40 | date = December 2015 | pmid = 26353882 | doi = 10.1007/s13679-015-0176-5 | s2cid = 809587 }}</ref>

As societies become increasingly reliant on [[food energy|energy-dense]], big-portions, and [[Fast food|fast-food]] meals, the association between fast-food consumption and obesity becomes more concerning.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rosenheck R | title = Fast food consumption and increased caloric intake: a systematic review of a trajectory towards weight gain and obesity risk | journal = Obesity Reviews | volume = 9 | issue = 6 | pages = 535–47 | date = November 2008 | pmid = 18346099 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2008.00477.x | s2cid = 25820487 | type = Review | doi-access = free }}</ref> In the United States, consumption of fast-food meals tripled and food energy intake from these meals quadrupled between 1977 and 1995.<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Lin BH, Guthrie J, Frazao E |editor=Frazão E |title=Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 750: America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences |chapter-url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib-agricultural-information-bulletin/aib750.aspx |year=1999 |publisher=US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service |location=Washington, DC |pages=213–39 |chapter=Nutrient contribution of food away from home |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708043622/http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib-agricultural-information-bulletin/aib750.aspx |archive-date=8 July 2012 }}</ref>

[[Agricultural policy]] and [[Green Revolution (agriculture)|techniques]] in the United States and Europe have led to lower [[food prices]]. In the United States, subsidization of corn, soy, wheat, and rice through the [[U.S. farm bill]] has made the main sources of processed food cheap compared to fruits and vegetables.<ref>{{cite news| vauthors = Pollan M |title=You Are What You Grow |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22wwlnlede.t.html |date=22 April 2007 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref> [[Calorie count laws]] and [[nutrition facts label]]s attempt to steer people toward making healthier food choices, including awareness of how much food energy is being consumed.

Obese people consistently under-report their food consumption as compared to people of normal weight.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Kopelman P, Caterson I | chapter = An overview of obesity management | veditors = Kopelman PG, Caterson ID, Stock MJ, Dietz WH |title=Clinical obesity in adults and children: In Adults and Children |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |year=2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/clinicalobesityi02edunse/page/319 319–326] (324) |isbn=978-1-4051-1672-5 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/clinicalobesityi02edunse/page/319 }}</ref> This is supported both by tests of people carried out in a [[calorimeter]] room<ref>{{cite book|title=Metabolism alone doesn't explain how thin people stay thin |publisher=The Medical Post | vauthors = Schieszer J }}</ref> and by direct observation.