I am not obese myself as I've always been interested in sports since childhood, and put effort into living a healthy and active lifestyle. However, obesity is clearly a growing issue worldwide (no pun intended) and in a lot of countries it seems to be fast becoming the norm socially to be overweight.
Sometimes I see articles or listen to people on TV or radio trying to explain away obesity through unspecified medical conditions, genetics, food additives etc. As a sceptical person, I find these reasons hard to believe when, to my knowledge, the only way for a human body to gain weight is by consuming more calories than is burned off on a regular basis (a calorie surplus).
Can anyone explain if it's possible for someone to be overweight or obese and it have a genuine medical explanation, and not simply a consequence of poor diet and/or lifestyle choices. I understand that conditions such as diabetes make it harder for someone to manage their diet, but I wouldn't class this as a reason for being obese in itself (clearly not every diabetic is obese).