Adherence
Perceived food insecurity acts as a proximate driver of obesity by triggering evolved mechanisms to store fat as insurance against future scarcity.
If you live in an environment where food access feels uncertain or sporadic, your body may biologically prioritize storing fat as a survival mechanism. This is not a moral failing but an evolved response to perceived scarcity. Addressing the root cause—stabilizing food access and reducing the psychological stress of insecurity—is more effective than focusing solely on caloric restriction.
A major driver of obesity and overweight among contemporary humans is exposure to cues that, over evolutionary time, would have reliably indicated that access to food was insecure. Exposure to these cues engages evolved decision-making mechanisms and leads to increased food consumption relative to expenditure, thus resulting in greater fat storage and higher body weights.
Why this rating
Supported by a meta-analysis of 125 epidemiological studies, theoretical models, and non-human animal experiments.
Source
Food insecurity as a driver of obesity in humans: The insurance hypothesis
Daniel Nettle et al. · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · 2016
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