Is obesity the result of a chronic disease? No, according to numerous researchers who study the social determinants of obesity. Obesity isn’t like a cold you catch; it’s the result of a communal disorder that can override personal decisions regarding weight management.

Let’s look at some of this research, beginning with fairly recent statistics from a study involving 161,795 U.S. adults. What they found was that as one’s social determinants of health (SDOH) declined, their chances of obesity increased proportionally.

A review from June of last year corroborates these findings:

Emerging evidence confirms the strong link between the social determinants of health (SDOH), which include economic, social, environmental, and psychosocial factors and the development of obesity and cardiovascular risk factors.

Not only do they find a strong link for environmental factors, they also find a less strong but significant correlation between gender and racial barriers and obesity. Exactly which social determinants are contributing to obesity, and how do they cause people to overeat?

When you get behind the veneer of “social determinants of obesity” and into the case studies, what you find is that the social determinants increase stress, and the displacement of stress results in increased obesity. For example, here are the most impactful social determinants according to this study:

• low socioeconomic status
• a parent with low socioeconomic status
• the accumulation of adverse early-life experiences
• unhealthy parental habits
• childhood trauma

It sounds like the social determinants of obesity are poverty and abuse, which aligns with research we have highlighted here that the majority of people in treatment for substance use disorders in the U.S. were abused as children.

The review article examines several theories for the impact of social determinants on obesity. Basically, it’s a pile-on, with poverty and abuse initiating the problem, then a lack of access to healthcare combined with a lack of nutritious eating choices and family and cultural backgrounds that don’t celebrate healthy eating.

“Prolonged exposure to family adversity can influence unhealthy behaviors in offspring, increasing their long-term risk of obesity,” write the researchers, adding, “The combination of food deserts, unsafe environments, and limited access to health-promoting resources exacerbates obesity disparities, particularly in marginalized communities.”

The authors suggest that solutions to prevent obesity “may be more effective if they address non-traditional risk factors for obesity, such as social determinants, gender and racial/ethnic barriers.”

Another recent review resulted in an even stronger statement regarding treating the social determinants of obesity:

Population-based interventions that focus on improving neighborhood conditions, discouraging the consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages, expanding access to obesity treatment, and ensuring equitable access to fruits and vegetables have been proven to be effective.

We have published dozens of articles on the best ways to treat addiction here at AddictionNews. The best ways of preventing addiction, including eating addiction, involve moderating stress, particularly in the first years of life.

Stress doesn’t need to be eliminated. A certain amount of stress induces problem-solving skills. But learning stress management skills as a child provides a significant increase in teenage resilience toward substance abuse. And that leads to a lifetime reduction in the likelihood of developing obesity, cardiovascular disease, alcoholism, and drug addiction.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published November 9, 2026.

Sources:

“Social determinants of health and obesity: Findings from a national study of US adults,” Obesity, January 27, 2022.

“Social, cultural and ethnic determinants of obesity: From pathogenesis to treatment,” Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, June 2025.

“Social and Structural Determinants of Health and Social Injustices Contributing to Obesity Disparities,” Current Obesity Reports, June 15, 2024.

Image Copyright: iakovenko.