This page can be printed. For Mac computers, select "Print" from the File menu. For Windows computers, right-click on the document and then select "Print." Q17: What is the relationship between vegetable oil and obesity? Obesity occurs when the amount of calories consumed exceeds the amount of calories burned during activities of the human body, and when that excess amount is stored as neutral fat in adipose tissue. Put simply, this is caused by eating too much. Therefore, fat is not the sole cause of obesity; rather, obesity is affected by the consumption of all foods. In order to avoid obesity, you should determine the amount of calories which you require for a single day and then to accordingly adjust your amount of food. Periodic exercise is an effective way to increase your calorie output. Of course, weight increase during growth periods (childhood and adolescence) is a normal part of growth and must be differentiated from obesity. Since oils and fats (both animal fats and plant fats) provide approximately 9 kcal per gram, oils and fats tend to be mistakenly viewed as the cause of obesity. In actuality, vegetable oil and other oils/fats are essential nutrients for maintaining a healthy human body. Therefore, consuming vegetable oil in balance with other nutrients is important for preventing obesity. People prone to obesity should be careful to avoid excess consumption of all foods, not just oils and fats. -- CLOSE --