Answer to Question 1
Weight gain is a matter of calorie imbalance, that is, consuming more calories than one expends. The excess calories are stored as fat. Obesity results when the calorie imbalance leads to an ongoing long-term accumulation of fat deposits. Some people are more prone to develop obesity than others and there are several models that attempt to explain individual differences in tendencies toward obesity including the weight set point model, the genetics model, and the positive incentive model.
Answer to Question 2
The health consequences of obesity include a higher risk of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, colon cancer, breast cancer, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, depression, and early mortality. For example, obesity is associated with a 10-fold increase in risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. The excess fat carried in obesity is proinflammatory and may contribute to many of the chronic diseases associated with obesity.