Now that the holidays are over, people are looking for ways to shed off the extra pounds gained during Christmas and New Year. A lot of fad diets are gaining popularity, but while some diet gives others amazing results, they just don't seem to work on other people. Experts say science has the answer.

Obesity Has Many Types, Just Like Cancer

According to New York Times, obesity is the precursor to a lot of diseases, like cancer. Dr. Frank Sacks said that obesity, just like cancer, has many types. This means that even if two people who have the same amount of fat excess, same age and gender, the same treatment may not work for them.

Dr. Stephen O'Rahilly, head of the department of clinical biochemistry and medicine at Cambridge University, said that science has identified more than 25 genes that when mutated, a person is pretty much guaranteed to become obese.

Ruth Loos, director of the genetics of obesity and related metabolic traits program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said that people are more likely to inherit a collection of genes, each predisposing them to a small weight gain in the right environment, the Herald Tribune reported.

The Medication You Take May Have Caused Your Weight Gain

Moreover, there are also drugs that cause weight gain. Medications for psychiatric disorders, diabetes and seizure disorders, beta blockers to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate, and steroids to suppress the immune system may increase the patient's weight. Some people may not realize that the drug they are taking is part of their obesity problem.

Obesity specialists say that in order to find an effective method for weight loss, they ask patients the obvious cause of a person's weight gain, like a drug that can possibly be switched for something else. If that is not the case, then they suggest patients try one thing after another, starting with the least invasive option.