As with many issues within psychological discourse, there is controversy over the etiology of obesity versus "nature and nurture." Supporters of the nature argument argued that obesity is the product of genetic and biological determinism, to the extent that it is a disease beyond the control of those who suffer from it. On the other hand, the education argument holds that obesity is the result of environmental influences, whether learned behaviors or directly caused by environmental stimuli. These two perspectives represent the two opposite ends of a continuum. However, it is commonly proposed that obesity is more accurately explained from an interactionist perspective. This assumes that obesity is caused by genetic influences that occur through environmental stimuli (Faith et al., 1997). Simply put, this argument proposes that obesity is caused by nature manifesting itself through nurture. This essay will discuss the various arguments regarding nature and nurture and their effectiveness in explaining the causality of obesity. In the relevant literature, obesity is often defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more (Fernández et al., 2008; Janssen et al., 2004). It is a syndrome that has received a lot of attention not only in the psychological and medical literature, but also in the mainstream media. It is a health problem that is growing at an alarming rate, to the point that it is now considered an epidemic in both the developed and underdeveloped world (Janssen et al., 2004; Mokdad et al., 1999). For example, in 2012 around a third of New Zealand adults were obese. Between 1997 and 2012 this percentage increased by 43% for males and 52% for females respectively (New Zealand Ministry of Health,...... middle of paper hunger, we shifted our attention from meeting energy needs to satisfying our perceived taste preferences often involves fatty, salty, and sweet foods, all of which contribute to obesity, while not providing much in the way of nutritional value (Swencionis & Rendell, 2012). obesity is a major health problem in modern society and is expanding at a rate far exceeding the increase in the average waist size. It is important that future research recognizes the interaction between nature and nurture explain obesity, as none of the two can explain the phenomenon completely, but it is rather the combination and manifestation of different environmental and biological influences that have altered the homeostatic position of those affected to the point that there are high prevalence rates of obesity. only obesity, but also its antecedent disorders.