Stockholm, Jul 16 (IANS): Social and economic factors are the main reasons behind the difficulty to reduce obesity problems.

Obesity is not just a problem of weight, but a problem related to the total economic, social, environmental and behavioural changes, Gary Egger, an expert from Southern Cross University of Australia, said at the 11th International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm Thursday.

"To deal with the obesity problem, one must try to change the environment and decouple progress with growth," Egger was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"We just cannot keep economic growth at exponential rate," he said. "What we need is a systemic approach and thinking outside the box, that is to pay more attention to quality growth instead of quantity growth and better environment."

The mentality of trying to maximise everything is also contributing to obesity. One should avoid going extreme in behaviour, such as eating too much, watching too much television, and driving too much, he said.