In the instance of obesity, we know that there are various causes, and therefore, there must be various solutions. Though some causes may be because of a medical conditions which disqualify the patients from easily losing weight, the most common cause for obesity is simply that a person eats more than what their body can burn off. The result is that excess energy that is not used is stored in the body, or more commonly known as fat. The most practical approach is to create a drug that intervenes with the body’s natural processing functions. If we could create a prescription that forced the body to survive off of its existing energy storages instead of adding more reserves to them, then a cure for obesity would be both possible and probable. Unfortunately, this thought is much too advanced for our primitive society, or is it? Back in 2009, when researchers were searching for a cure for cancer, they discovered a compound that when injected into mice caused an extreme reduction in appetite as well as up to thirty percent weight loss. This compound would trick the brain into thinking that it was not hungry (“Obesity Drugs Might” 2). This compound may be extremely useful on the path to a cure, but it is not the only one.
An additional enzyme was also found that when injected into mice would allow them to eat much more food than other mice and still weigh ten to fifteen percent less than other mice (“Obesity Drugs Might” 2). These results could also be found in humans. Imagine
Genetic research of obesity was partly successful in establishing obesity in model organisms – rodents where obesity occurs spontaneously together with other pathological aspects (insulin resistance, …). The main cause of monogenic obesity in these model organisms are common mutations always present in only one gene. Results of research on model organisms allowed us to understand biological mechanisms of calorie intake and regulation and maintenance of body weight. The most important insight into obesity was achieved in 1994 after discovery of ob gene encoding for leptin. In two years period, using screening method, candidate homologous genes, selected on genetic study basis on mice, another five genes were identified. Mutations on these genes were found to be the cause of autosomal recessive or dominant monogenic obesity. Products of these genes are leptin and its receptor, proopiomelanocortin (POMC) melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R) and
Recently, a lot of debate has gone around about whether or not obesity is considered a disease or not. It is very difficult to pinpoint one sole reason obesity is occurring in people, there are many different justifications for what causes a person to become obese. Obesity is a disease that is currently sweeping the entire world. Percentages of not just adults, but children are skyrocketing like never before. People have never been so overweight until now. I am going to examine why obesity is considered a disease through a scientific, economic, historical, and futuristic lenses.
Obesity remains an extremely serious issue worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now dramatically increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continue to soar. CDC (2009) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According to NHANES over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (CDC, 2009). Treatment for this illness varies; it may include the incorporation of diet, exercise, behavior modification, medication, and surgery. Since there is no single cause of all overweight and obesity, there is no single way to prevent or treat overweight
The pathophysiology of obesity is when there is a buildup of excess body fat. This excess body fat is determined by calculating a person body mass index (BMI). The BMI is calculated by an individual’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of a person’s height in metersthis allows us to come up with appropriate range of weight to an individual’s height. The body mass index is used to find out if an individual is overweight or obese. Individuals who’s BMI that have a range of 25 to 29.99 are thought to be pre- obese and overweight When an individual body mass index has surpassed 30kg this person is considered obese. As an individual’sBMI increases they become part of a different class of obesity there’s class I which is 30-34.9, class II
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess fats have grown and accumulated to the point of harm, and a shortened life expectancy. Obesity is a problem that has been more prominent in the 20th and 21st century and is now a main concern for both society and the government. It is the citizen’s duty to resolve this epidemic known as obesity in the United States.
Obesity is associated with a number of long term conditions which place significant burden on individuals. The growing issue of obesity can be slowed down, if society focuses on the effects of obesity. Concentrating on psychological problems, health problems and social care, overtime, obesity can be decreased and lead to a healthier
instrument of the advancement of obesity is not fully recognized and it is understood to be a
Our life is something that is so precious. Every choice we make impacts our life wether it be physically or mentally. When we choose to make poor life choices, it will reflect on us as individuals. Poor choices in what we consumed or how active we are will lead to a life that can lead to an early death. Obesity is an epidemic health problem that has been one of the leading causes to death. The disease itself causes sever health conditions as well as mental health issues.no one wants to become obese, but in today’s society we have been given the perfect recipe that will land us in a fight for our life. Obesity is not something that simply happens, but a lifetime of poor choices. We must discover the source of obesity and attack the health issue from the primary leading factors. We start with the source in order to help improve the lives of people everywhere who are battling this disease, as well as those who are predisposed to a higher chance of developing it.
Obesity is defined as the excessive build-up of body fat that has major detrimental effects on an individual’s health (Caballero, 2007). The major cause of this excess accumulation of body fat is due to a positive energy balance i.e. when the input of energy into the body system exceeds the output of energy which in turn facilitates in weight gain (Caballero, 2007). Obesity is a major health issue in modern day society, firstly because it affects approximately 300 million people worldwide (Weight Management Centre and secondly, drastic alteration in the body’s fat intake also leads to the increasing prevalence of other major health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, non-insulin dependent diabetes and hypertension (WMC, 2010).
Obesity, the condition of being severely overweight, is a serious issue in the United States that is gradually beginning to affect more and more citizens. In recent years, the number of Americans suffering from this chronic disease has significantly increased. Researchers have found that nearly one third of the U.S. population is considered overweight and, on average, three hundred thousand individuals die yearly as a result of obesity (Hollands et al. 2). When one participates in little to no physical activity and their diet consists mostly of high fat foods, chances are they will gain weight. If someone becomes obese, they may develop serious health related issues that, in some cases,
It was merely a decade ago that the obesity epidemic was thought to only be a minor problem and had only alarmed a small number of endocrinologists interested by the size of the situation (James, 2008). However today, the problem of obesity is vast with more awareness of its presence by doctors and individuals alike. In fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention states, “More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese (CDC, 2014)”. These numbers are outrageous and eye opening, leaving millions looking for a solution to this troubling epidemic. Obesity is not simply a cosmetic flaw as some might think, but is actually a very dangerous state of being for any individual to sustain long-term. Mentioned further in
Obesity is known to produce a number of stress and inflammation responses in the body that lead to the activation of the inflammatory signalling molecules, Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and inhibitory kB kinase (IKK). Activation of these pathways plays a key part in the development of insulin resistance followed by progression to diabetes as they greatly affect inflammatory responses, insulin signalling, and lipid and glucose homeostatis (Nakamura et al. 2014). For example, activating the JNK pathway leads to serine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins which results in inhibited insulin signalling and thus insulin resistance. Double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) has recently been shown to control the JNK and other major inflammatory pathways, to directly inhibit insulin signalling, to be activated by fatty acids as well as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and to be necessary for the activity of inflammasomes (Nakamura et al. 2010; Komiya et al. 2010; Lu et al. 2012). Moreover, PKR has been found to be highly activated in obese people as well as mice with genetically and diet-induced obesity, especially in adipose and hepatic tissues (Boden et al. 2008; Nakamura et al. 2010; Carvalho-Filho et al. 2012). Finally, recent studies have found that PKR knockout obese mice were protected against both IR and obesity-triggered inflammation and that administration of PKR inhibitors reduced JNK activation, reduced inflammation in adipose
Obesity can develop when the cumulative energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, when this happens the excess is stored primarily as fat in adipose tissues. The biological processes that regulate the energy balance are highly regulated and this mechanism can be overwhelmed, because of a need to eat when not hungry, if attractive high calorie food is presented in attractive settings, and if individuals are regularly non-mobile for extended periods. The control pathways that include short-term signaling of hunger and engorgement to the central nervous system with the hormones that come from the gastrointestinal tract, long-term signaling of energy stores to the brain via leptin and insulin, as well as the control of metabolism. Rare genetic syndromes also play a role and these present in early childhood with severe obesity these include mutations in the pro-opiomelanocortin gene and deficiencies in the leptin this demonstrates that the pathways are biologically important in humans. Most obesity cases develop because of modern lifestyles in genetically susceptible individuals. The changes include excessive consumption of high-energy food in tandem with low levels of physical activity and that in many societies; less affluent people have a higher incidence (Lee et al 2013). Other causes of obesity that are considered include some drugs that can cause an increase in appetite and structural damage to areas of the nervous system that control appetite. Though men and women are
In recent times, the concept of treatment for diseases that are either perceived or real has appeared to become more complex. There has been a great deal of development in the way diseases are prevented and treated. There are all manner of mechanisms and schemes that allegedly cover one from future diseases along the path of imagination such as insurance schemes. One cannot just bury their loved one without receiving a death certificate as permission to proceed with burial plans. There are a lot of funds that are directed towards research and development of drugs. Obesity is now a disease as opposed to seeing it as being brought about by our inability to control and manage our eating habits. In essence, every diagnosis has a remedy on how best to prevent and treat it in what is referred to as medicalization. In that case, it appears overused due to three reasons that include a change of culture and lifestyles, treating ailments that could have been treated via other means, and the habit of preempting diseases that are not there.
Contrary to belief, obesity has no clearly defined solution. Many believe that it is a chosen lifestyle and that by just exercising more and eating healthier the problem will be solved. This false mindset is at the core of the problem as portrayed in “the iceberg model” and addresses just the “tip of the iceberg”. There is in fact a “bigger picture” at play. Other characteristics on an individual level like physiological and psychological factors are also a major influence.