The Set Point Theory : A Natural Weight Range

Weight is a part of every human beings life. Every one weights something. In society, it is commonly found that people mistakenly judge their health based on their weight. America has thousands of health experts and nutritionist who claim themselves as protectors of health, “helping a nation stricken with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer” (Maxville 443). They believe that eating is simply for fueling the body and you should eat mostly plants, but not too much. Maxville uses the vast theory of health experts to tie in the point that, “each of these maladies is tied to our diet and essentially our weight. As a culture we no longer discuss healthy eating without also discussing unhealthy weights” (Maxville 444). While Maxville believes that the bigger issue is not weight, but linking nutrition and body type. While, Pollan warns readers of eating too much, he never mentions that it is equally as fatal to eat too little. Pollan states in his essay that overeating is the “greatest threat” to our survival. Maxville uses Pollan’s statements on the topic of weight to prove that being unhealthy should not be tied solely to being overweight, because being under weight is equally unhealthy. To further discredit the claims Pollan makes linking weight to health, Maxville states, “A growing group of academics who

On the other hand, not all cases of childhood obesity are a result of external forces. In some cases a child’s problem with their weight is mainly a genetic problem. In this case even the healthiest of habits may not be enough to prevent a child from becoming obese. (American Obesity Association) Yet the dramatic increase of overweight adolescents in the past few decades has clearly not been a result of genetics, but rather has in fact been do to poor health habits.

Genes influence every aspect of our physiology, development, and adaptation. Obesity seems to be no exception. Yet, even after reading this article and researching this topic, I still know relatively little regarding the complex interplay between our genetic makeup and our life experiences. The author of this article and the research contained within does little to clarify the role of nurture in the nature vs. nurture argument. Environmental causation is discussed only in terms of how environmental stress has the potential of becoming a part of one’s genetic makeup and therefore transferrable to future generations. It’s clear that genetic factors make a contribution to obesity risk, but not everyone who may be predisposed to obesity because

The previously mentioned peak and the positions where obesity has greatly amassed revealed a genetic trait that tends towards obesity. In the 1960’s, people developed the “thrifty gene” hypothesis, saying that genes leading to obesity could be inherited. The hypothesis was supported by the knowledge that digestive metabolisms have been naturally selected to favor obese traits.

Do our genes affect our decisions? Can the environment alter our genetic makeup? In Sharon Moalem’s work “Changing Our Genes,” he writes about how the environment around us and our ancestors has contributed to the making of our genes. Genes are the instructions to make proteins which is ultimately the making of us. In Kevin Beaver’s “Genetic Influences on Adolescents,” he emphasizes the groundbreaking research in the similarities of children’s eating habits compared with their siblings and how genetics is a contributing factor. Our genes do not define us, but they do play a role in what our choices in life will be. One of the choices we make is regarding our lifestyle, specifically, how active we are and what we choose to consume. Additionally, Liam, a 12-year-old boy in the documentary film Overfed and Undernourished who has obesity realized that in order to avoid healthy problems at such a tender age and to live a longer more active life he needs to combat his excess weight. Also in “The Epidemic of

Genes control almost every aspect of human life, and when it comes to weight there is no exception. Little is known, however, how much of an individual’s genes actually control the weight of certain individuals. Body fat can vary from person to person, yet some people have always carried more weight than others. Often times, when one person is overweight in the family, most of the other individuals in the same family are overweight as well. However, more than just genetics can go into being overweight, and a person’s genes are not the end all be all of obesity. Many times the environment surrounding people who are obese contributes to the overall weight of the individual, and when obesity promoting genes are mixed

However, “the epidemic of child obesity is still relatively new” (Source 7). Because child obesity is a somewhat unfamiliar phenomenon, “obesity is difficult to cure” (Source 7). Child obesity is the “result of eating too many calories and not getting enough exercise” (Source 1). Though scientists have made a connection between child obesity and genetic disposition, obesity is ultimately caused by the decisions we

The origin of obesity is a very important question that has caused some controversy between doctors, scientists, and writers. The origins are thought to stem from

According to Harvard Health Publications (11-12), the causes of obesity are interrelated. By understanding how these various factors interrelate and eventually how they cause obesity, we can be able to draw a conclusion whether the problem of being overweight is as a result of our own fault or it is a problem that people do not have control over. The factors that interact with one another and result in one person being overweight compared to another include; genetics and the person’s weight, influences from the external environment, physical inactivity and the behaviors that have been learned by a person.

The startling epidemic of rising obesity rates has caught everyone off guard considering that in the book “Obesity Dietary and Developmental Influences” it states that almost two-thirds of the current population is overweight or obese (Lopez 2). Considering that many adults and children are struggling with their weight, many experts try to pinpoint the exact culprit for the obesity rates and ways it can be diminished. The focus of this paper is to discuss who exactly is to blame for the rising obesity rates and different ways it could decrease based on certain author’s point of views. This is important because if the rates do not stop increasing, people will suffer whether its financially or medically. Many people often argue over which

This action from human metabolism makes it harder for people to control their weight. “Losing weight has proven to be extremely difficult for large numbers of people,” even with major weight loss programs, such as weight watchers, a program used internationally, “people shed pounds but regain them and many situations gain even more,” this is called “yo-yo dieting” or the constant loss of weight only to gain it back at a later time (CDCP 54). According to Sally E. Smith in her article, “The great diet deception,” weight loss diets and products, very rarely produce long lasting results. Less than five percent of people that go on strict diets accomplish losing weight and actually keeping that weight loss off for over a five year span (Smith). Ninety percent fail, and regain a lot of it back, even all of it in many cases (Smith). A third of that five percent regain more than they had ever lost (Spake).Since dieting is so hard, healthy professionals encourage exercise or a good amount of moderate physical activity, as a way of losing or maintain weight (CDCP 54).The determination of one’s diet is based on a balance of “energy in,” “energy out” difference (Mypyramid.gov). In other words, the amount of calories that are taken in minus the calories burned. For instance, if someone wants to lose weight, the calories that are burned through the whole day need to be greater than the calories that are absorbed that day.

Obesity: one of the nation’s most critical health problems. “Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat” (“Centers for Disease Control and Prevention”). When energy input and output get out of balance, obesity arises. Many factors can cause someone to become obese such as genetics, metabolism, level of physical activity, and more. “Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors” (“CDC Features - Obesity & Genetics”). “When a person eats and drinks more calories than he or she burns, the energy balance tips toward weight gain, overweight, and obesity” (“Understanding Adult Overweight and Obesity”). Obesity is increasing throughout the United States due to lack of healthy behaviors, big health risk, genetics and increasing in children and adults.

I claim that in American culture, a thin body is held as the "original", normal body; whereas obesity is viewed as a `temporary disruption' to the balance of the body. According to our cultural understanding, an obese body is viewed as being in the process of constant transformation. The idea of a permanently fat person is unacceptable and an obese body must be standardized and normalized. The goal is to transform and

Obesity and overweight are categories of the human body type that are based on what is considered a “healthy” weight. This standard is established using the body mass index (BMI), which can be calculated using height and weight to estimate how much of a person’s weight comes from body fat. A healthy individual’s BMI is between 19 and 25 (CDC, 2010). A person with a BMI above 25 is considered overweight and above 30 is obese (CDC, 2010). Overweight and obesity are linked with motor development through Newell’s Model of Constraints, which includes individual, environmental, and task constraints. According to Newell’s model, a person’s weight is a structural individual constraint that could affect a person’s performance on a task (Payne & Isaacs, 2008). Although weight is a structural constraint that may influence performance, it does not necessarily affect the development of motor skills.

The topic that I have chosen to look at is obesity. The aim of this topic is to find out whether “the ignorance of genetics as a contra factor of obesity”. I have chosen to look at this topic because obesity is concerns me. Obesity has always been a bid debate for a long time now and I was intrigued to find out more about the topic and the cause of obesity. The fact that obesity has made deadlines news in recent years. There are a lot of misconceptions about obesity such as overweight is caused by a sow metabolism. There have been a lot of beliefs and myths about obesity in society today and he above myths is on of them. According to Donnellan (1998) ‘ ‘people who are overweight have told their doctors that they eat no more and