Why are we fat?

Scottsdale – Thanks to Robin Nixon, a regular contributor to LiveScience, I now have a better understanding as to why we are fat. Her article, which includes the top 8 reasons for obesity, is a nice summary of what is happening with our food and our habits. Obesity rates seem to continue to grow, quite relentlessly, and our health is suffering. Let’s look at Robin’s list and see if we can learn something from it.

8. U.S. Government standards: In the summer of 1998, about 29 million Americans suddenly became overweight. The U.S. government announced new guidelines lowering the threshold of classification for being overweight. The new scale (no pun intended) uses a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or less as normal. The BMI is a ratio of weight to height.  Before 1998, if your BMI was less than 28 in men, or 27 in women, you were considered not obese. Based on the new guidelines, it takes less for you to be considered “obese”. You can calculate your BMI by clicking here.

7. A case for too much Hygiene: Is it possible that clean water when cooking and hand washing before meals make you fatter? Research in mice found that certain intestinal bacteria can help the body remove more calories out of the same amount of food and even cause and increase in appetite. Increased appetite and insulin resistance can be transferred from one mouse to another via intestinal bacteria, according to research being published via Emory University School of Medicine. “However, our results suggest that excess caloric consumption is not only a result of undisciplined eating but that intestinal bacteria contribute to changes in appetite and metabolism,” said Andrew Gewirtz, PhD, senior investigator.

6. Parental Genetic Influence: Not all of us have succumbed to environmental changes or our socioeconomic status when it comes to obesity. Thin people, despite their social status, can have thin children.  In a study which was performed in part at the New York Obesity Research Center at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and published in the journal Obesity, the results suggests that parental leanness confers significant protection against development of obesity in children regardless of social economic status. Similarly, if parental obesity is present, it becomes an adverse prognostic sign, especially in lower socioeconomic status families.

5. Factors in the womb? This has to do with the study of epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence (what you inherit from mom and dad). In other words, it is the idea that even if genes themselves are not altered, the manner in which they function can change. Kartik Shankar, PhD of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, has been studying epigenetics in rats. He transferred the newborns of normal-weight and obese rat mothers. Even with nearly identical genes and upbringing, only the babies from the wombs of the rotund became plump themselves. The study suggests that exposure to the mother’s obesity while in the womb results in programming of the offspring’s metabolism and body-weight-control mechanisms. The mother’s obesity alone was sufficient to increase the susceptibility to obesity. “This occurred despite the fact that the offspring of overweight dams ate the same amount of high-fat food as the offspring of lean dams,” said Dr. Shankar

4. Friends: Would you believe me when I say, “if your friends are fat, you might be fat too”. Believe it! Research has shown that if your friends are fat, you are more likely to be fat yourself. It is believe that your environment becomes reset and you begin to consider this normal. The findings of this research, suggests that obesity has cultural and psychological causes as well as physiological ones.

3. The Sedentary Lifestyle: When we don’t move our bodies, we have a harder time burning calories. When you follow a sedentary lifestyle, you are basically conforming to being the classic “couch potato”.  The bottom line is that exercise, even in small amounts,  is great for maintaining weight and regulating appetite. Additionally, several studies suggest that ignoring the need for an exercise regimen could be detrimental to your health.

2. Tastes Great: Simply said… palatable foods! Palatable, meaning acceptable or agreeable to the palate or taste, has created a big part of the problem.  Foods, such as those available from fast food chains, are “layered and loaded with fat, sugar and salt,” said Dr. David Kessler, former FDA commissioner.

“With sugar, salt and fat on every street corner, we are living in a food carnival,” said Dr. Kessler. In his book, The End of Overeating, Dr. Kessler describes how consuming high salt, fat and sugars in our food, makes us addicted to food. The food fun house causes excitement in that part of the brain associated with emotion and reward. These foods help to create a negative psychological relationship between us and our foods.

1. A National Eating Pastime: Dr. Kessler says that our food culture is largely to blame for obesity. Other developed countries have lower obesity rates because they value eating differently. We have put limited value on the pleasures and rituals of eating. For instance, lunch is eaten at our desks, breakfast on the commute, and then we eat a heavy dinner. Disrespect for food exacerbates weight problems by leaving us unsatisfied…. and we get hungry soon after a meal. Eating fats has been linked to obesity while regular family meals are associated with a decreased risk of obesity.

In summary, there are many factors which control our rates of obesity. More research will be required, but we already know so much about obesity in America. We should continue to work to control our habits and improve our lifestyle…while loosing weight!