| Services |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Channels |
| Home & Family |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Leisure |
|
|
|
|
| Technology |
|
|
|
|
|
| Business |
|
|
|
|
| Science |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Site Search  |
|
|
|
|
| Free email |
|
|
|
|
 |
An obese individual quite simply eats too much |
| Donald Saunders |
If you Are one of those individuals who believe that there is simply no excuse for somebody being overweight and that a severely overweigh individual is just somebody who eats too much food and does not get enough exercise, then you will have to think again. While it is undoubtedly the case that overeating combined with a sedentary lifestyle can cause obesity, this is most certainly not the only cause of obesity.
In spite of the fact that obesity is not terribly well understood at this time, there is believed to be a genetic factor which can pre-dispose certain individuals to obesity. For example, some of the genes responsible for controlling such things as appetite and metabolism are believed to contribute to obesity when found in combination with specific environmental conditions.
Additionally, there are several genetic disorders which can cause obesity. Prader-Willi syndrome for example, named after Andrea Prader and Heinrich Willi and was described initially in 1956, is a genetic condition in which, amongst other things, sufferers display a voracious appetite and amass excessive fat, especially within the central portion of the body.
Illness can also lead to a gain in weight and obesity. Possibly the most well know, but certainly not the only, illness which frequently leads to obesity is hypothyroidism, where the thyroid gland produces too little thyroid hormone. In spite of the fact that the condition itself results in only relatively mild weight gain, combined with suitable environmental conditions, this can very easily turn into a very substantial gain in weight.
Medication can also lead to a rise in weight. The list of drugs which can trigger weight gain is very long but one particular class of drugs which is causing concern and attracted the attention of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a class of atypical antipsychotics which can have a clear affect on the metabolism.
There are also a variety of specific eating disorders which will cause obesity, like binge eating disorder. This is a psychiatric disorder (which is an element of bulimia nervosa) in which, as its name implies, people are not able to control their eating and frequently intersperse binge eating into an otherwise normal eating pattern.
Certain diets might also lead to obesity without the individual realizing that it is the diet which is the cause of the problem. In other words this is not a case of just eating too much, but rather one of eating the wrong type of food. In a number of individuals for example certain foods will result in an abnormally high level of blood sugar for a time immediately after they have eaten.
Slimming itself can also lead to obesity. It is unfortunately true that many diets fail and we are witnessing an increasing number of individuals who spend a substantial period of their lives moving from one diet to another in an attempt to lose weight. What actually happens here is that they frequently lose weight while on a diet but then regain it, usually with a little bit extra, every time they stop dieting. As they come on and off a number of diets their weight will cycle up and down, but the underlying trend is for their weight to increase over time, eventually resulting in their becoming obese.
These are merely a few of the causes of obesity, other than simple overeating and insufficient exercise, and many of these are either outside of the control of the individuals concerned or they are limited in their ability to control the situation.
So, when you next see an obese individual you could be right in saying that they have caused the problem themselves, but you may also be wrong in leaping to this conclusion.
|
| About the Author |
GastricBypassFacts.info is a growing resource center providing a wealth of obesity information on topics including http://gastricbypassfacts.info/morbid-obesity.html">morbid obesity and also provides a growing number of http://gastricbypassfacts.info/obesity/obesity-articles.html">obesity articles
©2006 All rights reserved
|
|
|
| Quotes | If I work incessantly to the last, nature owes me another form of existence when the present one collapses. -- Goethe, 1829
If a few idiots want to risk their necks flying across the country thats fine, but nothing will ever replace trains.
|
| Writers | | If you are a writer and want to see your article published at Theallineed.com, just click here to submit. |
|
Top UN officials call for release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
The Rocks: Sydney's outdoor museum