Causes of Morbid Obesity
The reasons for obesity are multiple and
complex. Despite conventional wisdom, it is not
simply a result of overeating. Research has
shown that in many cases a significant,
underlying cause of morbid obesity is genetic.
Studies have demonstrated that once the problem
is established, efforts such as dieting and
exercise programs have a limited ability to
provide effective long-term relief.
Science continues to search for answers. But
until the disease is better understood, the
control of excess weight is something patients
must work at for their entire lives. That is why
it is very important to understand that all
current medical interventions, including weight
loss surgery, should not be considered medical
cures. Rather they are attempts to reduce the
effects of excessive weight and alleviate the
serious physical, emotional and social
consequences of the disease.
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Contributing Factors
The underlying causes of severe obesity are
not known. There are many factors that
contribute to the development of obesity
including genetic, hereditary, environmental,
metabolic and eating disorders. There are also
certain medical conditions that may result in
obesity like intake of steroids and
hypothyroidism.
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Genetic Factors
Numerous scientific studies have established
that your genes play an important role in your
tendency to gain excess weight.
- The body weight of adopted
children shows no correlation with the body
weight of their adoptive parents, who feed
them and teach them how to eat. Their weight
does have an 80 percent correlation with their
genetic parents, whom they have never met.
- Identical twins, with the
same genes, show a much higher similarity of
body weights than do fraternal twins, who have
different genes.
- Certain groups of people,
such as the Pima Indian tribe in Arizona, have
a very high incidence of severe obesity. They
also have significantly higher rates of
diabetes and heart disease than other ethnic
groups.
We probably have a number of genes directly
related to weight. Just as some genes determine
eye color or height, others affect our appetite,
our ability to feel full or satisfied, our
metabolism, our fat-storing ability, and even
our natural activity levels.
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The Pima Paradox
The Pima Indians are known in scientific
circles as one of the heaviest groups of people
in the world. In fact, National Institutes of
Health researchers have been studying them for
more than 35 years. Some adults weigh more than
500 pounds, and many obese teenagers are
suffering from diabetes, the disease most
frequently associated with obesity.
But here's a really interesting fact - a group
of Pima Indians living in Sierra Madre, Mexico,
does not have a problem with obesity and its
related diseases.
Why not?
The leading theory states that after many
generations of living in the desert, often
confronting famine, the most successful Pima
were those with genes that helped them store as
much fat as possible during times when food was
available. Now those fat-storing genes work
against them.
Though both populations consume a similar
number of calories each day, the Mexican Pima
still live much like their ancestors did. They
put in 23 hours of physical labor each week and
eat a traditional diet that's very low in fat.
The Arizona Pima live like most other modern
Americans, eating a diet consisting of around 40
percent fat and engaging in physical activity
for only two hours a week.
The Pima apparently have a genetic
predisposition to gain weight. And the
environment in which they live - the environment
in which most of us live - makes it nearly
impossible or the Arizona Pima to maintain a
normal, healthy body weight.
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Environmental Factors
Environmental
and genetic factors are obviously closely
intertwined. If you have a genetic
predisposition toward obesity, then the modern
American lifestyle and environment may make
controlling weight more difficult.
Fast food, long days sitting
at a desk, and suburban neighborhoods that
require cars all magnify hereditary factors such
as metabolism and efficient fat storage.
For those suffering from
morbid obesity, anything less than a total
change in environment usually results in failure
to reach and maintain a healthy body weight.
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Metabolism
We used to think of weight gain or loss as only
a function of calories ingested and then burned.
Take in more calories than you burn, gain
weight; burn more calories than you ingest, lose
weight. But now we know the equation isn't that
simple.
Obesity researchers now talk about a theory
called the "set point," a sort of thermostat in
the brain that makes people resistant to either
weight gain or loss. If you try to override the
set point by drastically cutting your calorie
intake, your brain responds by lowering
metabolism and slowing activity. You then gain
back any weight you lost.
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Eating Disorders & Medical Conditions
Weight loss surgery is not a cure for eating
disorders. And there are medical conditions,
such as hypothyroidism, that can also cause
weight gain. That's why it's important that you
work with your doctor to make sure you do not
have a condition that should be treated with
medication and counseling.
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