Highlights- Around 1509 people surveyed by a research team from The
University of Cambridge responded to why obese people remain fat.
- Three-fourth of the respondents said they felt obese
people lacked the willpower to follow a diet and exercise plan.
- Out of the 94% of obese people surveyed, a quarter
tried to lose weight 5 to 9 times while 15% tried 20 times to lose weight
but were unsuccessful.
What do People Think
About Obese People?
Our society is ingrained
with certain preconceived notions about weight gain. While there is increased
public understanding about the balance between energy intake and energy
consumption, an overwhelming proportion of people still do not understand the
genetic basis of obesity. This was brought to the fore when researchers from
The University of Chicago carried out a large survey to understand the thought
process of Americans with regard to obesity.
Nationally
representative sample of 1509 people were included in the study in a bid to
understand an American's view on being overweight.
- What causes it
- Whether individuals are responsible
- Ways to cure it
- Whether it is a disease
The study found that a
large proportion of people still held onto the outdated belief that an obese
person needs to work on willpower to lose weight - control diet and increase
exercises. Obesity researcher Dr Donna Ryan
states that this amounts to stigmatizing the individual, preventing support and
help, though people with alcohol problems are treated with far more concern.
‘Americans blame willpower for obesity and ignore genetic basis.’
What Causes Obesity?
Obesity, or weight gain, is due to an energy
imbalance, when there is more food consumed than work done, the additional
energy is stored in the body as fat. While this directly relates to the eating
behavior of the individual, associating it with willpower would be too
simplistic.
Obesity risks are
increased by
- Diet: The calories consumed play a very important role in
weight gain and the number of calories required depends on the age of the
individual and the activity level.
- Physical
Activity: Physical activity includes
exercises, energy spent commuting to work, whether it is a desk job or it
involves moving around. Any activity that uses the energy consumed.
- Genes: Just like the need to procreate, the risk for diseases
or even how tall you will turn out to be, is determined by a set of genes.
Willpower or Genes
In the study it was
found that 94% of people who were obese tried to lose
weight either by following a diet or by exercising. Out of which
- Quarter of these people attempted 5 to 9 times to lose
weight
- 15% had attempted more than 20 times.
The number of
unsuccessful attempts by these people showed that there was no lack of
willpower but an underlying factor that prevented them from losing weight.
There are numerous
studies that point towards inflammation that increases the risk of
obesity or
mutation in certain genes like the
FTO genes. The ability of the body to store fat is directed by the genes with
the view that the body would utilize this stored energy reserve during a famine
or long periods of starvation. During evolution, there was probably active
selection of these survival genes that lead to fat storage.
Greater awareness needs to be created about the
genetic basis of weight gain and the need to find the right intervention
strategies which could promote weight loss.
Source: Medindia
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