| Obesity is a rapid growing problem among people | | | | has many interrelated causes including behavioral, |
| everywhere. There are more people today than ever | | | | socioeconomic, environmental, cultural, psychological, |
| before who are searching for reasonable answers as | | | | metabolic, and even genetic. Even though most cases |
| to why this may be. Just ask yourself, are you | | | | of obesity do not stem from a genetic mutation, |
| pleased with your weight? If so, you are a unique | | | | genetic influences are still involved. |
| individual. Most people in our society think they should | | | | There is research that shows that adopted children |
| weigh more or less than they do. Usually the primary | | | | tend to have the same physical makeup as their |
| concern is physical appearance; however some often | | | | biological parents rather than their adopted parents. |
| realize that physical health is also somehow related to | | | | There is also research that reveals similar findings |
| the body. | | | | when comparing the traits of identical twins to |
| There are more and more people each day wasting | | | | fraternal twins. The conclusion that one could make |
| there money on dietary supplements that contain | | | | from these research examples could be that your |
| ingredients that when taken in insufficient quantities | | | | genes do in fact play a role in your weight. Even |
| can have adverse or harmful effects. An Estimated | | | | though your genes do not directly cause obesity, |
| 35 to 45 percent of all U.S. women (and 20 to 30 | | | | there are genetic factors that may influence the |
| percent of U.S. men) are trying to lose weight at any | | | | food intake and the activity patterns that lead to |
| given time. These people are spending upwards of | | | | what does. |
| $40 billion each year to do so. When you really look | | | | Ever notice how some people just seem to gain |
| at these people, you will find that a large part of | | | | more weight than others that have comparable |
| them do not even need to lose the weight in the | | | | energy intakes? If you were to give a pair of |
| first place. At the same time, there are many more | | | | identical twins an increase of 1000 calories a day for |
| people that accumulate excess body fat, and DO | | | | 100 days, some pairs of identical twins would gain |
| need to do something about it. The number of | | | | less than 10 pounds, while others could gain up to 30 |
| people that fall into this category is growing rapidly, | | | | pounds. Within each pair of twins, the amounts of |
| and most of them do not even know what causes | | | | weight gained, the body fat percentage, and the |
| this trend. | | | | locations of fat deposits would be similar. |
| So why do people accumulate this excess body fat? | | | | In summary, obesity has many causes and different |
| The natural answer would be because they do not | | | | combinations of causes in different people. Some |
| spend as much food energy as they take in. That | | | | causes, such as physical inactivity, may be within a |
| has a bit of truth to it, but if you think about it, it | | | | person's control, and some as genetics, may be |
| falls short of answering the question, why? Obesity | | | | beyond it; until now. |