Avoiding obesity is simple. You eat well, you work out. You don’t eat McDonald’s every night, and you don’t sit all day. Problem solved.
So why is it that so many people in the United States struggle with obesity? Why has it become an epidemic, when the solutions are so simple? Why does The Biggest Loser attract such a wide audience and never have trouble filling its roster?
It’s because obesity is more than life choices. Like all biological diseases there is more at play than two easily solved factors.
There is increasing research being conducted looking into the psyche of obese people. The question now becomes, is obesity a brain disease?
The Scandal of the Question
As a class we left the question unanswered—as the research does. What defines a brain disease? What implications does labeling obesity as a brain disease have? What kinds of consequences does this label produce?
There is a danger in the diagnosis of obesity being strictly a disease of the brain. It could be used as a cop-out to make excuses for the choices people make. It could excuse the importance of diet and exercise. It could place the ramifications solely on the brain, and belittle the major effects that are observed throughout the body.
But, the psyche should not be underrated. It could hold the key to becoming the biggest loser champion.
The Importance of the Brain
First we must explore the severe damage obesity wrecks on the brain. The assaults include: degradation of the blood brain barrier (which protects the brain form foreign invaders), impaired cognition (like having too much to drink, but all the time), decreased synaptic plasticity (the ability to grow/regrow neurons in the brain), and many more detrimental effects.
All of these devastations lead scientists to believe the obesity epidemic is linked more to the brain than previously thought.
Becoming the Biggest Loser
So how does this information play into becoming the biggest loser?
Understanding Obesity as a disease in the brain helps to understand the ways in which to treat it.
Tip One: Cut the High-fat Diet and Restore Homeostasis in the Hypothalamus
Even a few days of eating a high fat diet can lead to inflammation in the hypothalamus which will then lead to an upset in the homeostasis of eating/digesting cycles, resulting in a drive to overeat.
There is a potential to trigger a downward spiral, that can become irreversible when diagnosed with obesity. This homeostasis in the hypothalamus is a key piece of the obesity puzzle, and holds great potential for an area of treatment.
All in all, avoiding the high fat diet will prevent obesity and keep you from having to become the biggest loser. If seeking to become the biggest loser, one should avoid high fat diets and look into decreasing inflammation in the brain.
Tip Two: Get Good Sleep
Circadian Rhythm disruption is also a key piece to the downward spiral of obesity. When one’s circadian rhythm is interrupted, the body changes it’s eating habits and the way it stores, digests, and utilizes nutrients for energy.
If you happen to be competing for the biggest loser, or simply want to avoid having to seek this title, it is best to stay in a routine that involves a normal pattern of sleep.
Once the rhythm is disrupted, it can spiral out of control. Many reports show that those who suffer from obesity also suffer from sleep apnea—which perpetuates the problem.
Tip Three: Hope Your Mother Ate Healthy While In-utero
There is increasing links to maternal nutrition and weight and a person’s overall risk of obesity. Studies have been conducted that suggest maternal nutrition can impact development in the brain of a fetus—for the better or worse.
If a mother binges on junk food while pregnant, certain structures in the brain are impacted in negative ways. If you want to be the biggest loser, hope that your mother ate well and the wiring of your brain did not suffer from her choices.
At the end of the day, these tips will likely not win you the title. They may help to prevent you from getting into the competition, and there are promising areas of brain research into the chemistry of obesity.
Whether or not we classify obesity as a brain disease, the increasing amount of research done helps to understand the ways in which the disease works and how we can go about treating and preventing it. Who knows, maybe the biggest loser will be eradicated in our lifetime?
The Secret to Becoming the Biggest Loser
