“Welcome to McDonalds, what can I get for you?”
“Yeah I’ll get a number 1 with a large fry and a large Coke.”
“Alright, anything else for you today?”
“Yeah…can I get a medium Oreo McFlurry too?”
“Of course, we’ll have your total at the first window.”
Above is an occurrence that happens all too frequently everyday in the US, and at 1,970 calories, this meal is nearly enough for a whole day’s nutritional needs. This may seem obscene, but it’s what we have become accustomed to in recent years. This week in class we talked about obesity, and it’s effects on the brain and body of those individuals who have it. We have, however, begun to ask the question, “Is it their fault?” This week’s paper looked at the neurological pathways involved in the disease and discovered that, in fact, there are neurological ties to obesity, and it isn’t just overeating and laziness, as some people view it. In a sense, the article argues that we have no control over our natural inclination for a high fat diet or overeating. It turns out that when a baby is in the womb, their mother’s diet plays a huge role in the inherent disposition for the child’s eating habits. If the mother eats a high fat diet, the child will also be inclined to eat a high fat diet. This was tested and confirmed in a mouse model study. To get into the technical nitty gritty (for just a minute), there are two neuron types in the brain: the POMC and the NPY/AGRP. The POMC stimulates appetite and is overactive in obese people, and the NPY/AGRP suppresses appetite and is underactive in obese people. Other hormones and proteins play a part as well like grehlin (appetite stimulant), insulin (appetite suppressant), and leptin (appetite suppressant).
So we know that it’s not our fault if we’re fat, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are a multitude of negative consequences. Take Type II Diabetes for instance, or heart disease. Those both suck. How about Alzheimer’s? Studies show that those who are obese are at higher risk for Alzheimer’s, as well as other neurological diseases. The real question that remains is what can we do about it? How can those who suffer from obesity fight the negative effects of obesity? Two different strategies were investigated in class, both of which seem to have beneficial effects towards fighting obesity, and both are simple to implement in everyday life. The first is eating the right kinds of foods. A diet composed of high fibrous food such as root vegetables (or really any fruit or veggie) has many advantages. These types of food fill you up faster and make you feel fuller for a longer period of time, because they slow down gastric emptying. Additionally these signal the upregulation of GPl1 and PYY, two hormones that curb appetite. The second strategy is to get more, a regular, sleep. Our society promotes the fast a frantic non-stop lifestyle that usually leads to unpredictable sleeping patterns. This has consequences on the circadian rhythms in cells. Ultimately, irregular sleep can lead to decreased metabolic function and weight gain.
I think that the most important thing is to be aware of what you are taking into your body. While there does seem to be a neurologic predisposition to obesity, if we as a society make smarter choices and regulate our consumption and sleep patterns (just to name two possible solutions), we can curb obesity and fight the growing epidemic.
