Health/Hot topics/Uncategorized

Alcoholism: an Issue of Mind Over Matter?

Posted on by / 0 Comment

To most of us, the notion that alcohol abuse is a huge problem in American society is not a new one; but if you’re anything like me, you didn’t fully understand or really care about the scope if the issue when going through the motions of the D.A.R.E. program in elementary school or later in required health classes, and you haven’t really thought about it since. Revisiting the topic, I was taken aback. The deaths, costs, and health problems attributed to alcohol abuse and alcoholism in the United States are enormous, effecting approximately 14 million people and costing $184 billion a year, according to the Tenth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health in 2000. For the U.S. population of that time, that was about 1 in 20 people effected… and that’s still a boatload of money. Advancement in the understanding of the pathophysiology and neurochemical pathways of alcohol abuse disorders has taken strides in recent years, but the questions of treatment method and viability still loom largely unanswered. What is the most effective target for pharmacological treatment? Should neurochemical means even be used in the treatment of alcoholism?

Problem solved. Watch your drinks, people.

In alcoholism, alcohol preference and reinforcement seems to occur as a result of ethanol’s interaction with the dopaminergic (DA) signaling system. Ethanol decreases GABAergic activity; GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, so a decrease in it makes signal transduction easier in the neuron – in this case, DA neurons. Thus, ethanol leads to an increase of dopamine release, and dopamine receptors are activated more, increasing adenylyl cyclase activity, which increases cAMP production, resulting in increased protein kinase A (PKA) signaling, which affects many substrates downstream, including DARPP-32 and CREB. DARPP-32 activation via PKA leads to NMDA receptor phosphorylation and activation, allowing an influx of Ca2+ into the cell which activates protein kinase C (PKC), finally resulting in an increase of the reward response associated with alcohol use. The effects of CREB, on the other hand, are associated with alcohol tolerance; an increase in CREB activation results in an increase in transcription of genes containing cAMP response elements, which decreases the reward response, making it necessary to consume more alcohol for the same effect. From these findings, it is suggested that DA receptor, DARPP-32, and PKC activation increase alcohol consumption, and PKA and CREB activation decrease alcohol consumption. Effective targets for pharmacological treatments may then be DARPP-32, PKC, and CREB, whose activities are abnormal in alcoholics, thought to be caused by genetic irregularities.

        

Researchers definitely have some leads on where to go with neurochemical treatments, but it is still unknown how effective these may be. It has been hypothesized that it is a combination of genetics and environmental factors such as stress that drive the development of alcoholism. Not only is this a possible cause for the disorder, but the researchers go as far as to suggest that the combination of these two factors is ultimately the only cause of alcoholism. If this is true, treating one of the factors should stop the progression of the disease and effectively nullify the dependence on alcohol. I’m not sure if it’s the most effective option, but I would favor treating the psychological factors such as stress and depression before resorting to chemical means. If you’ve read my past posts, you’ve probably discovered that I’m a minimalist when it comes to pharmaceuticals. So much of the time, chemical treatments only alleviate the symptoms of a disease and don’t get to the root of the problem, creating a dependence on the treatment instead of the treatment allowing a person to live free from the disease. In the case of alcoholism, it seems to me that only an alcoholic willing to receive help will effectively be treated, and at that point the most cost effective and personally empowering form of treatment involves helping them learn to cope with stress in healthy ways and work through whatever personal problems lead them to alcohol in the first place. Programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous have been effective for many people, and with the appropriate help and care, any alcoholic should be able to gain control of their life again. Kudos to the scientific community for their advancements in so many treatments for a wide variety of issues, but I think some things are better left to the power of a person’s mind.

Uncategorized

Alcohol and the Brain

Posted on by / 0 Comment

This week in class we discussed the affect of alcohol on the brain, specifically what does ethanol start when a cell is exposed to it.  As it turns out there are many different processes which alcohol sets off in the cell.  First we have adenylyl cyclase activating protein kinase A.  This pathway is important because it leads to the activation of many different proteins within the cell and affects everything from the reward system in the brain to the breaking down of sugar.  This happens when we see ethanol blocking type I equilibrative nucleoside transporters which leads to the accumulation of adenosine on the surface of the cell.  This buildup leads to the activation of A2a receptors which increases the activity of adenylyl cyclase.  This process is also important because it leads into why alcohol is so addictive.  PKA eventually leads to the activation of a protein called CREB which expresses, that is activates the production of, several proteins that are involved in behavioral responses to various substances.  The article also talks about a protein called DARPP-32 which allows dopamine receptors to remain active although ethanol by itself would otherwise inhibit the activation of such receptors.
Another important molecule that alcohol interacts with is called Fyn kinase.  Fyn kinase’s function in the cell is to phosphorylate, which means in this case activate, the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor which thereby increases the receptor’s function.  What happens when ethanol interacts with Fyn kinase is that the ethanol causes Fyn kinase to dissociate from a protein called RACK1, the job of which is to prevent Fyn kinase from doing its job.  Once dissociated, the Fyn kinase is able to activate the NR2B subunit.
Another important molecule that the researchers in our paper believed that alcohol interacts with is protein kinase C which is involved in the building up of a tolerance to alcohol and the desire for alcohol.  The researchers believe that PKC is preventing the suppression of GABA-A receptors by other proteins.  PKC also affects glycine receptors, but the researchers are not yet sure about the mechanism by which this is done.
The last protein which the paper focused on is that of phopholipase D.  Under normal circumstance, Phospholipase D turns the phospholipids that make up the membranes of your cells into phosphatidic acid which goes on to activate other processes in the cell, the activation of protein kinase C for example.  What happens when ethanol is present is that the phospholipase D has a preference for ethanol over its normal target.  Phospholipase D interacts with ethanol and creates phosphatidylethanol which isn’t as good of a messenger as phosphatidic acid was.  Phophatidylethanol is also thought to be a cause of the tolerance which develops for ethanol’s intoxicating effects.
In our discussion group this week I found that our groups seemed to be most interested in the question of whether alcoholism is a biological problem or an environmental problem, that is to say whether it is an individuals fault for their alcoholism, or the fact of where they grew up.  Our group seemed to agree that the environment in which the person lives plays the greatest role in the development of alcohol as we actually had two group members who were able to live in a country where alcohol consumption is much higher per capita than it is in the US.  They said that drinking is done much more socially, rather than to feel the effects of the alcohol as quickly as possible.  They also said that alcohol is a lot less taboo and that it is more expensive in those countries.  They contrasted this with our own community where we drink to get drunk and there are enough drink specials going on with enough frequency that you could get drunk every night of the week if you wanted.  Anyway, I agree with the rest of the group in that we could do a lot towards decreasing alcoholism if we changed the drinking culture.

Community/Disease/Health/Hot topics

I'm Cutting You Off! Treating Alcoholism

Posted on by / 0 Comment

Alcohol consumption on a global level varies greatly from country to country, as well as the levels of alcoholism. The curious aspect is why some countries in Europe can consume more alcohol per capita yet the rate of alcoholism can be so much lower than it is in the United States. Alcoholism is a growing problem in the United States and methods of drug treatment are, interestingly, targeting the trigger receptors of craving that lead to relapse instead of what parts of the brain that are affected directly after alcohol consumption. Whether social change or new drug development, a plan for treatment option or fixation will happen.
Alcoholism is classically defined as having signs of physical addiction to alcohol and continuing to drink, despite problems with physical health, mental health, and social, family, or job responsibilities. Alcohol may control your life and relationships. From this standpoint, around 15.1 million Americans are considered alcoholics, which seems like a crazy high number, at least to me. This is a problem with overconsumption, to the point of being socially unacceptable. The social aspect of drinking is often how alcohol is consumed in Europe, which could explain the discrepancies between consumption and abuse between countries. Europeans maintain the mindset to consume a few drinks with their friends and family communally to elevate the level of enjoyment of socialization. Americans rely more on social drinking to alleviate stress and “escape” the week’s worth of stress on their Friday and Saturday nights. From this, it’s easier to see how problems could be developed from associating drinking with two different purposes. Americans associate alcohol as a problem-solver such that there is a greater chance real abuse and problems, like alcoholism could develop. The discrepancy in drinking ages between countries could also be a contributing factor.
Aside from the associated social aspects that could be contributing, researchers have been identifying a number of pleasure receptors that could be blocked to stop the chances of relapse and urges to consume. Such receptors include cannabinoids and opioids. Current drugs for alcoholism treatment target these receptors with the goal of preventing relapse and craving symptoms. This is interesting since they don’t prevent the effects of alcohol, which could lead to elevated levels of drinking, instead of curing. Instead, the drug treatments want to stop an alcoholic from consuming even just one more drink and alleviating the chances that they will by making cravings less frequent and less intense. The unfortunate side of this treatment method is that only small specific areas of the brain are responsible for these cravings, while these drugs target a whole host of areas in a kind of flooding technique. Additionally, these drugs have not been proven in trials to be entirely effective versus a placebo. Only about 20-30% of alcoholics are actually treated from drug treatments effectively. This is a shockingly small amount for a success rate. The hopeful method of increasing this is to begin to individualize methods of treatment to help each individual’s reasoning and craving triggers with more than just a drug treatment method. This is the hopeful future of alcoholism treatment, and hopefully, it will work for those who are beginning to suffer.

Uncategorized

Obesity, Solved?

Posted on by / 0 Comment

Obesity has become a serious problem for the entire human race. Although it is more severe in developed countries such as the United State, both developing and underdeveloped countries are also suffering from obesity socially and economically. In the America, obesity has grown dramatically in the past fifty years. According to data reported by the CDC, the percentage of obese population has increased from 13% in 1962 to 35.7% in the year of 2010. Obesity can lead to many negative health effects such as cardiovascular diseases, and even neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s), which can result in gigantic medical expenses for our society. And since there are multiple dimensions to obesity, it is very important to investigate the causes of obesity from different perspectives.
In this week’s paper, we learned about the neurochemical mechanisms that are responsible for our appetite, which directly affect our food intake and therefore could be one of the biological causes of obesity. According to the paper, there are two types of neurons located in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus that are affected by different levels of leptin and insulin in our body. When the levels of leptin and insulin in our body are high, the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons are activated, and a-MSH is secreted. This will signal our body to reduce food intake and increase energy expenditure. On the other hand, when the levels of leptin and insulin in our body are low, the AgRP/NPY neurons will be activated and stimulate food intake. These results have been tested by the researchers, and the scientists from all over the world are trying to apply these informations to treatments of obesity.
Some might argue that weight problems are personal, and irrelevant to the society. And I respectfully disagree, in my opinion, obesity is a common problem for the society as a whole since it escalated to not just the personal health problem, but multi-dimensional. According to the former economist of the Qantas Airways, Tony Webber, the average weight for their costumer has gone up by 2 kilograms since the year of 2000. This means a 472 U.S. dollar increase in fuel cost for an A380 flying from Sydney to London, and nearly 1 million dollar increase in fuel cost for this particular line in a year. No wonder the airfares in general have skyrocketed so much. Furthermore, according to the Society of Actuaries, obesity has increased the medical cost in the U.S and Canada by nearly 130 billion dollars. All these facts suggest that obesity is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with as a society as soon as possible.

Community/Health

Is obesity the new norm for America?

Posted on by / 0 Comment

Obesity and the many negative health effects that come with it have been growing rapidly in our society throughout the past decade.  Our lifestyles have led us toward eating fast food for nearly every meal and go away from the now know as “old fashioned” home-cooked meal.  Our society as a whole has also become so wrapped up in trying to do everything by sitting in one place, with our phones, rather than getting up and doing the physical activity to accomplish the task.  Technology has been a very major factor in this rise in obesity as increases in technology have made it possible to get so much work done while simply sitting in an office as well as allowing kids to be entertained with video games for hours while sitting in one place.  Each of these things I have mentioned and many more have led to the sedentary lifestyles that have become much more common in our society and ultimately leading to a more obese America.  Now the real question is, what is causing this obesity, and is there any way we could come up with a way to prevent people from becoming obese?
 
In class we analyzed a scientific paper that looked at two of the main appetite hormones in the body and learned just what it is that they do to make us feel hungry or full.  The paper itself went much more in-depth into the full mechanism of action for insulin and leptin signaling but I will briefly describe their effects.  First of all, leptin and insulin act on two different neurons in the arcuate nucleus in the brain, the POMC neuron and the NPY/AGRP neuron.  Decreased levels of insulin and leptin, ultimately stimulating food intake, stimulate the NPY/AGRP neurons.  On the other hand, increased levels of insulin and leptin stimulate the POMC neurons, telling your body that it is full.
 
Now that we know a little bit about how our body works in terms of appetite we will be able to understand how fast food restaurants and other food companies can target our brain to make us eat even when our stomachs are full.  With the increasing use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in our society today some negative effects have also been exposed.  HFCS is very cheap for food producers to use in their foods to make them taste much better.  Since HFCS is so cheap it is used in nearly everything we consume today.  This wouldn’t be such a big deal if it didn’t have such drastic effects on our appetite.  HFCS actually decreases our levels of leptin as we eat making our bodies feel hungry even when we are full, ultimately causing us to eat much more than we should.  This is a very bad thing as fast food chains can also use this to their advantage and sell more of their food that negatively affects our bodies.
 
Now the real question is what should be done about this growing problem in our society?  It is very clear that there is a problem and scientists are researching different drugs that might be able to counteract this obesity and give people an easy way to stay thin while still eating all of these bad foods and living a sedentary lifestyle.  I personally believe this would have very negative effects on our society.  This would give people an easy way to avoid eating healthy and exercising, both things that are still very important when trying to live a healthy lifestyle.  I think that a better option would be to promote healthy eating and exercising to kids as well as the parents of these kids in order to promote them to focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  It will be very interesting to see if scientists will in fact be able to come up with a pill that could stop obesity and just what sort of affect this would have on our society.

Uncategorized

Obesity: A Growing Problem

Posted on by / 1 Comment

When someone asks you to think of the stereotypical American, what is the first thing that pops into your head? If you’re anything like me, there will be a picture of an obese person walking down the street with a sugary soda in their hands. Obesity is a growing problem in America, and there are currently motions going across the nation trying to help reduce its severity. We all know that eating fatty and sugary foods is bad for you, but what chemically underlies the problem of obesity. This is the question we tackled this week in class.
Chemically, the problem of obesity lies within the chemicals leptin and insulin. Leptin comes from fat stores (adipose tissue) and insulin comes from the pancreas. These molecules are known for their signaling to the brain that conveys information about the fat stores within the body. These are released into the blood stream in proportion to the amount of fat and upon release, it will signal to reduce food intake. The problem of obesity comes in when they develop a resistance to these or there is an inherently reduced amount of signaling to begin with.
Since we know that there is a problem with the chemicals in the brain this leads us to wonder if there can be a drug that can help cure the obesity problem in America. To put it simply, there probably is. Nothing that has been used so far has been effective over long periods of time, but with more research done, there will probably be some “end all” pill on the market. Personally, I do not believe that this is the right step to take with this problem. Originally the problem still originates with us overeating unhealthy foods which will signal for more leptin leading to the resistance problem underlying obesity. In my honest opinion, I believe we need to redo how we eat. Stop buying the fast food and sugary snacks and start getting fruits and vegetables as well as becoming more active and getting off the couch. This may be a more expensive option, but in the end I believe that this will help stop the problem in a safer, healthier matter than using a magic pill. This solution may also help stop the corruption of the food industry and cause the government to stop subsidizing high fructose corn syrup and have them start subsidizing something a little healthier. This may be wishful thinking, but to me, this would be the best option.
 

Community/Disease/Health/Hot topics/Uncategorized

Obesity Treatment: New Info, Old Answers

Posted on by / 0 Comment

Musing about various life issues, I am often surprised at how little in my regular day I recognize concepts that are fairly obvious – things that I just haven’t taken the time to consider. One topic that falls into this category is that food is a ridiculously large part of our culture. Holidays revolve around meals, people bond when eating together, and people eat for fun and comfort, not just for sustenance. Food has become a pastime and entertainment, and it often signifies the importance of an occasion and sets a mood – it can be viewed as an art. In fact, I can’t really think of anything that’s as routinely and prominently celebrated as food, especially in American society. It may be due to this that we as a society have so many health problems relating to eating and nutrition; obesity and diabetes are two major issues that have been increasing in prevalence over the years and have gained attention as the foremost health problems in the US, as well as possible contributors to other diseases and disorders. Clearly, these are issues that need to be dealt with, but the question is, how?

I mean, if I need to send my grandma after you every time you go for a second dessert, I will.

Likely the most effective targets for treatment of obesity, especially, are the insulin and leptin signaling pathways, leading to a decrease in food intake to aid in losing weight. Insulin and leptin are hormones that play influential roles in energy intake and homeostasis; leptin in particular acts in the brain to signal the feeling of being full. The general pathway of insulin and leptin signaling in a well-functioning system starts with the digestion of food inducing the secretion of insulin from the pancreas and release of leptin from fat tissue. These hormones then travel through the bloodstream and activate receptors in a part of the brain that controls energy homeostasis via signaling related to food intake and metabolism. Neurons expressing the polypeptide proopiomelanocortin (POMC), when activated, will secrete the neuropeptide α-MSH which works to signal for decreased food intake and increased energy expenditure. Conversely, neurons expressing neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti related protein (AgRP) are activated by a decrease in insulin and leptin, resulting in signaling for increased food intake and decreased energy spending. Although similar in resulting cellular responses, NPY and AgRP work in different ways; NPY directly activates pathways which lead to increased food intake, whereas AgRP blocks the α-MSH receptor, inhibiting the pathway leading to decreased food intake.
The insulin and leptin signaling pathways themselves are also quite similar in cellular response, as they share a common downstream effector molecule – although the two receptors may have different primary effectors that begin two signaling cascades, these cascades converge on a single molecule and therefore share the ends of their pathways. The receptors’ primary effectors may have multiple signaling routes which do not converge with that of the other’s, but it has been shown that there exists at least one molecule on which signaling pathways from these two receptors converge. This indicates that there is a high level of cross-talk between the pathways of insulin and leptin, so a change in one highly affects the other.
I really hope the pictoral representations of these are accurate — it’s like our neurons are tiny bowls of Lucky Charms.

Here’s the issue with the idea of manipulating the insulin and leptin systems to treat obesity and other diseases relating to overnutrition: long term treatment will only end in patients being dependent on it to maintain their weight, since a treatment directly affecting energy homeostasis will swing the energy balance the opposite way if discontinued. Diet pills notoriously give great results for weight loss in the short term, but after patients have stopped taking them, the weight comes right back and then some. I don’t believe that any outside treatment acting on the body for weight loss would be truly effective without lifestyle change – that is the necessary and lasting component to fitness and physical health. I support these pharmaceutical treatments for those who need help to achieve an initial weight loss in order to make exercise more feasible, but anything less than a necessity like that would only make things harder in the long term. Sometimes, if not often, the simple answer is the best answer – maybe appropriate nutrition and exercise are the cure-all for the health problems in today’s society.

Uncategorized

Obesity: The Rising Epidemic

Posted on by / 1 Comment

 
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website, “…. There has been an increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high. More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) and approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese”. Furthermore, apart from the health consequences of obesity, which includes, but is not limited to, coronary heart disease (CHD), type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and various cancers, obesity has direct and indirect effects on the nation’s economy. Direct medical costs incorporate the diagnostic and treatment services that are related to obesity, while indirect costs comprise of morbidity costs and mortality costs. To expand further, morbidity costs are defined as “the value of income lost from decreased productivity, restricted activity, absenteeism, and bed days.” Finally, mortality costs are the costs tagged on the future losses of income as a result of premature death.
 
These facts are unsettling. Clearly, intervention is needed, but at what point is government able to intervene? Does government intervention obstruct a person’s free will? Can the government dictate what items are sold in grocery stores, or how much a person can buy, or what ingredients can be used in products. The list of questions goes on and unfortunately, they are not easy questions to answer. However, what might help in answering these questions is the increasing amount of scientific evidence pointing to dysregulations in brain chemicals that contribute to obesity and obesity-related diseases. Due to the ongoing and increasing epidemic of obesity and diabetes in the US (and worldwide), scientists feel a sense of urgency to study insulin and leptin resistance. Growing evidence suggests that neuronal signals generated by insulin may overlap with signals activated by leptin, which would explain similarities seen in their effects.
 
Briefly speaking, both insulin and leptin work on neurons in the hypothalamus (as well as other locations in the brain). More specifically, insulin and leptin act on receptors found on neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. One type of neuron found in this location is called a POMC neuron. They are activated by insulin and leptin to secrete a-MSH. When stimulated, the POMC neuron reduces food intake and increases energy expenditure. The other main type of neuron found in the arcuate nucleus is called an AgRP/NPY neuron. As opposed to POMC neurons, AgRP/NPY neurons are stimulated by decreases in insulin and leptin levels and stimulate food intake. AgRP/NPY neurons would be activated during periods of weight loss and prolonged absence of food in order to increase a person’s intake of food. After significant research, scientists have concluded that both insulin and leptin function as fat signals and have multiple similar physiological effects. Furthermore, insulin and leptin share their key sites of action in the hypothalamus suggesting that they have similar intracellular properties by which disruption in these pathways lead to resistance of their actions. Understanding the mechanisms by which these hormones affect energy homeostasis shows promise in promoting insight into practical and effective targets for therapy of obesity.
 
I think such therapies show more promise in treating the rising epidemic of obesity in the country. I am afraid that preventative courses of action obstruct a person’s free will more than therapeutic treatments in response to developed obesity do. Ideally, people would take responsibility for their own health in eating the right things and exercising daily, but evidence shows that this does not always happen. It remains clear that people need a more serious and invasive way to treat obesity. Without putting limits on what a person can or cannot buy, we need a way to counteract the negative effects that obesity has on a person’s lifestyle and the negative effects obesity has on society. I am hopeful that scientists are on the right track and will soon be successful in finding ways to counteract these effects. However, I also feel that such therapies will only be successful if paired with healthy dieting and exercise. Success does not come in simply administering a drug that works to decrease the nation’s high rates of obesity. Success comes when we reduce the nation’s obesity and promote education to prevent the further rise of obesity in the nation and stimulate the nation’s productivity.

Community/Disease/Health/Uncategorized

Obesity: Who's to Blame? Who's Responsible?

Posted on by / 2 Comments

Obesity is a problem that is worthy of more in-depth examination.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that more than a third of adults in the United States are obese (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/index.html for more information on obesity).  To me, the fact that weight should be discussed by an organization dedicated to the control and prevention of diseases is itself indicative of a problem.  Weight is much more than a number, and it is much more than a description of someone.  With connections between obesity and other diseases such as type II diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and certain types of cancer being made, we need to take our weight very seriously.  And this isn’t just a personal problem.  The additional cost of being obese is another thing that should make one take notice of the problem.
What are the causes?  There are a variety of causes that span social, economic, racial, gendered, personal, and societal sources.  Many are quick to implicate the prevalence of fast food when the obesity epidemic is mentioned.  As modern lives become even more fast-paced, families have such variant schedules as to make family meals a norm of the past or special weekend occasion, and instant gratification is reinforced on many levels, fast food has definitely becoming an appealing option to many.  The changes in food processing may also be to blame.  Preservatives, artificial flavoring and  coloring, high levels of sodium and fat, and the use of high fructose corn syrup have all come under attack in recent years.  These elements not found naturally in food are being processed differently by our bodies and the products are being metabolized differently.  The effects on our organs, including our brains, should be noted.  Signals to the brain are not being transmitted correctly, nor are the signals that are there being received properly.  These signaling errors can have disastrous effects.
 

Photo courtesy of http://www.healthkicker.com/731375970/high-fructose-corn-syrup-fighting-back/

How can this problem ever be resolved?  Just as there are several causes of obesity, so too can there be several solutions to this problem.  Better diet and exercise seems to be an overly simplistic solution, but it is crucial and widely recommended. Other solutions including many diet programs, weight-loss drugs, and hormone therapies encourage and are often more effective when combined with a balanced diet and exercise.  A 2003 article examines the legal implications that may exist between obesity and the fast food industry (http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/22/6/207.full), bringing up ethical issues of negligence and failure to warn.  Two recent proposals by the FDA would establish requirements when it comes to labeling, ingredients, and caloric intake (http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ucm248732.htm).  Some insurance companies have established a policy of providing discounts or rebates to individuals that have a gym membership.  Could a similar precedent be made for individuals that shop for organic, local foods or participate in a farmers’ market?
Photo courtesy of http://www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/09/how_many_calories_in_that_big.html

Where does this information leave us?  Clearly, there is enough blame and responsibility to be shared by many if not all.  While it is easy and makes sense to say it is the responsibility of the individual to make sound choices when it comes to health and wellness, it isn’t that simple.  The cheapest food option tends to be the quickest and most available option for consumption.  When social, economic, racial, and other prejudices and predispositions are considered, it is difficult to conclude that an individual is completely in control of decisions related to health and wellness.  Many options exist, but they are not all available to each person.  Obesity can be examined under the lens of several different social constructs, and only when we are ready to address each obstacle will we be able to improve the quality of life for many.

Disease/Health/Hot topics

The Epidemic of America…Obesity

Posted on by / 0 Comment

Obesity is a major problem in the USA but how much of it’s onset is due to actual physical problems and how much is due to the fast paced world we live in and perhaps laziness?  This week we talked about leptin and insulin’s signalling in obesity.  The first question asked by our discussion leaders was in the fast paced world we live in, is it more important to develop an anti-obesity drug or to promote healthy eating habits and exercise?  Personally I believe that the major cause for obesity is the convenience of being lazy and being able to live in such a way.  I think promoting a healthy lifestyle is the best course of action because not only will the rate of obesity be declined but all the benefits of a healthy lifestyle will enter into the lives of Americans, quality of life in America will increase and I feel that exercise and healthy diet are the best way to achieve that.
Another big topic we touched on was the use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in countless foods we eat nowadays.  Leptin and insulin are signals in the body that tell us when we are full and when we are hungry.  HFCS slows the release of leptin causing us to not  to know when to stop eating and thus makes us eat more than we need.  The question was whether the government should regulate the use of HFCS or should the food companies be morally obligated to preserve human health.  I think that again the answer lies with the consumer and not the government or the food companies.  The reason HFCS is used in so many things is because the government rewards farmers for growing it, thus making it cheap to use.  If the government regulated the use of it they would have to stop subsidizing it and thus make it more expensive to use, thus making everything more expensive and making a lot of food unattainable to families that are poorer.  Again the answer is to promote better living habits because that will keep HFCS cheap while still reducing obesity.
The last big topic we covered was whether leptin resistance or the addiction to food had the major effect on obesity.  What this meant was whether we thought that something was physically wrong in people with obesity or whether obesity was effected more by the fact that people get addicted to the taste of the food that they can’t stop eating it. I think that it is a combination of both.  To be more exact I think that one causes the other which in turn causes the first to occur more.  What I mean is that people get addicted to the taste of food or eating itself, which causes the increased consumption of HFCS which causes leptin to be released slower, which causes you to eat more which increases consumption of HFCS…etc.  The only way I can think of fixing this aspect of obesity would be making food taste bad but let’s be honest that just isn’t going to happen.

Spam prevention powered by Akismet