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Obesity

The 1999 results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, sponsored by Center for Disease Control and Promotion,indicate that an estimated 61% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. This survey also mentions “obesity has nearly doubled from approximately 15% in 1980 to an estimated 27% in 1999”. Clearly the USA has lots of obese people. And the number of obese people is increasing day by day. This increase in obese people makes many people sick and costs lot of money. A 1996 survey by Decision Resources, a market research company in Waltham, Massachusetts, indicates “obesity and its effects cost Americans $100 billion per year. Cardiovascular disease caused by obesity costs $29.4 billion per year.” Awareness of the consequences and the causes of obesity may help to reduce the obesity problem significantly. In order to tackle the problem of increasing obesity rates efficiently, we should consider it at the root level, and to do so, we must investigate its causes. The main causes are genetic, psychological and environmental factors, although none in itself can explain the phenomenon.

Admittedly separating genetics from behavior is difficult, but scientists consider genetic fact


Obesity is a complex issue and a serious illness rather than simply a weight condition. Obesity has been regarded as a personal moral failing, a behavioral issue that's easily fixed by people who have sufficient willpower to do so. The modern scientific understanding of obesity is that it is a complex disease in its own right. (Stein par 1). The causes of obesity are various and often interlinked. We can summarize that mitochondria has the key role for genetic factors, serotonin has the key role for psychological factors and technological change has the key role for environmental factors. But all three factors altogether make a person obese, and any attempt to solve the obesity problem should include all the factors: genetic, psychological or environmental factors, not just individually but all the factors as a whole.

Besides genetic and environmental factors, psychological factors also play an important role to cause obesity. Many people eat in response to negative emotions such as boredom, sadness, anger, anxiety or other emotional disorders. But how does eating more relieve depression? Overweight people eat carbohydrate-rich foods that help to reduce depression or eliminate it altogether. Because of tremendous technological change, carbohydrates are easily available and very cheap. Overweight people eat carbohydrates not only because they are available in abundance, but also because people develop carbohydrate craving. Carbohydrate craving is actually a form of self-medication that temporarily relieves depression because carbohydrates increase levels of a key neurotransmitter in the brain, called serotonin, which makes you feel “up,” positive and happy. Basically carbohydrates produce a chemical reaction in the brain: when one eats carbohydrate, the production of insulin is stimulated, which allows an amino acid called tryptophan to enter the brain; tryptophan stimulates the production of serotonin and as a consequent serotonin makes us feel good (Hill 15). This change in mood is so subtle that we are not consciously aware of it. Apparently, chronically overweight people have become subconsciously addicted to the serotonin-stimulated, happy, comfortable feeling. This subconscious addiction makes people obese.

ors as the primary reason for obesity. That is why pharmaceutical

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Approximate Word count = 1551
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)


  

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