Obesity: Why are we getting fat? :epizza:

[Michaelangelica]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/12/MNGBUKHEOM1.DTL

Obese? A 'poisoned' food supply may be to blame, UCSF expert says

Doctor has yet to test theory that sugar triggers a starvation reaction in the brain

Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, August 12, 2006

 

Feeling fat? It might not be your fault.

 

The obesity epidemic is caused by a "poisoned" food supply that is altering people's biochemistry and driving them to eat more and move less, according to a hypothesis proposed by a UCSF doctor who culled results from thousands of studies on obesity.

 

It is unfair and unhelpful to blame personal behaviors, especially a lack of self-control, for the country's rising obesity rates, says Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatrician and nationally renowned obesity expert.

 

The processed food that is most readily available to Americans -- from potato chips and cookies to yogurt and white bread -- is loaded with sugars that cause the body to believe that it is hungry, which makes people feel compelled to consume more calories and conserve energy, he said.

Sugar makes the body produce more insulin, which blocks hormones that would normally tell the brain to stop eating, he said.

 

Breaking the pattern of sugar consumption -- a pattern that Lustig compares to nicotine addiction -- is more than just a matter of willpower.

It will take a grassroots effort of doctors, community leaders and consumers to force the government and the food industry to get those sugary foods out of mainstream American diets, he said.

 

"Everyone's assuming you have a choice, but when your brain is starving, you don't have a choice," Lustig said.

"When you look at it that way, all of a sudden Big Food looks like the perpetrator, and the patient becomes the victim.

Congress says you can't sue McDonald's for obesity because it's your fault. Except the thing is, when you don't have a choice, it's not your fault."

 

Lustig's hypothesis, published Friday in Nature Clinical Practice: Endocrinology and Metabolism, was met with some skepticism from obesity experts who are reluctant to label overweight people as victims of their food supply with not a lot of hope to lose weight without major changes in America's food culture. Clearly, there is a link between obesity and people's diets and level of activity, but Lustig says that he has not yet attempted to prove his hypothesis with lab trials. His research was based on the results of obesity studies published between 1994 and 2005.

 

"I disagree with some of the details, particularly regarding the effects of insulin, and I think some of it is fairly speculative," said Dr. Peter Havel, a nutrition researcher at UC Davis. "It is really more of a hypothetical proposal rather than a review of established science. But I think there are some interesting ideas proposed in the article, many of which could and should be tested in animal models."

 

About two-thirds of American adults are overweight, and about one-third are obese, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity is defined as being 20 percent to 25 percent over the ideal weight for one's height.

 

Doctors have long assumed that there is a connection between increasing sugar consumption and the country's out-of-control obesity epidemic.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition earlier this week suggested that a single can of soda a day can add 15 pounds a year.

 

And increasingly, physicians are becoming frustrated with patients who are obese or in danger of becoming obese and seem incapable of making the lifestyle changes that are necessary to lose weight.

 

If Lustig's hypothesis is correct, then it's no wonder physicians are frustrated: Their patients are driven to eat more and exercise less, in much the same way they're driven to drink when they're thirsty.

 

"Your body is telling you to eat more. Our bodies don't do well fighting biochemical drive," Lustig said. "Try to not drink something after you've eaten a pizza, when you're thirsty."

 

The idea is that because consumers live in a "toxic environment" where sugar is a staple of so many food items, people are increasingly dependent on the sweetener, he said.

 

According to Lustig's hypothesis, sugar in large quantities drives up insulin secretion.

This insulin floods the brain, and in particular the hypothalamus, which regulates energy use in the body.

As a result, leptin, a hormone that tells the brain when the body needs more or less energy, can't get its signal to the hypothalamus because the insulin is blocking the way.

 

The result is that the body is thrown into starvation mode -- the brain thinks it isn't getting enough energy, so it needs more calories and it needs to save energy, he said.

People end up feeling the symptoms of starvation, including malaise, depression, a lack of motivation and, of course, hunger.

 

"It's because of the toxic environment that the insulin rises and the problem behavior ensues," Lustig said. "That's why all of these diet programs don't work. That's why telling people to diet and exercise alone won't work, unless you improve the toxic environment as well."

 

That's not to say losing weight is a hopeless cause, Lustig said. It's just a lot more difficult than physicians believe, and the only way to help the population at large lose weight is to make drastic changes in the food that's available.

 

That means, he said, targeting major food companies that add sugar to everything from hot dog buns and barbecue sauce to potato chips and energy drinks. Even juice, he noted, isn't a healthy option -- the natural sugars in fruit juice cause the same reaction in the body as the high-fructose corn syrup in soda.

 

Lustig said it also means forcing the government to take stronger measures in educating the public and providing healthy food options. For instance, Lustig observed, in California, families on welfare can buy juice with food stamps, but not fresh fruit.

 

 

 

Eating large amounts of sugar, says UCSF researcher Robert Lustig, tips the balance between insulin and the hormone leptin in the brain.

Excess sugar makes the brain switch into starvation response mode.

This prompts more eating and increases lethargy in order to conserve energy. The calories from more eating go unused and are stored as fat.

 

STARVING FOR A DRINK...

 

A hungry person drinks a soda (typically containing 10« teaspoons of sugar), and the body metabolizes that sugar.

As a result, the pancreas increases insulin production. The brain, flooded with reports of increased insulin, decides to either turn the sugar into instant energy or store it as fat.

 

... AND NEVER FEELING FULL

 

After digesting the drink, the body should receive a signal of leptin from its fat cells. This signal tells the brain that the body has enough energy. However, large amounts of insulin may drown out the leptin signal, causing the hungry person to remain hungry.

 

E-mail Erin Allday at [email protected].

[LJP07]

True,.....that's another was of putting it.! :hihi:

[Michaelangelica]

http://www.abc.net.au/health/minutes/stories/s1714148.htm

send to a friend

 

Health Minutes Home » Obesity and waist circumference

Obesity and waist circumference

 

14 August 2006

 

(repeat broadcast)

 

Sometimes when I read a medical journal on your behalf, I’m thrown. I find something I took for granted, isn’t by others. For instance you like me probably think everyone knows that when you’re fat what counts is whether you have a fat belly.

 

Well a group of international researchers weren’t so sure and went off to do a 52 country study comparing 27,000 people some of whom had a heart attack and some of whom hadn’t.

 

And after all this, they confirmed what you and I knew already. It’s bad to have a fat tummy. In fact when compared to a measure of obesity called body mass index, the ratio of waist to hip circumference was three times better at predicting the risk of a heart attack.

 

Waist size by itself was okay as a measure but not as good as the ratio. Conversely being big around the hips is protective.

 

What’s not known mind you is whether losing that flab on the abdomen is life saving. That’s an act of faith.

 

Job for life this obesity research don’t you think?

For reference

 

Yusuf S et al. Obesity and the risk of myocardial infarction in 27,000 participants from 52 countries: a case-control study. Lancet 2005;366:1640-1649

Kragelund C and Omland T. A farewell to body mass index? Lancet 2005;366:1589-1591

More Info?

 

* Health Matters A-Z Library - Obesity

* Lose weight, and keep it off - The Pulse, Health Matters 03/08/2005

 

Subscribe to the Health Minutes Podcast

[Michaelangelica]

http://www.abc.net.au/health/minutes/stories/s1714148.htm

send to a friend

 

Health Minutes Home » Obesity and waist circumference

Obesity and waist circumference

 

14 August 2006

 

(repeat broadcast)

 

Sometimes when I read a medical journal on your behalf, I’m thrown. I find something I took for granted, isn’t by others. For instance you like me probably think everyone knows that when you’re fat what counts is whether you have a fat belly.

 

Well a group of international researchers weren’t so sure and went off to do a 52 country study comparing 27,000 people some of whom had a heart attack and some of whom hadn’t.

 

And after all this, they confirmed what you and I knew already. It’s bad to have a fat tummy. In fact when compared to a measure of obesity called body mass index, the ratio of waist to hip circumference was three times better at predicting the risk of a heart attack.

 

Waist size by itself was okay as a measure but not as good as the ratio. Conversely being big around the hips is protective.

 

What’s not known mind you is whether losing that flab on the abdomen is life saving. That’s an act of faith.

Job for life this obesity research don’t you think?

For reference

 

Yusuf S et al. Obesity and the risk of myocardial infarction in 27,000 participants from 52 countries: a case-control study. Lancet 2005;366:1640-1649

Kragelund C and Omland T. A farewell to body mass index? Lancet 2005;366:1589-1591

[LJP07]

Although I'm sure there are many causes of obesity to be discovered, the underlying one is Diet and Society, that's a Killer Virus, and this is one virus that's sweeping America and Europe and one we can certainly kill, and extinguish.

 

Is it not surprising that America seems to be leading in Obesity, their society, portrayal, and diet makes them lazy, look for the easy was out in terms of Diet, the fact is if the American Government take drastic and realistically effective maneuvers, they might not be able to stop it instantly but over time the numbers of obese will reduce over time. Until these actions are taken, nothing will change. One fact released recently stated that the amount of obese people in the world exceded the amount of poor people in the world.

 

That's a chilling reality that should open the eyes of the people involved in changing the ways of the current world. So instead of waking up and smelling the coffee, people should change their diet and wake up and smell the pure orange juice fortified with Vitamin C!

[InfiniteNow]

Is it not surprising that America seems to be leading in Obesity, their society, portrayal, and diet makes them lazy, look for the easy was out in terms of Diet

I'd counter by saying that there is a genetic predisposition ingrained in humans as well as other animals through millenia of evolution toward gaining maximal benefit from minimum energy expenditure, a predisposition toward sweet and fatty foods, and that the population of America has just been very very successful in attaining and realizing that inherited tendency. Potentially to our own detriment, but biological drives always lag behind the forces of evolution in a dynamic game of "catch up." This, coupled with a more sedentary lifestyle sitting behind computers, and great food availability both in market and restaurant, led to the current issues you describe.

[Michaelangelica]

for Science in the Public Interest, a leading consumer rights group, remarked, "'Made from sugar' certainly sounds better than, say, 'made from chlorinated hydrocarbons.' He went on to say, "Splenda's artificiality may present a marketing challenge, but that's not an excuse to confuse consumers and lead them to believe that Splenda is natural or in any way related to sugar."

 

So if Splenda is made from Chlorinated Hydrocarbons and the way the body deals with these is to wrap them in fat and store them;then this "Slimming Agent" could be making people fatter.??

 

See "DDT sould (sic) it be used thread"

[Michaelangelica]

This is an excellent article from the NY Times which makes my point. There are many factors that lead to obesity. By concentrating on one only (eating too much) we miss what may really be going on.

Have I convinced anyone yet?

 

Fat Factors

 

Article Tools Sponsored By

By ROBIN MARANTZ HENIG

Published: August 13, 2006

 

In the 30-plus years that Richard Atkinson has been studying obesity, he has always maintained that overeating doesn’t really explain it all. His epiphany came early in his career, when he was a medical fellow at U.C.L.A. engaged in a study of people who weighed more than 300 pounds and had come in for obesity surgery. “The general thought at the time was that fat people ate too much,” Atkinson, now at Virginia Commonwealth University, told me recently. “And we documented that fat people do eat too much — our subjects ate an average of 6,700 calories a day. But what was so impressive to me was the fact that not all fat people eat too much.”

 

Gary Schneider for The New York Times

 

One of Atkinson’s most memorable patients was Janet S., a bright, funny 25-year-old who weighed 348 pounds when she finally made her way to U.C.L.A. in 1975. In exchange for agreeing to be hospitalized for three months so scientists could study them, Janet and the other obese research subjects (30 in all) each received a free intestinal bypass.

During the three months of presurgical study, the dietitian on the research team calculated how many calories it should take for a 5-foot-6-inch woman like Janet to maintain a weight of 348.

They fed her exactly that many calories — no more, no less. She dutifully ate what she was told, and she gained 12 pounds in two weeks — almost a pound a day.

 

“I don’t think I’d ever gained that much weight that quickly,” recalled Janet, who asked me not to use her full name because she didn’t want people to know how fat she had once been.

The doctors accused her of sneaking snacks into the hospital. “But I told them, ‘I’m gaining weight because you’re feeding me a tremendous amount of food!’ ”

 

The experience with Janet was an early inkling that traditional ideas about obesity were incomplete. Researchers and public-health officials have long understood that to maintain a given weight, energy in (calories consumed) must equal energy out (calories expended).

But then they learned that genes were important, too, and that for some people, like Janet, this formula was tilted in a direction that led to weight gain. Since the discovery of the first obesity gene in 1994, scientists have found about 50 genes involved in obesity. Some of them determine how individuals lay down fat and metabolize energy stores.

Others regulate how much people want to eat in the first place, how they know when they’ve had enough and how likely they are to use up calories through activities ranging from fidgeting to running marathons.

People like Janet, who can get fat on very little fuel, may be genetically programmed to survive in harsher environments. When the human species got its start, it was an advantage to be efficient.

Today, when food is plentiful, it is a hazard.

More good stuff at:-

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/magazine/13obesity.html?ex=1171771200&en=091c29f788379524&ei=5087&excamp=mkt_at4

[Chacmool]

Fascinating article - thanks Michaelangelica! (could you just please cut down the article to a short excerpt and link to the original source)

 

Strangely, it seems to be in humanity's interest to preserve the "obesity genes", so that we are able to survive in possible leaner times in the future. Isn't biological diversity wonderful?

[Michaelangelica]

Fascinating article - thanks Michaelangelica! (could you just please cut down the article to a short excerpt and link to the original source)

Yes sorry. I got a bit excited.( It was a very long article (7 pages))

It was such a good, well written article that summarises everything I have been raving on about on this thread, + some.

The NY Times is a such great paper.

You just don't see such sane,well-researched, well written, in depth articles in many papers here anymore.

 

Strangely, it seems to be in humanity's interest to preserve the "obesity genes", so that we are able to survive in possible leaner times in the future. Isn't biological diversity wonderful?

I posted this (following) last month on the Obesity thread.

It seems obesity genes can be activated in utro

 

 

In 1976, G P Ravelli, Z.A. Stein and M.W. Susser reported the results of a study of 300,000 men born to women who were pregnant during the Dutch Hungerwinter. These researchers discovered that adult men born to women malnourished during the first two trimesters of their pregnancies where more likely to be obese than were men in the general population.

 

Given that the offspring of mothers who were underfed for the entire duration of their pregnancies are known to be permanently underweight this finding is remarkable indeed.

 

Alan Jones and M. I. Friedman from Pitzer college tested this Hungerwinter on animals.

In their initial studies they fed pregnant rats 50% of their normal rations for the first 2/3ds of their pregnancies and then allowed them to eat freely for the final trimester.

These rats ultimately gave birth to pups that had body weights that were the same as those born to normally fed mothers.

 

However, weeks later, after weaning on to a high fat diet, the male-but not the female- offspring of the malnourished mothers ate more and gained more weight than did the offspring of the normally fed mothers.

(even though the offspring of the normally fed mothers were weaned onto the same high fat diet.)

 

The fat cells of the obese males were larger and there fat pads weighed two to three times the fat pads of the normal males.

FROM:

P118-119

The Dependent Gene"

Prof. David S. Moore, Times BooksNYNY 2001

(For, why this may be so? read p 119-121)

[Michaelangelica]

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=313597&rel_no=1

Another less-publicized probable cause of obesity is the role played by the food additive E-621, or MSG (monosodium glutamate). Scientists in Spain have established a link between MSG and increased appetite. The substance MSG (sometimes called hydrolyzed vegetable protein), which is used by the food industry as a flavor enhancer, was found to produce a 40 percent increase in appetite in experiments on rats.

 

Critics of the food industry charge that MSG is used in such a way as to get consumers hooked to their products. More militant critics like John and Michelle Erb, co-authors of "The Slow Poisoning of America," believe that the food industry uses MSG as "their own brand of nicotine designed to addict you to their products."

 

It is believed that MSG could be a key factor behind obesity, particularly in children. Statistics show that from 1980 to 2000, the number of obese children and teenagers in the U.S. almost tripled. Health authorities around the world are raising alarm signals as the faltering health of fat people weigh heavily on health budgets. The projections for the future are even more alarming.

[Michaelangelica]

In experiments with chickens and mice, researchers found that a virus known as human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) caused the animals to gain excessive amounts of fat.

In contrast, chickens infected with a bird adenovirus called CELO did not pack on excess fat. While these results do not point to Ad-36 as a cause of human obesity, they do suggest that one or more viruses may be behind some people's weight woes.

 

In general, adenoviruses cause colds, diarrhea and eye infections, but little is known about how Ad-36 is spread or the types of infections it might cause. The researchers settled on Ad-36 because it does not cross-react with other adenoviruses, meaning it likely has "unique qualities."

 

The idea that a virus may trigger obesity is not new to the animal world. Four viruses have been shown to cause fat accumulation in animals, one reasearcher noted.

"This," he said, "is the first time a human virus has been associated with obesity."

. . .

In four separate experiments, researchers found that the animals infected with Ad-36 packed on fat, but showed "paradoxically low" cholesterol levels.

http://www.mercola.com/2000/aug/6/virus_obesity.htm

[Michaelangelica]

High fructose corn syrup another link in the puzzle?

nvestigating food consumption patterns over the past 35 years, scientists found that in the 20 years from 1970 to 1990 the consumption of the popular soft drink sweetener, high fructose corn syrup, leapt by a massive 1000 per cent.

 

"HFCS now represents more that 40 per cent of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the US," said George Bray and colleagues in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

 

The researchers suggest that this rapid trajectory of HFCS consumption, and processed carbohydrates in general, through food and drinks could be to blame for the steep rise in obesity.

. . .

High fructose syrups, known as isoglucose in Europe, kicked off in the US in the 1970s when the country developed new technologies to process this bulk calorific sweetener. The ingredient, an alternative to sucrose, rapidly gained in popularity and is now used by the soft drinks giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Co.

 

High fructose corn sweeteners begin with enzymes which isomerise dextrose to produce a 42 per cent fructose syrup.

By passing 42-HFCS through a column which retains fructose, refiners draw off 90 per cent HFCS and blend it with 42-HFCS to make a third syrup, 55-HFCS.

Further processing produces crystalline fructose.

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=51623-single-food-ingredient

[Michaelangelica]

Is anyone reading this?

 

Should I continue to post or not?

Big-bone genes 'cause obesity'

By Liz Bennett

September 04, 2006

STOCKY people battling the bulge may legitimately be able to put their predicament down to being big-boned, according to new research presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Sydney.

While the news that a genetic defect causes an increase in fat, muscle mass and bone density may come as a welcome excuse for some, the downside is that it only accounts for about 1 per cent of obese people.

 

"Approximately one in 100 people with clinical obesity defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) more than 30, may have an MC4R gene problem which explains their obesity," said British researcher Dr Sadaf Farooqi.

 

Dr Farooqi said the MC4R gene is one of the most common genetic causes of obesity.

 

"Working out how the MC4R gene and other genes in this pathway regulate appetite and weight will be important in developing ways to prevent and treat obesity," she said.

 

"This work shows that appetite is very tightly biologically determined and not simply a moral failing."

 

Studies have shown that in severely obese children affected by mutations in the MC4R gene, injections of leptin led to normal appetite and weight.

More at:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20349985-1702,00.html

[Michaelangelica]

I notice there are 1,500 hits on this thread in the last four weeks

Should I give up or carry on?

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/health/20060905-9999-1m5obese.html

Kids may become obese by age 12

By Cheryl Clark

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

 

September 5, 2006

 

Parents and pediatricians have one less excuse to shrug off children's extra pounds as just baby fat that kids will eventually outgrow.

 

A new federal study led by a UCSD researcher tracked the growth of more than 1,000 children for a dozen years. It found that infants and children who are overweight at any point are more likely to remain overweight and even become obese by age 12.

 

Advertisement

“The general public believes that kids can grow out of any problems they are having with weight. But the point of our study is that they don't grow out of it, in all likelihood,” said Dr. Philip Nader, a pediatrician at the University of California San Diego and principal author of the report, which is published today in the journal Pediatrics.

 

Nader characterized the results of his report as “sobering but not hopeless.” He said the findings may spur parents to address the causes of obesity, such as spending too much time in front of the TV and computer, getting far too little exercise and eating way too much food high in sugar and fat.

 

Unlike previous research that documented the increase in overweight children by sampling various demographic populations, Nader's project enrolled infants shortly after they were born from hospitals in 10 cities nationwide. His study started in 1991.

 

Nader and his colleagues regularly weighed and measured the participants until they became adolescents, recording their weight and height at seven time points – 24 months, 36 months, 54 months and at ages 7, 9, 11 and 12.

 

Children overweight at least once during their measurements at 24, 36 and 54 months were five times more likely to be overweight at age 12 than those never categorized as overweight, the study concluded.

 

Children overweight twice during ages 7, 9 and 11 were 25 times more likely to be overweight at age 12. And school-age children overweight three times during the study were 374 times more likely to be overweight at age 12.

 

Body mass index

 

To determine if your child is overweight, first calculate his or her body mass index by using the formula for children. You can do this by

going to http://www.kidsnutrition.org

/bodycomp/bmiz2.html.

 

The Web site will then show how your child's BMI compares with those of other children who are the same age.

Conversely, no children in the study who weighed less than 50 percent of others in their age groups were overweight at age 12.

 

An upcoming report will analyze the children's weights at age 15.

 

Today's study defined “overweight” based on the body mass index, a formula based on gender, age, weight and height. “Overweight” was defined as having a body mass index greater than 84 percent but less than 95 percent of other children the same age. “Obese” was defined as having a body mass index greater than 94 percent of other children the same age.

 

The report may have underestimated the problem because a significant percentage of the children enrolled were from stable, middle-class families with two parents. Only 20 percent of the families were classified as low-income.

 

If the study had included more children from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds, who are generally thought to have higher rates for being overweight and obese, the statistics may have come out worse, said James Griffin of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, the federal agency in Bethesda, Md., that funded the study.

 

Griffin said he hoped the report would spur pediatricians to pay more attention to childhood weight.

 

“Sometimes doctors are not necessarily trained in nutrition and may be hesitant to work with the family, even if they know the child is overweight at such a young age,” he said.

 

Obesity-related problems

 

Obese children are at higher risk for developing diabetes, hypertension, liver problems, sleep apnea, menstrual abnormalities (for girls), impaired balance, orthopedic problems, low self-esteem, a negative body image and depression.

 

They also have a greater chance of being subjected to discrimination, bullying, teasing and other forms of social marginalization.

 

SOURCE: INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE

Dr. Stuart Cohen, a primary-care specialist at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, said pediatricians are getting tougher in their messages to overweight children's parents.

 

“Now we point to the consequences of being an obese child in terms of days missed from school from illness, loss of productivity and the social stigma a child endures from being overweight,” he said. Added to that is the higher likelihood of diabetes, heart problems and many other diseases that are more common as the child becomes an adult.

 

“The overstuffed baby with chubby cheeks, which is the picture of the perfect baby from several generations ago, is no longer the gold standard for our children,” Cohen said.

[Chacmool]

Is anyone reading this?

 

Should I continue to post or not?

 

More at:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20349985-1702,00.html

I notice there are 1,500 hits on this thread in the last four weeks

Should I give up or carry on?

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/health/20060905-9999-1m5obese.html

Yes, I read your posts with keen interest! I look forward to many more interesting posts. :)

[Michaelangelica]

Yes, I read your posts with keen interest! I look forward to many more interesting posts. :)

Thanks Chacmool.

It is nice to know I am not talking to myself

 

The importance of understanding this issue and not going with our pre-jugements of overeating as the only cause:-

http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/0002407/31/

'Globesity' Crisis Could Overwhelm National Health Systems

Contributed by Nicole Weaver| 03 September, 2006 17:33 GMT

 

obesity global pandemic

Obesity is on a rampage in the western world, but developing nations are fast catching up. Health officials gathered at an international conference in Sydney are calling for governments to step in to reverse the pandemic. Obesity's global march is "an international scourge" with potential consequences as severe as the threats of global warming and bird flu, said Paul Zimmet, chairman of the International Congress on Obesity, in his opening address to the conference of more than 2,000 health experts gathered in Sydney on Sunday, according to accounts.

 

There are now more overweight than undernourished people in the world, he said.

 

Zimmet, an Australian diabetes expert who is a professor at Monash University, tagged the international crisis "globesity."

 

Among the repercussions of the obesity pandemic among adults and children are skyrocketing rates of chronic ailments such as diabetes and heart disease, and, ultimately, shorter life spans.

The current generation of children could be the first in history to die before their parents because of health problems related to weight, said Kate Steinbeck, an expert in children's health at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

 

More on genes and Obesity:-

Genetic Cause Found for Some Cases of Human Obesity

Published: June 24, 1997

 

HUMAN obesity, a condition affecting a third of Americans, has for the first time been found to have a genetic cause, at least in some cases.

. . .

The two genes involved in the new reports are known in the mouse as ''obese'' and ''fat.''

The obese gene is active in the body's fat cells and makes the leptin protein, which circulates in the bloodstream.

Leptin is sensed by cells in a region of the brain called the hypothalamus and allows them to compute how much fat the body contains.

Based on information signaled by leptin, the hypothalamus tells the body to add weight or get rid of it.

The details of this output are still obscure, but one way the hypothalamus issues its commands is by ordering the secretion of various hormones that influence different body tissues.

The mouse gene, when mutated, causes obesity because of a malfunction in the brain hormone system.