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Evidence Implicating Eating as a Primary Driver for the Obesity Epidemic.
* diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/56/11/2673
This article addresses the extent to which increases in energy intake
as opposed to decreases in energy expenditure are driving the obesity
epidemic. It argues that while both intake and expenditure are
plausible and probable contributors, the fact that all intake is
behavioral, whereas less than half of expenditure is behavioral, makes
intake a conceptually more appealing primary cause. A review of per
capita food disappearance trends over time and of trends in individual
intakes is presented to support the plausibility of this perspective.
Increases in energy intake mirror increases in body weight
quantitatively and are equally widely distributed across diverse
groups within the larger population.
Obesity is the number one nutritional issue in the U.S. and in much of
the rest of the world today. More than two-thirds of U.S. adults have
body weight exceeding recommended ranges, putting these individuals at
increased risk for a variety of adverse health outcomes (1=963).
Compounding concern about high rates of population obesity is the fact
that obesity prevalence rates are rising rapidly. The proportion of
the population affected by obesity has more than doubled in the last
20=9630 years, the rate of increase holding steady at approximately one
percentage point per year. So far, there is no evidence to suggest
that the obesity trend will slow any time soon. The rapid increase in
obesity rates is why it is now often called an "epidemic," and both
scientific researchers and public health officials are energetically
seeking answers to two closely related questions, i.e., what is
causing it, and how can we reverse it?
Conceptually, obesity is a state in which an individual has stored
body fat in amounts far exceeding biological need. Usually it is a
result of a small but chronic positive energy imbalance that continues
over many years. The reason why the problem is so widespread and why
it suddenly worsened dramatically starting around 1980 is not well
understood. We know where energy comes from, i.e., food. We also know
how the body uses it. More than half is used to perform obligatory
biological functions, such as maintenance of body temperature,
metabolism, and tissue repair. The rest is used to power the muscular
work required for human beings to interact with their environment. If
food energy intake exceeds energy requirements, excess energy is
stored as body fat. If energy expenditure exceeds energy intake,
energy fat stores are tapped to make up the difference. Changes in the
rate at which body fat is accumulated over time are thus intimately
linked to patterns of food intake and physical activity.
In trying to understand the evolving obesity epidemic, the relative
contribution of declining energy expenditure and increasing energy
intake to the problem has yet to be determined conclusively, and there
is disagreement among health professionals about the importance of the
two (4=966). The purpose of this article is to review scientific data
implicating increased energy intake as the cause of rising body
weight. Companion Perspectives articles in this issue review the data
on energy expenditure (7) and discuss the economic burden of obesity
(8).
*** end excerpt ***
It remains much smarter to eat less, down to the right amount:
* HeartMDPhD . com /BeSmart
Here again is that simple parable given in hopes of promoting much
greater understanding:
* HeartMDPhD . com /Parable
Life in these industrialized nations is essential life in blessed feed
lots.
<><
* HeartMDPhD . com /HolySpirit/Counsels
This article addresses the extent to which increases in energy intake
as opposed to decreases in energy expenditure are driving the obesity
epidemic. It argues that while both intake and expenditure are
plausible and probable contributors, the fact that all intake is
behavioral, whereas less than half of expenditure is behavioral, makes
intake a conceptually more appealing primary cause. A review of per
capita food disappearance trends over time and of trends in individual
intakes is presented to support the plausibility of this perspective.
Increases in energy intake mirror increases in body weight
quantitatively and are equally widely distributed across diverse
groups within the larger population.
Obesity is the number one nutritional issue in the U.S. and in much of
the rest of the world today. More than two-thirds of U.S. adults have
body weight exceeding recommended ranges, putting these individuals at
increased risk for a variety of adverse health outcomes (1=963).
Compounding concern about high rates of population obesity is the fact
that obesity prevalence rates are rising rapidly. The proportion of
the population affected by obesity has more than doubled in the last
20=9630 years, the rate of increase holding steady at approximately one
percentage point per year. So far, there is no evidence to suggest
that the obesity trend will slow any time soon. The rapid increase in
obesity rates is why it is now often called an "epidemic," and both
scientific researchers and public health officials are energetically
seeking answers to two closely related questions, i.e., what is
causing it, and how can we reverse it?
Conceptually, obesity is a state in which an individual has stored
body fat in amounts far exceeding biological need. Usually it is a
result of a small but chronic positive energy imbalance that continues
over many years. The reason why the problem is so widespread and why
it suddenly worsened dramatically starting around 1980 is not well
understood. We know where energy comes from, i.e., food. We also know
how the body uses it. More than half is used to perform obligatory
biological functions, such as maintenance of body temperature,
metabolism, and tissue repair. The rest is used to power the muscular
work required for human beings to interact with their environment. If
food energy intake exceeds energy requirements, excess energy is
stored as body fat. If energy expenditure exceeds energy intake,
energy fat stores are tapped to make up the difference. Changes in the
rate at which body fat is accumulated over time are thus intimately
linked to patterns of food intake and physical activity.
In trying to understand the evolving obesity epidemic, the relative
contribution of declining energy expenditure and increasing energy
intake to the problem has yet to be determined conclusively, and there
is disagreement among health professionals about the importance of the
two (4=966). The purpose of this article is to review scientific data
implicating increased energy intake as the cause of rising body
weight. Companion Perspectives articles in this issue review the data
on energy expenditure (7) and discuss the economic burden of obesity
(8).
*** end excerpt ***
It remains much smarter to eat less, down to the right amount:
* HeartMDPhD . com /BeSmart
Here again is that simple parable given in hopes of promoting much
greater understanding:
* HeartMDPhD . com /Parable
Life in these industrialized nations is essential life in blessed feed
lots.
<><
* HeartMDPhD . com /HolySpirit/Counsels
