Quote:
Originally posted by sigmagrrl
In your opinion, why is obesity an issue in the USA?
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Ever stop and wonder why there is this prevalence of obesity seen in our children to adults?
Well, my observations are as a molecular geneticist studying diabetes, genetics, mitochondria dysfunction and obesity--called metabolomics in some circles--is because of the development of "fat mice" genetically. They are called the
ob/ob mice and the
db/db mice.
The genes in these mice were genetically altered to generate mice that eat the similar content in food as normal wildtype mice, but are larger body fat and body weight than their wildtype counterparts.
That was when Leptin, a protein that regulates appetite was discovered. The regulation of leptin levels in the body are determined genetically, and by circadian cycle (the sleep-awake patterns)...
Interesting research regarding the circadian cycle. The body has a "master clock" in the Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain. However, the liver, the gut and the lungs have their own internal clock genes. Now researchers have modified these genes,
clock,
per (period) and
dbt (doubletime)--to name a few--in mice and these mutations have ruined these animals sleep, wake and eating cycles. Some animals don't eat and die. Some animals, don't sleep and eat all the time...
What this has to do with type 2 diabetes is, the same dysfunctions are seen in the human body. The human body at the molecular genetic level tries to maintain a sufficient amount of fuel to maintain normal bodily functions. When an environmental stimuli is perturbed at any level--i.e. less food, more food, bad food, no food, poisons, war, famine, more gravity, less gravity, pollution, and etc.--the body inherently as directed by its genetic make up tries to compensate for the discrepancy in some direction.
Spiritualists call it an imbalance. And IMHO, the medical community may have found that the spiritual understanding of how the body regulates itself may have some level of validity...
I myself am battling weight because I have hit 35. I am female with female--called pre menopausal symptoms. Where I use to live, air pollution was rampant. I was unable to maintain breathing properly--so inadvertantly, I ate to keep whatever chemical I lacked up. However, I fooled my body with highly processed food intake because the nutritive value of these foodstuffs were poor and I subsequently gained weight. My choice was to move out of that environment to a wholesome environment to recoup damage I incurred to my body...
Oxidation ruins your heart, brain and lungs... It stops the mitochondria (the cell's powerhouses) from functioning. That atrophies muscle. It promotes an inflammatory response. Adipocytes grow under those conditions. Moreover, once the damage is made, that's it... Aging can occur. Prone to diseases, such as cold or flu like symptoms... All in all, a body is stressed out... And the fact that we can get massive sugars at an instant...
Hence, obesity...
PM me if you want to know more...