Obesity: Cardiovascular Consequences

Genetic research of obesity was partly successful in establishing obesity in model organisms – rodents where obesity occurs spontaneously together with other pathological aspects (insulin resistance, …). The main cause of monogenic obesity in these model organisms are common mutations always present in only one gene. Results of research on model organisms allowed us to understand biological mechanisms of calorie intake and regulation and maintenance of body weight. The most important insight into obesity was achieved in 1994 after discovery of ob gene encoding for leptin. In two years period, using screening method, candidate homologous genes, selected on genetic study basis on mice, another five genes were identified. Mutations on these genes were found to be the cause of autosomal recessive or dominant monogenic obesity. Products of these genes are leptin and its receptor, proopiomelanocortin (POMC) melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R) and

In addition to obesity leading to other health problems, obesity stems from numerous causes such as genetic, environmental, and sociological factors. Other

Leptin was found to strongly correlate to the BMI at the index of examination where it was found that r = 0.67, P < 0.0001. In the case of multivariable analyses testing the clinical correlates of the log-Leptin, BMI with a partial R2 = 0.26 and sex with a partial R2 = 0.28 were found to be the strongest correlates. For the women with a median of 17.4 and the quartiles 1 and 3 to be 10.6 and 28.7 respectively; this demonstrated a higher Leptin level than in the men with a median of 7.2 and the first and third quartiles of 4.5 and 11.4

Obesity is a growing problem worldwide. Obesity causes serious health problems and is associated with substantial economic burdens in today's society. In the past, several generic epidmiological approaches have been use to identify genetic linkage to obesity. Evidence has developed that suggest obesity involved hormones and neurotransmitters hypothesized. Obesity is thought to be environmental since, food is plentiful year around.

Genes control almost every aspect of human life, and when it comes to weight there is no exception. Little is known, however, how much of an individual’s genes actually control the weight of certain individuals. Body fat can vary from person to person, yet some people have always carried more weight than others. Often times, when one person is overweight in the family, most of the other individuals in the same family are overweight as well. However, more than just genetics can go into being overweight, and a person’s genes are not the end all be all of obesity. Many times the environment surrounding people who are obese contributes to the overall weight of the individual, and when obesity promoting genes are mixed

Obesity presents numerous health risks, both physical and mental. Obesity has been linked to or is a risk factor for many non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease (including stroke and heart) type two diabetes, many cancers (including breast, colorectal….), musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis, depression and mental health disorders. Obesity along with all of the alarming health implications have the ability to

What is not widely known is that the risk of health problems can start with someone who is slightly overweight and that the likelihood of problems with increases as someone becomes more and more overweight. These conditions can eventually cause long-term suffering for individuals and families, not to mention the costs for the health care can be extremely high. The number of things that can impact people’s health caused by obesity can increase including:

Crawford, D., Jeffery, R.W., Ball, K. & Brug, J. (Eds.). (2010). Obesity Epidemiology: From Aetiology to Public Health (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Although the mechanism of obesity development is not fully understood, it is confirmed that obesity occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. There are multiple etiologies for this imbalance, hence, and the rising prevalence of obesity cannot be addressed by a single etiology (Dehghan et al., 2005, p.

After leptin is secreted by the adipose tissue, it enters the brain through the bloodstream. Gastric leptin may also reach hypothalamus through the vagal nerve and nucleus solitarius. Effects of leptin on various systems have been reported, including reproduction, immune system, hematopoesis, angiogenesis, bone formation and wound healing. It plays an important role in energy balance by inhibiting energy intake contrary to ghrelin, and by regulating body weight and energy homeostasis (Moran & Phillip, 2003).

There is not one specific factor that causes obesity, but rather a combination of multiple factors such as genetics, environmental, social, and physical factors. As obesity became more prevalent in the United States, the view on obesity by healthcare professionals began to change as well. In the 1940’s, after the great depression and America began to prosper, obesity was considered an addition. This addiction, thought at the time to be derived from an overbearing mother during early childhood, would discourage physical activity and the development of self-reliance (Result Filters 1). This would cause a lifelong pattern of oral gratification as a substitute of other forms of satisfaction, as well as a reaction to stress. In the 1950’s, health professionals connected depression to the cause of obesity and when a person was faced with a challenge, they would eat. Obesity was said to be a gluttonous addiction and programs like “Fattys Anonymous”, “Overeaters Anonymous”, and “Calories Anonymous” were put into place to help people lose weight. While obesity percentages stood still in the 1970’s, there was a push to reduce the shame and guilt from the past programs before with the Fat Power movement. Since then, the view on obesity has not changed, causing people who are overweight to

Obesity is the terminology used when an individual has too much body fat. Obesity occurs over time when people eat more calories than they use. The balance between calories in and calories out differs from person to person. Other factors that might affect a person’s weight include their genetic susceptibility, overeating, eating high fat foods, and lack of physical active. Being obese increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and some cancers. Although, the attention of the health profession, the media, and mass educational campaigns about the benefits of healthier diets and increased physical activity, the prevalence of obesity in the United States has doubled over the past three decades. In the United States obesity

The topic that I have chosen to look at is obesity. The aim of this topic is to find out whether “the ignorance of genetics as a contra factor of obesity”. I have chosen to look at this topic because obesity is concerns me. Obesity has always been a bid debate for a long time now and I was intrigued to find out more about the topic and the cause of obesity. The fact that obesity has made deadlines news in recent years. There are a lot of misconceptions about obesity such as overweight is caused by a sow metabolism. There have been a lot of beliefs and myths about obesity in society today and he above myths is on of them. According to Donnellan (1998) ‘ ‘people who are overweight have told their doctors that they eat no more and

There are more than 1.5 billion people that are overweight worldwide (2). There are more than 280 million people around the world that have been diagnosed with diabetes, resulting in at least 1 in 20 adults (2,8). Currently, diabetes is ranked as the seventh overall cause of death in the United States (9). In 2010, on 69,071 death certificates in the United States, diabetes was listed as the underlying cause, and in 234,051 death certificates, diabetes was mentioned as a cause of death (6). The Centers for Disease Control refers to “twin epidemics of diabetes and obesity, because obesity greatly increases the risk of diabetes, and the number of Americans who are obese has been increasing rapidly” (9). A newly developed term, “diabesity,” is commonly used to represent the close relationship between obesity and diabetes (8).

James, W. P. (2008). The epidemiology of obesity: the size of the problem. Journal of Internal Medicine, 336-352. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9ede2d6d-4d02-42e9-aff7-dd9b2486a3c3%40sessionmgr4004&vid=8&h