Obesity can seem straightforward to explain. If a person consumes more calories than they need, they gain weight.1 But the real explanation is not that simple. And it is about more than weight.
Obesity is a complex chronic disease2, and losing weight is not just a question of eating less and moving more.3
In fact, obesity can be influenced by genetics, physiology, environment4, and it could be regarded as a neurobiological disease with a psychological element.3
Obesity is associated with increase risk of other diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.4
People living with obesity can face stigma and suffer poor mental health, and it can also have an impact on educational attainment and employment opportunities and pass through generations.5
But with the right care, people with obesity can achieve weight loss that really makes a difference to their health.6
1- NHS (National Health society). Understanding calories. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/managing-your-weight/understanding-calories/#:~:text=When%20we%20eat%20and%20drink,(8%2C400kJ)%20a%20day. Last accessed 29.11.2022
2- Clevelandclinic. Obesity. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11209-weight-control-and-obesity; last accessed 29.11.2022
3- Greenway FL. Physiological adaptations to weight loss and factors favouring weight regain. International journal of obesity. 2015 Aug;39(8):1188-96.
4- Mayoclinic.obesity. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesconditions/obesity/symptoms-causes/syc-20375742; last accessed 29.11.2022
5- Lobstein T, Brinsden H, Neveux M. World Obesity Atlas 2022.Available at: https://www.worldobesity.org/resources/resource-library/world-obesity-atlas-2022 ; last accessed 23.10.2022
6- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Obesity. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html; last accessed 23.10.2022
Today we know that obesity is a serious chronic disease1.
Together with our partners, we are committed to driving change in how the world sees, prevents and treats obesity. As leaders within the science of obesity, we are working to make obesity a healthcare priority, defeat stigma and support better access to evidence-based care.
1- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Obesity. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/about-obesity/index.html#print; last accessed 23.10.2022
Leading science’s response to obesity
Leading science’s response to obesity
1- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Obesity. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/about-obesity/index.html#print; last accessed 23.10.2022
2- Lobstein T, Brinsden H, Neveux M. World Obesity Atlas 2022.Available at: https://www.worldobesity.org/resources/resource-library/world-obesity-atlas-2022; last accessed 23.10.2022
3- WHO (World Health Organization). Obesity prevalence. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight; last accessed 23.10.2022
4- Mayoclinic.obesity treatment goal. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20375749; last accessed 23.10.2022
Obesity is influenced by many factors both inside and outside of the body. A person could be born with a tendency to put on weight.1 Just as someone is born with a particular eye colour.
There is also the physiological aspect (CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
APPETITE CIRCUITS)
In the context of food intake, many gut
hormones act on hypothalamic and brainstem centres of appetite
control. This provides one means by which the gut may signal energy
status to the seat of satiety, the central nervous system (CNS).2
During weight loss, the level of hormones can change in an attempt to regain the lost weight.3 As a result, studies show that approximately a quarter of overweight individuals successfully maintain their lost weight.3
Many aspects of a person's general behaviour, environment and sleep patterns can also cause weight gain.1
Where a person lives and the culture that surrounds them can also influence the risk of developing obesity.4
So, although many people with obesity believe they should be able to manage their weight on their own, it is not that easy.5
1- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Obesity risk factors. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/calories/other_factors.html; last accessed 23.10.2022
2- Chaudhri O, Small C, Bloom S. Gastrointestinal hormones regulating appetite. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2006 Jul 29;361(1471):1187-209.
3- Greenway FL. Physiological adaptations to weight loss and factors favouring weight regain. International journal of obesity. 2015 Aug;39(8):1188-96.
4- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Obesity risk factors. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/basics/causes.html#print; last accessed 23.10.2022
5- Atkinson Jr RL, Butterfield G, Dietz W, Fernstrom J, Frank A, Hansen B, Moore B. Weight management: State of the science and opportunities for military programs. National Academy of Sciences. 2003 Aug.
To understand obesity, we must understand what is going on in our brains.
People living with obesity struggle to lose weight. Their bodies programming works to get them back to their original starting weight. In the brain, it's as if there is a switch that tweaks a person’s energy expenditure until they have regained the lost kilos.1
1- Greenway FL. Physiological adaptations to weight loss and factors favouring weight regain. International journal of obesity. 2015 Aug;39(8):1188-96.
