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DEFINITION OF OBESITY
Obesity is defined by body mass index (BMI) BMI = Weight in Kg (Height) in metres
ENERGY EXPENDITURE
Taking in more calories Obesity than you burn 1. Basal metabolic rate: All cells in the body are active, so are burning calories even when we are resting. This is our BMR and accounts for 60% of energy expenditure (EE) 2. Dietary thermogenesis: energy spent in digesting food. Accounts for 10% 3. Physical activity: accounts for 30% of EE
Individuals have an innate preference for sweet foods: 1) e.g. fetuses will increase swallowing in the womb in response to sweet tastes 2) e.g. newborns will turn toward sweet smells and tastes and away from bitter ones. Taste preferences can be altered e.g. Sullivan and Birch (1990) They took 39 children aged 4-5. 1 group was exposed to salty food only, 1 group to sweet only and the other to plain tofu. At the end of the experiment, the children now showed a preference for the taste they had been exposed to.
Child with leptin deficiencies response to being given leptin. Child will now experience satiety and reduce food intake. Leptin deficiency/insensitivity is very rare
Other genetics
Bardet-Biedl syndrome - a genetic disorder that affects many body systems and classically causes obesity (as well as mental retardation, blindness etc) Prader-Willi syndrome a genetic disorder caused by mutations in 7 genes of chromosome 15. characterised by extreme and insatiable appetite causing morbid obesity.