A recent book “The evolution of obesity” by Power and Schulkin is a very comprehensive survey of the possible causations of this complex problem. It identifies many weight-regulation mechanisms and possible evolutionary reasons for why these can fail. The book uses an evolutionary framework al to analyse a major body of neuroendocrine knowledge about obesity.…
Read moreMustelin et al 2009 Physical activity reduces the influence of genetic effects on BMI and waist circumference: a study in young adult twins. International Journal of Obesity 33, 29–36; Obesity and exercise are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. However, whether obesity and physical inactivity share the same genetic versus environmental etiology has not been…
Read moreThe biology of obesity A review in Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (2005), 65, 31-38 Trayburn P Obesity is a preoccupation of modern nutrition. The founding fathers of our science would never have believed that the eradication of some major nutritional problems would lead to this particular epidemic.The biology of obesity includes]The fundamental mechanisms of…
Read moreSize rules biology to a great.extent. . When things get bigger, their length increases linearly but their surface area increases by the square and their volume by the cube. So when the proportions, properties and performances of organisms, such as body shape, life span or speed of movement, are plotted against size or weight in…
Read moreObesity is as eveyone knows a real and threatening modern problem. The simple minded think that obesity is a result of eating too much. That the ready provision of food in the West just means that people eat to much in relation to their activity. There are very few fat people in the poor areas…
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