New theory of the cause of obesity proposed by US scientist

Nov 24, 2011 13:42 GMT  ·  By
More than 67 percent of all people in the United States are above the normal weight limit
   More than 67 percent of all people in the United States are above the normal weight limit

An expert at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) now proposes a new explanation for why the obesity wave currently sweeping America is causing more and more victims.

At this point, officials statics indicated that as many as 34 percent of all citizens in the United States are obese, with an additional 33 percent being overweight. This leaves only a third of the general population of normal weight, which is entirely unnatural, and indicative of unhealthy lifestyles.

Since this trend was first observed, experts have been struggling to find out what is causing, and many explanations have been circulated as a result of this interest. However, the new investigation proposes a different approach to explaining the worsening, self-sustaining obesity epidemic.

What scientists Paul T. Williams is proposing is that obesity itself – as a medical condition, if you will – is making people a lot more likely to fall victim to risk factors for obesity. These factors then go on to act on individuals by encouraging weight gain and poor diets.

Williams, who holds an appointment as a staff scientist and biostatistician at Berkeley Lab, published his theory in the latest issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLoS ONE, which is edited by the Public Library of Science.

Such a phenomenon is not unheard of, he argues. Among experts, positive feedback loops are well-known concepts, so it could be that they could apply to the spread of obesity as well. “We are getting fatter because we are fat. It’s depressing, isn’t it?” the expert says.

He is quick, however, to point out that his latest study is not meant to suggest that this loop is the main cause why obesity is so widespread among US citizens. Simply, this mechanism automatically enhances people's vulnerability to other factors that directly lead to the development of obesity.

“These findings suggest that people should start worrying about a weight-loss program when they are still lean. But of course, nobody does that,” Williams explains. The researcher himself was recently able to drop as much as 31 pounds (14 kilograms), by cutting the amount of food he ate in half.

“This information may be useful in advocating weight control in the young and lean who are likely unaware of the insidious nature of weight gain,” he goes on to say. Treating obesity would be unimportant if the condition weren't a huge risk factor for diabetes and heart diseases.

In fact, it is estimated that obesity is the second-most effective cause of untimely death among Americans. It is preceded only by smoking in official statistics, although the official numbers may not have the full picture.