See What Causes Obesity:
Set Point
The video above gives a great description of how obesity occurs and puts to rest some of the social myths, misunderstandings and misjudgments about the disease and those folks who are affected by it. It discusses the hormonal basis of obesity, which is the topic of a huge amount of current research.
Many people don't understand that fat isn't just on the body taking up space and making us larger - it's a VERY active organ that releases hormones that cause cancer and infertility and drive our appetite up and make our bodies store more and more fat. The more fat that accumulates on the body, the more the body wants to create more fat. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. That's one of the reasons why obesity just gets worse with time. The gastric bypass helps reduce ghrelin, which is an appetite hormone that makes us feel hungry. That's one of the major reasons why it has worked so well for over 50 years. It helps to correct some of the chemicals that have led to the obesity.
The video also describes the body's "set point" which basically stops people with obesity from losing the full amount of weight that they need to lose by dieting, and also leads to weight "bounce back" (yo-yo dieting). Anyone who has been on a diet, only to regain the weight, knows how devastating this is.
One of the things that the video doesn't elaborate on is the genetic basis of obesity. Studies show that 80% of our body size is genetic. (The other 20% is the "environmental" effects that are discussed in the video.) The genetic basis of obesity is an important part of understanding the disease of obesity and I discuss this in my lectures.
Overall, the video does a nice job of addressing the misinformed opinions and judgments that society assigns to people who suffer from obesity. I hope this video helps to clarify some of the issues surrounding the causes of obesity, and perhaps even generate intelligent discussion with others. It's worth the time to watch it and share it with others.
When we're chatting during one of your appointments, let me know what you think of it!
Dr. Ellner
