The Role of Psychology in the Obesity Epidemic

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Wedding
Keyword(s):  
Obesity ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 99-107
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kiwanuka
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (Sup6) ◽  
pp. S15-S21
Author(s):  
Lea Ladegaard Grønkjær ◽  
Charlotte Wernberg ◽  
Mette Munk Lauridsen

Obesity is a frequent cause of morbidity in the Western world, and its prevalence has doubled since 1980. It is well known that conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes can be serious consequences of obesity. However, less is known about whether the liver may also be affected by the obesity epidemic. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is present in more than a quarter of the adult Western population, and the prevalence is increasing among both adults and children. NAFLD thus represents a common liver disease in the Western world. This is worrisome, because NAFLD can cause liver inflammation and various stages of fibrosis and eventually result in cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which both have a high mortality rate due to related complications. Lifestyle change is the most important aspect in the prevention and treatment of NAFLD, and nurses play an important role in the early detection of NAFLD and the prevention of its possible progression.


2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (12) ◽  
pp. 1029-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjeza Pashaj ◽  
Mengna Xia ◽  
Régis Moreau

Considering the current obesity epidemic in the United States (>100 million adults are overweight or obese), the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia is likely to grow beyond present statistics of ∼30% of the population. Conventional therapies for managing hypertriglyceridemia include lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise, pharmacological approaches, and nutritional supplements. It is critically important to identify new strategies that would be safe and effective in lowering hypertriglyceridemia. α-Lipoic acid (LA) is a naturally occurring enzyme cofactor found in the human body in small quantities. A growing body of evidence indicates a role of LA in ameliorating metabolic dysfunction and lipid anomalies primarily in animals. Limited human studies suggest LA is most efficacious in situations where blood triglycerides are markedly elevated. LA is commercially available as dietary supplements and is clinically shown to be safe and effective against diabetic polyneuropathies. LA is described as a potent biological antioxidant, a detoxification agent, and a diabetes medicine. Given its strong safety record, LA may be a useful nutraceutical, either alone or in combination with other lipid-lowering strategies, when treating severe hypertriglyceridemia and diabetic dyslipidemia. This review examines the current evidence regarding the use of LA as a means of normalizing blood triglycerides. Also presented are the leading mechanisms of action of LA on triglyceride metabolism.


2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonie Rutherford ◽  
Dean Biron ◽  
Helen Skouteris

Some 30 years ago, Australia introduced the Children's Television Standards (CTS) with the twin goals of providing children with high-quality local programs and offering some protection from the perceived harms of television. The most recent review of the CTS occurred in the context of a decade of increasing international concern at rising levels of overweight and obesity, especially in very young children. Overlapping regulatory jurisdictions and co-regulatory frameworks complicate the process of addressing pressing issues of child health, while rapid changes to the media ecology have both extended the amount of programming for children and increased the economic challenges for producers. Our article begins with an overview of the conceptual shifts in priorities articulated in the CTS over time. Using the 2007–09 Review of the CTS as a case study, it then examines the role of research and stakeholder discourses in the CTS review process and critiques the effectiveness of existing regulatory regimes, both in providing access to dedicated children's content and in addressing the problem of escalating obesity levels in the population.


2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Bocarro ◽  
Michael A. Kanters ◽  
Jonathan Casper ◽  
Scott Forrester

The purpose of this article is to examine the role of school-based extracurricular initiatives in facilitating immediate and long-term positive impact on physical activity, healthy behavior, and obesity in children. A critique of the role of various sports-related initiatives that have been developed to address the obesity epidemic currently facing children within the United States is provided, with a specific emphasis on intramural sports as a preferred mechanism to encourage long-term involvement in sport and physically active pursuits. The article presents support for the notion that a physical education curriculum that includes intramurals before, during, and after school can help children learn the skills to enjoy participation in a variety of sports designed to facilitate lifelong active living.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Kelishadi ◽  
Parinaz Poursafa ◽  
Fahimeh Jamshidi

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the experimental and human studies on obesogenic chemicals and their mechanisms of action to provide a comprehensive view on the multifactorial aspects of obesity. The literatures were searched in available databases. The relevant papers were selected in three phases. After quality assessment, two reviewers extracted the data while another checked their extracted data. In this review, we summarized information regarding environmental chemicals that can be associated with obesity. Most evidence comes from experimental and laboratory studies; however a growing number of human studies also support the role of obesogenic chemicals. The current evidence proposes that the systemic responses to exposure to environmental factors could potentially increase the risk of excess weight. The effects of exposure to these chemicals are of crucial importance during developmental phases of life, when preprogramming for an adipogenic outcome may occur. By considering the adverse transgenerational effects of obesogen chemicals on human health, the global obesity epidemic should be considered as a multifactorial complex disorder necessitating the emphasis of public health interventions for environmental protection.


2009 ◽  
Vol 182 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. H. Taylor ◽  
C. M. Curtis ◽  
C. Davis
Keyword(s):  

Reproduction ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 153 (4) ◽  
pp. R133-R149 ◽  
Author(s):  
A E Newell-Fugate

With the increasing knowledge that gender influences normal physiology, much biomedical research has begun to focus on the differential effects of sex on tissue function. Sexual dimorphism in mammals is due to the combined effects of both genetic and hormonal factors. Hormonal factors are mutable particularly in females in whom the estrous cycle dominates the hormonal milieu. Given the severity of the obesity epidemic and the fact that there are differences in the obesity rates in men and women, the role of sex in white adipose tissue function is being recognized as increasingly important. Although sex differences in white adipose tissue distribution are well established, the mechanisms affecting differential function of adipocytes within white adipose tissue in males and females remain largely understudied and poorly understood. One of the largest differences in the endocrine environment in males and females is the concentration of circulating androgens and estrogens. This review examines the effects of androgens and estrogens on lipolysis/lipogenesis, adipocyte differentiation, insulin sensitivity and adipokine production in adipocytes from white adipose tissue with a specific emphasis on the sexual dimorphism of adipocyte function in white adipose tissue during both health and disease.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document