Weight Management

Question 1

Describe the prevalence of overweight and obesity among American adults.

Answer 1

70% of US population are overweight/obese

Question 2

How do fat cells develop?

Answer 2

Cause: when “energy in” exceeds “energy out” - excess energy is stored in fat cells of adipose (connective) tissue
- Can increase in number and size as fat cells accumulate triglycerides and expand

Question 3

What is the role of LPL in fat storage?

Answer 3

• removes triglycerides from blood for storage in muscle and adipose tissue
• obese people have more LPL activity which makes fat storage efficient

Question 4

Discuss how genetics contribute to the development of overweight and obesity.

Answer 4

• Prader-Willi syndrome
• most cases don’t stem from single gene (more than 100 sites in the human genome are associated w/ obesity)
• susceptibility to obesity based on relatives (you can’t change the genome, but you can influence the epigenome)

Question 5

What is leptin?

Answer 5

a protein produced by fat cells under direction of the ob gene that decreases appetite and increases energy expenditure.

Question 6

What is ghrelin?

Answer 6

a protein produced by the stomach cells that stimulates appetite and decreases energy expenditure.

Question 7

Discuss how environment contribute to the development of overweight and obesity.

Answer 7

• demand for physical activity
• abundance of food
• social relationships (someone a person knows is obese, the likelihood that person becomes obese increases)

Question 8

Discuss how the regulation of hunger and satiety contribute to the development of overweight and obesity.

Answer 8

• leptin maintains homeostasis by regulating food intake and energy expenditure (body fat increases, leptin increases (supressing appetite)
• ghrelin secreted by stomach to promote positive energy balance and increase body weight (stimulates appetite)

Question 9

What are the health risks associated with fad diets?

Answer 9

• minor headaches
• nausea
• dizziness
• as serious as death

Question 10

What are the health risks associated with weight-loss products?

Answer 10

• serious consequences such as seizures and heart attacks (due to undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients)
• chest pain
• heart palpitations

Question 11

What are the health risks associated with surgical interventions?

Answer 11

• suppresses hunger
• alters metabolism (changing production of hormones)
• excess weight may remain
• (possibly good for diabetes, blood lipids & pressure, reduced risk of heart attacks, strokes, and cancer)

Question 12

Discuss the role of diet, physical activity, and behavior change as keys to managing body weight.

Answer 12

Diet and exercise shift energy balance so that more energy is expended than is taken in. Behavior modification and cognitive restructuring retrain habits to support a healthy eating and activity plan. Such a plan requires time, individualization, and sometimes the assistance of a registered dietitian nutritionist or support group.