8-1

CHAPTER

8 Weight Control

Did You Know That…

Chapter 8 - Weight Control ___________________________________________

 One third of the world’s population is suffering from starvation while about one third of the American population is obese.  Body weight tables do not really indicate ideal weight.  If all Americans were at their optimum weights, there would be twenty five percent fewer cases of coronary heart disease in the USA.  Research has proven that the obese are the most discriminated against groups of people.  Approximately 5% of the individuals who are obese have a glandular disorder or some form of brain damage that has caused them to gain excessive weight.  Even though they consume the same number of calories, people who eat mostly during the day may gain less weight than people who eat mostly at night.  Some people are genetically prone to be overweight.  Electrical stimulation of the hunger satiation center in your brain can cause you to lose your appetite.  An individual’s appetite can be decreased by exercise.  Sixty two percent of American female athletes have eating disorders.  Twenty six percent of American male athletes are overweight.

After reading this chapter you should be able to answer the following questions Are weight tables valid for assessing obesity?

How can I estimate body fat?

How big a problem is obesity in America?

Why is it so important that you do not become overweight?

What makes people fat?

Is it true that fat people simply eat too much?

Do obese individuals eat more than non-obese?

Do some people become fat because of glandular problems?

Does exercise increase appetite?

What is the best diet for optimum health and performance?

Key Terms Obesity Body fat Calorie Lean body weight Hypothalamus Glucose Glycogen Glucose receptors Trigeminal nerve Hyperplasia Hyperphagia Glandular disorder Basal metabolism Daily Caloric Requirement Intestinal bypass operation Gastric bypass surgery Amphetamines

Fasting liquid protein diet

Dr. Atkins’ diet Cellulite Sauna room Sauna wraps Lover’s Diet Spot reduction Discrimative stimuli Premach principle Stimulus control Covert sensitization Self-reinforcement Crash diets Anorexia nervosa Bulimia nervosa Behavior modification Adipostat Setpoint Theory

Chapter 8 - Weight Control ___________________________________________

Introduction _______________________________________________

Here is a news flash! There are almost seven billion people in the world and one third of them are suffering from malnutrition. Yet, in the United States we have slightly less than 300 million people and a quarter of them are overweight. From a global standpoint, it would seem that at least a quarter of Americans are eating their share of food and someone else’s. Now, think about this, we live in the most medically advanced country in the world, yet the success rate of most medical weight loss programs is just about zilch. Of every one hundred individuals who go on a weight loss program, only twelve lose weight and only two of those individuals will maintain their weight loss for more than a year.(Schachter, 1997). In other words, the success rate of helping someone lose weight is about 2%. That’s incredible when you think that the success rate of curing cancer is about 40%. It’s even more amazing when you think that the United States spends almost ten times more money on weight reduction research than it does on cancer research and that’s not counting the billions of dollars that are spent each year on fad diets and gimmicks. If that doesn’t shock you, we don’t know what will.

The question is, “Why aren’t we more successful when it comes to weight control?” Well, first of all, eating behavior is extremely complex. You don’t eat just because the glucose running through your blood is a quart low or because you are experiencing hunger pangs. Many other factors are involved. In fact, it’s no big secret that our biological system interacts with our intra-psychic and social system to mold our behavior. It should be understood then, that in order to gain reasonable control of our eating behavior we should not disregard any of the aforementioned systems. If you want to control your eating behavior, you must pay attention not only to your body chemistry but also to your psychological make up and social environment. Unfortunately, most people who embark on weight control programs only concern themselves with the biological aspect. They eat Weigh Watcher entrees, they count their calories and they exercise with Jane Fonda, but they seldom take into account their environment and the people who are in it. This is a mistake of significant magnitude. Dieting is just the first step in the journey to long term weight loss. If you want to control your weight, your dietary program must take into account not just the calories you consume and how they are utilized, but your motives and mannerisms as well.

How Big a Problem is Obesity in America? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In general, over 60% of the adult American population is so overweight that it constitutes a significant health risk. Additionally, about 10 to 15 % of American children are obese, and this percentage increases to about 30% for the adult population. Roughly 80% of obese children will become obese adults.

So, why is it so important that you do not become overweight?

In part, because of your health.

Obesity clearly poses substantial risk to health. With respect to health risks that the individual can prevent, obesity is considered to be number two after smoking.

∞ WELLNESS FOR LIFE ∞ __________________________________________________________________

What makes people obese?

An individual is fat because of hypertrophy (an excessive amount of fat stored in existing fat cells) or because of hyperplasia which is the creation of new fat cells, or both. In other words, there are two ways to increase adipose tissue: (1) fat cell hypertrophy, which is the filling or enlarging of existing fat cells and (2) fat cell hyperplasia, which increases the number of fat cells.

Hirsch and Knittle analyzed the adipose tissue of obese and nonobese individuals and found that the amount of fat within a fat cell for the obese was 35% greater than the amount of fat in the non-obese individual’s fat cell.

But even more interesting was the finding that the obese individuals had about three times the number of fat cells than the non-obese individuals had. Thus, the number of fat cells is the major difference between obese and non-obese individuals.

Chapter 8 - Weight Control ___________________________________________

Obesity predisposes the individual to medical disorders such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, breathing disorders and greater risk during surgery. It has been scientifically estimated that if everybody were at their optimal weight, there would be twenty five percent fewer cases of coronary heart disease in the USA. There are psychological as well as medical hazards associated with obesity. Heavy people are discriminated against with respect to employment, promotion and social acceptance. Also, obese individuals are more likely to have low self-esteem and experience more anxiety, depression, loneliness and unhappiness than people who are not overweight. The public has strong biases against fat people. They are often stereotyped as being gluttonous, lazy and sloppy. Many people believe that fat people lack willpower and do little besides eat.