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Do Your Genes Make You Fat? - with Giles Yeo

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The ongoing obesity epidemic is creating an unprecedented challenge for healthcare systems around the world, but what determines who gets fat? Two experts debate the issue on bmj.com today.

Timothy Frayling, professor of human genetics at the University of Exeter, thinks that genetic factors are the main driver for obesity in today's environment. Twin and adoption studies show consistently that variation in body mass index has a strong genetic component, with estimated effects of up to 70%, he says.

Studies also show that people carrying two copies of a gene associated with obesity (the FTO gene) are, on average, heavier than those carrying two copies of the protective version.

A recent study of over 200,000 people showed that the FTO variant had a stronger effect in sedentary people than in those who are physically active, while studies of physical activity in schoolchildren suggest that education may not be as important as we think, he adds.

"Although DNA variations explain only a small percentage of the variation in body mass index, they provide proof of principle that genetic factors influence it over environmental factors," writes Frayling.

In conclusion, he says, genetic factors influence substantially where you are on the body mass index scale in a given population at a given time, and evidence is accumulating that these genetic factors may operate largely through appetite control.

He adds: "If true, plans based on changing our environment, such as banning the sale of supersized sugary drinks, may be more successful than plans to increase awareness through education."

But John Wilding, professor of medicine at the University of Liverpool, believes that changes in our environment are responsible for increasing obesity.

He acknowledges the role of genetics in the regulation of body weight, but argues that the rapid increase in obesity seen over the past 30 years cannot be due to genetic changes.

In contrast, the evidence that the environment has changed is overwhelming, he says.

He points to the recent fall in the cost of energy dense foods, alongside successful promotion by the food industry, and a decline in physical activity due to changes in transport, technology, and the built environment as key drivers for the obesity epidemic.

It will be important to identify genetic causes for rare cases that may be treated, he says. However, changes to the food and physical environment are going to be essential if we are to have a meaningful impact on the obesity epidemic.

He calls for "a radical approach ... backed by strong legislation influencing food production and marketing, and ensuring the built environment and transport systems are designed to encourage active living."

In summary, he says "obesity is a complex disorder with both genetic and environmental causes. The predominant driver is environmental, and changes to the environment will be essential if we are to tackle the current epidemic."

Contacts:
Timothy Frayling, Professor of Human Genetics, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
tim.frayling@pms.ac.uk

John Wilding, Professor of Medicine, Department of Obesity and Endocrinology, University of Liverpool Clinical Sciences Centre, University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, UK
j.p.h.wilding@liv.ac.uk

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What's the main cause of obesity - our genes or the environment?

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The ongoing obesity epidemic is creating an unprecedented challenge for healthcare systems around the world, but what determines who gets fat? Two experts debate the issue on bmj.com today. Timothy Frayling, professor of human genetics at the University of Exeter, thinks that genetic factors are the main driver for obesity in today's environment.

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Scientists Find Link Between Dopamine and Obesity

UPTON, NY -- Dopamine, a brain chemical associated with addiction to cocaine, alcohol, and other drugs, may also play an important role in obesity. According to a study by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, obese people have fewer receptors for dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps produce feelings of satisfaction and pleasure. The findings, which will appear in the February 3, 2001 issue of The Lancet, imply that obese people may eat more to try to stimulate the dopamine "pleasure" circuits in their brains, just as addicts do by taking drugs.

"The results from this study suggest that strategies aimed at improving dopamine function might be beneficial in the treatment of obese individuals," says physician Gene-Jack Wang, the lead scientist on the study.

Brookhaven scientists have done extensive research showing that dopamine plays an important role in drug addiction. Among other things, theyve found that addictive drugs increase the level of dopamine in the brain, and that addicts have fewer dopamine receptors than normal subjects.

"Since eating, like the use of addictive drugs, is a highly reinforcing behavior, inducing feelings of gratification and pleasure, we suspected that obese people might have abnormalities in brain dopamine activity as well," says psychiatrist Nora Volkow, who was also involved in the study.

The lower PET scan images, labeled FDG, show glucose metabolism in the brains of obese and control (comparison) subjects. There are no differences. The upper PET scans show where the radiotracer C-11 raclopride binds to dopamine receptors. These images show that obese subjects have fewer dopamine receptors than control subjects.

To test this hypothesis, the scientists measured the number of dopamine receptors in the brains of ten severely obese individuals and ten normal controls. Their method consisted of giving each volunteer subject an injection containing a radiotracer, a radioactive chemical "tag" designed to bind to dopamine receptors in the brain. Then, the researchers scanned the subjects' brains using a positron emission tomography (PET ) camera. The PET camera picks up the radioactive signal of the tracer and shows where it is bound to dopamine receptors in the brain. The strength of the signal indicates the number of receptors.

Obese individuals, the scientists found, had fewer dopamine receptors than normal-weight subjects. And within the obese group, the number of dopamine receptors decreased as the subjects' body mass index, an indicator of obesity, increased. That is, the more obese the individual, the lower the number of receptors.

"It's possible that obese people have fewer dopamine receptors because their brains are trying to compensate for having chronically high dopamine levels, which are triggered by chronic overeating," says Wang. "However, it's also possible that these people have low numbers of dopamine receptors to begin with, making them more vulnerable to addictive behaviors including compulsive food intake."

The researchers note that, based on this study alone, they cannot conclude whether the brain changes they've detected are a consequence or a cause of obesity. They also acknowledge that the regulation of body weight is extremely complex, involving many physiological mechanisms and neurotransmitters. But they do suggest that addressing the dopamine receptor deficiency or finding other ways to regulate dopamine in obese people might help reduce their tendency to overeat.

Unfortunately, many of the drugs that have been shown to alter dopamine levels are highly addictive. But exercise, which has other obvious benefits in weight control, is another way obese subjects might be able to stimulate their dopamine pleasure and satisfaction circuits, the researchers suggest. "In animal studies conducted elsewhere, exercise has been found to increase dopamine release and to raise the number of dopamine receptors," Volkow says. This suggests that obese people might be able to boost their dopamine response through exercise instead of eating - just one more reason to exercise if you're trying to lose weight.

This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies. Brookhaven also builds and operates major facilities available to university, industrial, and government scientists. The Laboratory is managed by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited liability company founded by Stony Brook University and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.

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Scientists Find Link Between Dopamine and Obesity

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UPTON, NY -- Dopamine, a brain chemical associated with addiction to cocaine, alcohol, and other drugs, may also play an important role in obesity. According to a study by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, obese people have fewer receptors for dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps produce feelings of satisfaction and pleasure.

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There are many reasons why people gain different amounts of weight and why fat becomes stored in different parts of their bodies. Now researchers conducted the largest study of genetic variation to date to home in on genetic reasons. Their findings were published today in companion papers - genome-wide association studies - in the journal Nature.

By analyzing genetic samples from more than 300,000 individuals to study obesity and body fat distribution, researchers in the international Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium completed the largest study of genetic variation to date, and found over 140 locations across the genome that play roles in various obesity traits. By applying novel computational methods to the genetic results, they discovered new biological pathways that are important in controlling body weight and fat distribution.

This work is the first step toward finding individual genes that play key roles in body shape and size. The proteins these genes help produce could become targets for future drug development. Currently, there are no safe long-term treatments to curb the global obesity epidemic.

Waist-to-hip ratios key for health risk
One paper focused on where fat is stored in the body, one determinant of health risk. One of the observable traits linked to the genetic locations was waist-to-hip circumference ratio. People with waistlines larger than hip circumferences have more belly fat surrounding their abdominal organs. This makes them more likely to have metabolic conditions, such as type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular problems than do people with body fat concentrated more in the hip area or distributed equally throughout the body.

"We need to know these genetic locations because different fat depots pose different health risks," says Karen Mohlke, Ph.D., professor of genetics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and a senior author of the paper that examined waist-to-hip ratio of fat distribution. "If we can figure out which genes influence where fat is deposited, it could help us understand the biology that leads to various health conditions, such as insulin resistance/diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease."

The genetic locations associated with fat depots are associated with genes previously identified as being important for the creation of adipose tissue. Researchers also determined that 19 of the fat distribution genetic locations had a stronger effect in women; one had a stronger effect in men.

"By finding genetic variants that play an important role in influencing body fat distribution and the ways in which fat distribution differs between men and women, we hope to zoom in on the crucial underlying biological processes," said Cecilia Lindgren, Ph.D., senior author and scholar in residence at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and a professor at the University of Oxford.

BMI linked to genetic factors and new biology
In the Nature paper focusing on body mass index (BMI), researchers identified 97 genome-wide regions that influence obesity, a finding that tripled the number of previously known regions.

"Our work clearly shows that predisposition to obesity and high BMI is not due to a single gene or genetic change," says senior author Elizabeth Speliotes, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of computational medicine and bioinformatics at the University of Michigan Health System. "The large number of genes makes it less likely that one weight loss solution will work for everyone and opens the door to possible ways we could use genetic clues to help defeat obesity."

Further, the researchers found that the genetic locations associated with BMI are likely involved in neural processes, specifically brain signaling, that control appetite and energy use.

"Using novel computational methods, we have pointed to new biological pathways that act in the brain to regulate overall obesity, and also to a different set of pathways related to fat distribution that regulate key metabolic processes," says senior author Joel Hirschhorn, M.D., Ph.D., Concordia professor of pediatrics and professor of genetics at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and co-director of the Broad Institute Metabolism Program.

Once better understood, these mechanisms may not only help to explain why not all of those who are obese develop related metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and high cholesterol, but could lead to possible ways to treat obesity or prevent metabolic diseases in those who are already obese.

The researchers note that while some genes involved in obesity could already have been implicated in other aspects of human health, others could be part of novel pathways that are not yet understood. A better understanding of their functions related to body fat and obesity could provide a better picture of the roles these genes play in a variety of diseases.

"Finding the genes that increase risk of obesity is only the end of the beginning," says senior author Ruth Loos, Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital, and director of the Genetics of Obesity and related Metabolic Traits Program in the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine.

"A major challenge now is learning about the function of these genetic variations and how they indeed increase people's susceptibility to gain weight," Loos says. "This will be the critical next step, which will require input from scientists with a range of expertise, before our new findings can be used towards targeted obesity prevention or treatment strategies."
Financial support for the international collaboration was provided in part by the National Institutes of Health and Wellcome Trust UK. Key findings

The largest genetic association study ever, focusing on two different measures of obesity - overall fat and belly fat, has tripled the number of known genetic locations that play a role in obesity.

While diet and exercise are important, the study sharpens the role genetics play in people's tendency to gain weight and where the fat is stored.

No single gene or genetic variant leads to obesity.

The new genetic findings open the door to new biological studies that could lead to better treatments for obesity and its complications.

About the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was launched in 2004 to empower this generation of creative scientists to transform medicine. The Broad Institute seeks to describe all the molecular components of life and their connections; discover the molecular basis of major human diseases; develop effective new approaches to diagnostics and therapeutics; and disseminate discoveries, tools, methods, and data openly to the entire scientific community.

Founded by MIT, Harvard, and its affiliated hospitals, and the visionary Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe L. Broad, the Broad Institute includes faculty, professional staff, and students from throughout the MIT and Harvard biomedical research communities and beyond, with collaborations spanning over a hundred private and public institutions in more than 40 countries worldwide. For further information about the Broad Institute, go to http://www.broadinstitute.org.

Papers cited:
Locke, A.E. et al. Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology. Nature. Online: February 11, 2015. DOI:10.1038/nature14177

Shungin, D. et al. New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution. Nature. Online: February 11, 2015. DOI:10.1038/nature14132

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Largest ever genome-wide study strengthens genetic link to obesity

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There are many reasons why people gain different amounts of weight and why fat becomes stored in different parts of their bodies. Now researchers conducted the largest study of genetic variation to date to home in on genetic reasons.

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Who Are You Calling Fat? - Series 1: Episode 1

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People living with obesity move in together to explore what it means to be larger bodied.

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How do you get people to take obesity seriously? All those warnings from the NHS - it's a society wide issue, it's costing us billions, it's shortening lives. But sometimes none of that connects. Sometimes you just have to get to the heart of the matter. In fact hold the heart in your hand - literally. Here's what the problem looks like, from the inside... in a stomach-churning post-mortem on an obese corpse. Warning: Contains graphic medical scenes from the outset.

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How do you get people to take obesity seriously? All those warnings from the NHS - it's a society wide issue, it's costing us billions, it's shortening lives. But sometimes none of that connects. Sometimes you just have to get to the heart of the matter.

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A big fat crisis -- stopping the real causes of the obesity epidemic | Deborah Cohen | TEDxUCRSalon

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Spoken word poem - eating and body image

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Spoken word poem - eating and body image

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A powerful spoken word poem performed by Priscila Hernandez for Mental Health Awareness Week 2019. Priscila is a 24-year-old spoken word artist from South East London. Her poetry entails a powerful expression of her personal experiences, as well as those of others. She aims to create social impact and empower others through her words.

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Bulik: The Complex Dance of Genes and Environment in Eating Disorders

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Genetic link between obesity and depression uncovered, say scientists

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Having genetic variants linked to high BMI can lead to mental health issues, study finds

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There may be a third pillar of physical fitness beyond diet and exercise - The Independent

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Most of us know that to be healthy, we need to eat well and exercise.

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Sandra Aamodt: Why dieting doesn't usually work

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In the US, 80% of girls have been on a diet by the time they're 10 years old. In this honest, raw talk, neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt uses her personal story to frame an important lesson about how our brains manage our bodies, as she explores the science behind why dieting not only doesn't work, but is likely to do more harm than good.

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Feast or Famine: The Psychology of Eating - Professor Glenn D. Wilson

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Is body weight due to a constitutional "set point" or to eating style? Do diets work or are they inevitably doomed to fail? Is self-monitoring (e.g., calorie counting, food diaries and regular weighing) useful or counterproductive. What accounts for eating disorders such as anorexia, binging and bulimia? How can they be managed?

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The Skinny on Obesity (Ep. 3): Hunger and Hormones- A Vicious Cycle

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(Visit: http://www.uctv.tv/skinny-on-obesity/) Sugar impacts the brain just as much as the waistline. In this episode, Dr. Robert Lustig explains the biochemical shifts that sugar causes, making us store fat and feel hungry at the same time.

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Dove - Confident Me - Five Sessions - Videos - YouTube

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Welcome to the Dove Self-Esteem Project Welcome to the Dove Self-Esteem Project No young person should be held back from reaching their full potential, but anxieties over appearance can knock young people's self-confidence - affecting their health, friendships and even performance at school.

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Socio-Cultural Explanation of Anorexia Nervosa Cases of Anorexia Nervosa has significantly increased between the 1970s and 1990s. Many studies have tried to explain this increase in what is a particularly female disorder.

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Influencers, social media and body image

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Help young people navigate the world of selfies, social media and self-esteem. Download our free resources and build self-esteem in young people today.

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Super Slim Me follows writer and TV presenter Dawn Porter on a journey to discover what it takes to become a super slim Hollywood size zero. At a curvy UK size 12 Dawn is limited to a mere 500 calories per day in order to get down to her desired size.

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A powerpoint I did about 3 years ago for a school project on eating disorders and the media. It discusses anorexia, bulimia and muscle dysmorphia I hope you learn something from this

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Psychological explanations of Anorexia (No AO2)

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A2 psychology revision (FULL CREDIT TO VIDEOSCRIBE)

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This video contains facts from dosomething.org. The song featured is Disturbia by Rihanna. In no way do I own the rights to the song, images, or facts. For more information, go to dosomething.org. It's time for a change.

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Dying to be thin | Su-Mei Thompson | TEDxWanChaiWomen

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Increasingly the media has pressurized women to fit what it defines as social norms. Su-Mei Thompson talks about how the obsession of image has begun to affect younger and younger women, who face increasing societal pressures as they grow up.

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The Skinny on Obesity (Ep. 3): Hunger and Hormones- A Vicious Cycle

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(Visit: http://www.uctv.tv/skinny-on-obesity/) Sugar impacts the brain just as much as the waistline. In this episode, Dr. Robert Lustig explains the biochemical shifts that sugar causes, making us store fat and feel hungry at the same time.

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How the brain motivates eating behaviour

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How the brain motivates eating behaviour

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Uploaded by Coolpsychology on 2013-11-15.

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Defiant Kid Refuses To Eat Dinner | Supernanny

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The website promises may seem convincing to some. "Feast on favourite foods and lose up to 20 pounds a week. With Fat Foe pads you can kiss your dieting days goodbye," goes one, while another product, Glucobate, claims to be "the all-natural diabetes breakthrough", boasting such ingredients as "Cucumis melo - the elixir of muskmelon".

But Fat Foe and Glucobate are not your average internet scams preying on consumers trawling the internet for answers to their health and dietary concerns - 200,000 of whom fork out an estimated £20m a year on such promises. In fact, the source of both products is the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the regulator trying to stop the practices.

Initially only the website address, www.consumerdirect.gov.uk, gives eagle-eyed readers a hint of the origins, but conned web surfers clicking on links to learn more about the "money back guarantee" or to "order now" will get a rude awakening about the fakery.

The spoof scams follow similar successful campaigns by authorities in the US and Canada, which use internet banner advertising and sponsored links on search engine sites to drive consumers to the fake websites, preventing the scammers from doing business.

OFT research suggests most victims of health scams are women and aged between 35 and 64, yet fewer than 1% report the fraud to authorities.

Mike Haley, the OFT's director of consumer protection, said scammers target "vulnerable people who are desperate to lose weight or find a cure. These products are often worthless and can even be dangerous with untested and potentially harmful ingredients. Always seek advice from your doctor or pharmacist before you part with your money."

Zoe Harrison, care advisor with Diabetes UK which is backing the ant-scammer campaign, said: "In the vast majority of cases there is no evidence to suggest the 'medication' is safe for people with diabetes to take, let alone help manage their condition."

Alice Tuff, development officer at Sense About Science, a charity fighting misrepresentation of scientific evidence, said: " The internet is cluttered with adverts and chat-room conversations testifying to 'incredible' benefits from untested, sometimes bogus, cures and treatments.

"The emotional and financial costs of these for the people who get drawn in can be huge and it is vital that we keep promoting public vigilance in tackling this serious problem."

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Spoof weight-loss websites beat internet scammers at own game

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The website promises may seem convincing to some. "Feast on favourite foods and lose up to 20 pounds a week. With Fat Foe pads you can kiss your dieting days goodbye," goes one, while another product, Glucobate, claims to be "the all-natural diabetes breakthrough", boasting such ingredients as "Cucumis melo - the elixir of muskmelon".

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Explanations for the success and failure of dieting

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Explanations for the success and failure of dieting

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Explanations for the Success and Failure of Dieting Restraint Theory Suggest that when you restrict yourself from food you are more likely to want to eat and therefore result in binge eating. Role of Denial The effort to suppress or deny a thought leads to thinking about it more Detail - successful dieting Redden - the key to successful dieting if the attention we pay to what is being eaten (people loose enjoyment in an experience the more they do it) research has shown that 89% of the female population within the UK has restrained their food intake at some point in their lives. 27 obese women
Assigned them to one of the following diet plans Wardle and Beales diet group - focusing on restraining eating patterns

Exercise group

Non-treatment group Two assessments were conducted over the 7 week period
Assessments on:
Appetite
Food intake The assessments showed that the women in the diet group ate more than both the other two groups The conclusion of this research is that overeating by those who diet is caused by the dieting.

This supports Herman and Macks theory that restraining to eat actually increases the amount one eats. Herman and Mack developed the restraint theory

It explains both the cause and consequences associated with cognitive restriction of food intake. This has implications for obesity treatment as the treatment for obesity commonly recommends restraint on food intake as the solution to loose weight. However, the restraint theory suggests that restraint leads to overeating therefore leaving obese individuals feeling like they have failed to control their weight. Consequently, if a restraint on food intake is recommended then over eating maybe the result in those with obesity (Ogden). The theory cannot explain the behaviour of restricting anorexics, as if trying not to eat results in overeating then those with anorexia would not be able to starve themselves (Ogden). Ruderman and Wilson Preloading/taste test procedure, measuring food intake in a controlled environment (lab setting)
Examined the effect of preloading on eating behaviour Participants were given either a high calorie preload snack or a low calorie preload snack Then they took part in the taste test whereby they had to rate a variety of foods on different qualities (saltiness, sweetness, preference - crisps, ice cream, biscuits) The amount of food they ate was recorded, they were not aware of this. The restrained eaters consumed significantly more food than unrestrained eaters, regardless of the size of the preload.

Disinhibition of restraint has been identified by the restraint theory, as eating more to be a direct result of restraints being loosened in response to preloading, intoxication or emotional distress. Evaluation of Restraint theory Supports the nurture theory - environmental triggers result in diet, eg. peers Supports the biological approach as you're trying to eat less by restringing you're food intake therefore, attempting to override the biological approach which results in other disorders eg. obesity Supports the behavioural approach - could be argued that restriction from food in a country where it's always accessible in large quantities is very hard and bound to result in failure of diets Sample Bias - The studies only use obese women in their sample and therefore, we cannot generalise the research findings to the general population eg. men, average weight people
Lacks populational validity Doesn't take into account the cognitive thought processes involved in dieting and why they fail
Eg. restriction may lead to people feeling like they are denying themselves and want the food even more MUST NOT THINK ABOUT FOOD Wegner et al (1987)
asked 50% of 505 participants to think about a bear and 50% not to think about a bear and if they did they were to ring a bell Those who were told not to think about the bear rang the bell more than those who were told to think about a bear Wegner refered to this as the 'throy of ironic processes of mental control' - denial leads to increased thinking THINK ABOUT A BEAR DON'T THINK ABOUT A BEAR Seotens et al (2006) restrained and unrestrained eaters tend to overeat and then suppress thoughts about food causing them to think more about food Evaluation of The Role of Denial Reductionist - suggests that dieters fail as a result of thought processing and how we try to stop oursevles thinking about food by keeping ourselves busy. Does not take into account environmental triggers that make it very hard for us to successfully diet eg. christmas Doesn't account for individual differences - people with anorexia are able to successfully diet themselves yet they continue to loose weight and not fail their diet schedule - role of denial may not be applicable to all those who diet BOUGHT UP TO HAVE LARGE ROAST DINNERS ON A SUNDAY gave each participant 22 jelly beans (135p) each dispensed one at a time with info on a computer regarding the bean Group one: saw general information about the bean Group two: saw detailed information about the bean Group one for bored and ate the bean faster due to the general information Group two enjoyed the task more due to seeing the info Bean no.7 Bean no.7
Cherry
Pink Getting bored with a diet could cause one to eat more Evaluation of Detail - Successful dieting

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Explanations for the Success and Failure of Dieting

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Explanations for the Success and Failure of Dieting Restraint Theory Suggest that when you restrict yourself from food you are more likely to want to eat and therefore result in binge eating.

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Who wants a slimmer body? The relationship between body weight status, education level and body shape dissatisfaction among young adults in Hong Kong. - PubMed - NCBI

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Success and Failure of Dieting (With A02)

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A2 Psychology revision (FULL CREDIT TO VIDEOSCRIBE)

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Diets and dieting | Life and style | The Guardian

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The slimming powder has been endorsed by reality TV stars - but if you already struggle to stop eating when full, it might be worth saving your cash

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The world is affected by an obesity epidemic, but why is it that not everyone is succumbing? Medical science has been obsessed with this subject and is...

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Feast or Famine: The Psychology of Eating - Professor Glenn D. Wilson

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Is body weight due to a constitutional "set point" or to eating style? Do diets work or are they inevitably doomed to fail? Is self-monitoring (e.g., calorie counting, food diaries and regular weighing) useful or counterproductive. What accounts for eating disorders such as anorexia, binging and bulimia? How can they be managed?

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UK retailers say government must be tougher on obesity

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Dieting can be very bad for your health. Celebrities promote themselves and help make the diet companies millions by endorsing sometimes ludicrous regimes in magazines. The articles are massively read by people who yearn to lose weight. Yet very few diets have any evidence of effectiveness after the first 12 weeks at best, when the pounds always fall off because you are eating less. But if this is quick-fix rather than long-term sustainable change in your eating and lifestyle habits, it all goes back on again - and then some, as I detailed in my book.

So it's great to hear a collection of young scientists from the organisation Sense About Science trying to debunk fad diets. They have done it by making some up - it's not hard - and intermingling the fake with some of the bestsellers. Can you tell the difference? It's not as easy as you might imagine. Take their quiz here.

These are some of the clues that may indicate questionable diet marketing, they say:

Immune boosting. You can't and you don't need to.

Detox. It's a marketing myth - our body does it without pricey potions and detox diets.

Superfood. There is no such thing, just foods that are high in some nutrients.

Cleansing. You shouldn't be trying to cleanse anything other than your skin or hair.

This is the advice of Leah Fitzsimmons, a biochemist and member of the Voice of Young Scientists:

Never mind about being tempted by that slice of cake - don't be tempted by fad diets. When you see extraordinary claims, always ask for evidence.

And this is the comment of Catherine Collins from the British Dietetic Association:

Let's be realistic about fad diets - they don't work. They don't accelerate weight loss because they're not sustainable long term. If you plan to lose weight you need to recognise you're committing to a marathon, not a sprint. They don't improve your health, nor act as a talisman to protect you against cancer, Alzheimer's, or whatever health risk is the media focus du jour. Fad diet promoters never let sound nutrition get in the way of persuasive marketing to the public, but rely on the publics' lack of knowledge on diet and health to promote their dietary myths and generate financial profit.

Quite. Real, lasting weightloss - which importantly brings about better health as well as a slimmer shape - means changing not only what you eat, but how and why you eat and what you do and how you feel about your life. Possible - oh yes. Quick and simple - no.

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A group of young scientists is warning that diets are sometimes not worth the paper they are printed on - and offering tips and a test to help people who want to lose weight avoid the traps baited by the weightloss industry

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Tipping the Scales- A Documentary on Childhood Obesity

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Filmed, edited, and produced by: Lisa Blanco @lisacharisseb , Samantha Lloyd , Arielle Horsch, Angela Ortega, students from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. 2011 Award-winning documentary on the epidemic of childhood obesity. It conveys different perspectives from educators and leaders in the state of Arizona.

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Obesity Statistics - Obesity Statistics Review

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http://bit.ly/1aZdYLu Obesity Statistics Obesity is a comparison of various people of the world and should be immediately carried out repairs to the improvement of health in the future. Obesity Statistics is the study population levels of obesity from various countries.

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Biological Factors Related to the Development of Obesity

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Biological Factors Relating to the Development of Obesity Evolution Early humans were hunter-gatherers - their bodies adapted to nomadic life Varied diets Body could store fat easily - this was advantageous Demand for energy was higher This is now a disadvantage Sedentary lifestyle and high-energy foods This makes sense what with the sudden increase in obesity However it is impossible to test evolutionary theories Genetic Predisposition Stunkard et al.

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Obesity rates continue to rise

Most of the UK news media is covering the latest official NHS statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet in England.

The data, compiled by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, relates to information gathered during 2011. The statistics paint an alarming picture that reveals that the obesity epidemic in England shows no signs of abating anytime soon.

What were the key findings?

Obesity

The proportion of adults with a healthy body mass index (BMI) - defined as being between 18.5 and 25 - fell to just 34% in men and 39% in women during 2011.

There has been a marked increase in obesity rates over the past eight years - in 1993 13% of men and 16% of women were obese - in 2011 this rose to 24% for men and 26% for women.

For children attending reception class (aged 4-5 years) during 2011-12, 9.5% were obese.

Health outcomes

In 2011, 53% of obese men and 44% of obese women were found to have high blood pressure.

During 2011-12 there were 11,736 hospital admissions due to obesity - this over 11 times higher than during 2001-02.

Is there any good news?

Well, as bleak as the picture may appear, there are some cautious reasons for optimism that include:

24% of men and 29% of women are regularly consuming their recommended daily five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables - for children, this figure is 16% for boys and 20% for girls.

36% of adults are participating in moderate intensity activity at least once a week.

In 2011, there was a drop of 900,000 prescription items for the treatment for obesity compared to the previous years.

What is driving the epidemic?

The underlying causes of the UK's (and most of the developed world's) obesity epidemic are not addressed in the report, but there is a large consensus of expert opinion that the following factors are responsible:

There is easy access to cheap, high-energy food that is often aggressively marketed to people.

People's lifestyles and jobs are much less active than in the past and many leisure activities such as watching television, playing video games and browsing the internet are usually done sitting down.

People drive or use public transport and walk a lot less than they used to.

Read more about the causes of obesity.

How is obesity treated?

There are four main goals in the treatment of obesity:

To prevent further weight gain.

To gradually lose weight through a combination of a calorie-controlled diet and regular exercise.

To avoid regaining any lost weight.

To improve your general state of health and reduce your risk of obesity-related complications.

Read more about the treatment of obesity.

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Latest obesity stats for England are alarming

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Obesity rates continue to rise Most of the UK news media is covering the latest official NHS statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet in England. The data, compiled by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, relates to information gathered during 2011.

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What Is Obesity - What Is Obesity Review

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http://bit.ly/1aZdYLu What Is Obesity is a public facts about obesity in the world, What Is Obesity a form of information about obesity that lead is harmful to health. What Is obesity Obesity is the definition of the world so that people can know what it is obesity.

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Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) - Psychotherapy, Research, Training

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Overcoming Perfectionism: This Information Package is designed to help you understand what is helpful and unhelpful about being a perfectionist.The goal is not for you to give up your high standards altogether but to learn to pursue healthy high standards rather than unrelenting high standards that negatively impact your life.

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BBC - Science & Nature - Human Body and Mind - Mind - Perfectionism

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Influencers, social media and body image

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Help young people navigate the world of selfies, social media and self-esteem. Download our free resources and build self-esteem in young people today.

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Media Smart is a non profit media literacy programme for school children aged 6 to 11 years old, focused on advertising.

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I was neither female nor starving myself. So how was I anorexic?

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A powerpoint I did about 3 years ago for a school project on eating disorders and the media. It discusses anorexia, bulimia and muscle dysmorphia I hope you learn something from this

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Super Slim Me follows writer and TV presenter Dawn Porter on a journey to discover what it takes to become a super slim Hollywood size zero. At a curvy UK size 12 Dawn is limited to a mere 500 calories per day in order to get down to her desired size.

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The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling on the media to stop promoting unhealthy body images and "glamorising" eating disorders.
It says the media contributes to eating disorders, particularly among young people.

It wants to see people with more diverse body shapes represented by advertisers and the press, and calls for a new ethical editorial code.

But a magazine editor says teen magazines already act responsibly.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists criticises the media for using underweight models and airbrushing pictures to make models appear physically perfect.

It calls for an end to the use of underweight models.

It also proposes a kite mark scheme to signpost when an image has been digitally manipulated to make models appear more perfect.
Research evidence
Dr Adrienne Key from the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Eating Disorders Section said: "There is a growing body of research that shows the media plays a part in the development of eating disorder symptoms - particularly in adolescents and young people.

"Although biological and genetic factors play an important role in the development of these disorders, psychological and social factors are also significant.

"That's why we are calling on the media to take greater responsibility for the messages it sends out."

The psychiatrists are concerned that many magazine articles are unbalanced, giving advice about dieting without providing information about the dangers of extreme diets.

They also argue that articles which criticise the bodies of celebrities can make readers more dissatisfied with their own bodies.
Ethical code
The RCP wants the next government to set up a forum which includes politicians, advertising agencies, magazine editors, relevant regulatory bodies and eating disorder experts to draw up a new ethical editorial code.

Liberal Democrat MP, Jo Swinson, is putting down a parliamentary motion this week supporting the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

She said it was now "crystal clear that media does play a critical role in the development and maintenance of negative body image and eating disorders."

The eating disorder charity, beat, has launched a manifesto urging politicians to do more to help people with eating disorders.

Beat's chief executive, Susan Ringwood, said: "The media is a powerful influence and we know how vulnerable some people at risk of eating disorders can be to its visual images in particular.

"We know there is more that can be done to make that influence a positive one, and adopting the recommendations of the College's statement would be an important step."
'Powerful influence'
Dr Ian Campbell, a Nottingham GP and spokesman for the charity Weight Concern, said the way the media glamorised thinness made it harder for obese patients to lose weight.

"If you are heavy, reading magazines can diminish self-esteem.

"This can make it more likely that people may develop eating disorders."

But Annabel Brog, editor of the best selling teen magazine Sugar, said her magazine already acts responsibly and the statement from the Royal College of Psychiatrists was "incredibly frustrating" and "disheartening".

"We try so hard to be a positive influence on weight and body image.

"I would challenge anyone to look at Sugar over the last three years and try to find examples which could contribute to eating disorders."

Whilst welcoming the thrust of the recommendations, she thinks it would be impractical to put kite marks on pictures which had been digitally manipulated.

"It would be difficult to know where to draw the line.

"Often digital manipulation is used to brighten up the colours rather than to make the model look prettier or more perfect," she said.

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Media is fuelling eating disorders, say psychiatrists

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The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling on the media to stop promoting unhealthy body images and "glamorising" eating disorders. It says the media contributes to eating disorders, particularly among young people. It wants to see people with more diverse body shapes represented by advertisers and the press, and calls for a new ethical editorial code.

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Psychological explanations of Anorexia (No AO2)

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A2 psychology revision (FULL CREDIT TO VIDEOSCRIBE)

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Eating Disorders from the Inside Out: Laura Hill at TEDxColumbus.

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Anorexia former male model who weighs less than 100 pounds. Known as "Manorexia".

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Simon who featured in this documentary has a video blog on anorexia, check it out:- http://www.youtube.com/user/smetin92 It isn't just girls who are affected by eating disorders - boys can develop them too, but their symptoms are often overlooked.

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Male anorexia: 'Starvation was way to hate myself' - BBC News

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BBC Radio 5 live's Shelagh Fogarty has learnt that men are increasingly suffering from eating disorders.

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Eating disorders are serious emotional and physical illnesses in which sufferers use food and sometimes exercise in different ways to manage difficult circumstances in their lives and the feelings that come with them. It is important to remember that food and weight is not necessarily the problem, it is the embedded in the underlying factors which can be low self esteem and lack of self worth.

Sufferers will use their eating disorder as a coping mechanism to be able to get from one day to the next and/or through times when they feel unable to cope.

The commonality between anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorders, compulsive eating/exercising and 'bigorexia' is that people use them as strategies for dealing with difficult life situations and/or emotions which they feel are beyond their control.

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Eating disorders are serious emotional and physical illnesses in which sufferers use food and sometimes exercise in different ways to manage difficult circumstances in their lives and the feelings that come with them. It is important to remember that food and weight is not necessarily the problem, it is the embedded in the underlying factors which can be low self esteem and lack of self worth.

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Biological Explanations Anorexia Castro (2006) found that adolescent girls with AN had higher levels of homovanillic acid (waste product of dopamine) Commentary of neural explanations (dopamine) Wider Issues Biological determinism Gender bias Wider issues Serotonin Dopamine - over activity in dopamine receptors Bailer (2007) compared serotonin activity in women recovering

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The NEDA Educator Toolkit is a resource for educators, staff who work in a school setting or those who work with youth outside of school. If you want to understand more about eating disorders, if you'd like to know how to support students and young people who may be affected, this information will help you.

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Biological Explanations of Eating Behaviour

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Neural mechanisms involved in controlling eating and satiation Biological Explanations of Eating Behaviour Evaluation of Biological Approach Recutionist - ignores other approaches could be down to other factors - upbringing, cognitive thought processes, social influences overlooks individual differences and personal preference Humans are dependent on food as a result of

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This video briefly covers the 3 main hormones which are responsible for regulating our appetite: ghrelin, peptide YY (or PYY) and leptin. It explains where they are produced, what disrupts their production and how they work. If you found this video useful/ interesting, you might enjoy reading the below article about hunger hormones, which covers them all in greater detail.

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Biological explanations to eating behaviour Role of neural mechanisms Evolutionary explanations

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Neural Mechanism in Eating and Satiation
The Lateral Hypothalamus (LH)
The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that functions to regulate body temperate, metabolic processes, such as eating, and other autonomic activities.
Researchers in 1950's found that damage to the lateral hypothalamus in rats caused a condition called Aphagia - absence of eating. If the researchers stimulated the lateral hypothalamus, the rats ate more. The researchers suggested this as the on/off switch for eating behaviour.
Ventromedial Hypothalamus (VH)
Research has found that damage to the VH causes rats to over eat, called hyperphagia.
They found that if you stimulate the hypophagia, the rats will stop eating.
The VH is a signal to the rest of your body to stop eating.
They also found that VH damages other areas of the hypothalamus, called the paraventricular nucleus, and this causes hyperphagia also.
Paraventricular detects certain foods, giving you cravings.
AO2 - VH
The main study into this theory has ethical limitations and a lack of generalisability because it was an animal study.
However, researchers found that damage to the VH resulted in hyperphagia and obesity in a number of different species, including humans.
And thus the VH has been designated as the satiety centre.
AO2 - VH
Gold found that lesions restricted to the VH alone did not results in hyperphagia, and only produced over eating when included other areas such as the PVN. However, these results have not been able to be replicates thus far.
AO2 - Lateral hypothalamus
Damage to the LH caused deficits in other aspects of behaviour, rather than just hunger.
Other research has found the eating behaviour is controlled by neural circuits that run through out the brain, not just the hypothalamus, therefor it is not the brains eating centre.
Individual differences must be taken into account, as well as cultural differences in eating behaviours.
Real life application - AO2
A hormone called NPY found in the lateral hypothalamus has an important role in eating behaviour - high levels of the hormone shows a positive correlation to weight gain. The hormone tells the body that you're constantly hungry.
However, in Canada they found that NPY is also produced by abnormal fat, it is a viscious cycle.
Because the study took place in Canada, the results cannot be generalised.
AO2 limitations - Homeostasis
For a hunger mechanism to be adaptive, it must both anticipate and prevent energy defects not just react to them.
Evolutionary explanations - evolutionary theorists suggests that the primary stimulus for hunger and eating is foods positive-incentive value (a craving for a particular taste). This is opposed to the suggestion that the bodies decline in energy resources is the major cause of hunger.
AO2 - leptin and obesity
some mice receive 2 copies of the gene for ob, these ob/ ob mice have a tendency to over eat.
it's been discovered that these mice have defective gene for the protein leptin. this protein usually produced by fat tissue and secreted into the blood stream, where it travels to the brains and other tissues where it causes fat loss and decreased appetite.
Injecting ob/ob mice with leptin causes dramatic weight loss.
Leptin treatment for human patients is still in its early stages.
Homeotasis
It involves mechanisms that both detect the state of the internal environment and correct the situation to restore that environment to its optimum state.
There's time lag between mechanisms operating and the registering of effect.
It is the maintaining and regulating on vital bodily functions, for example temperature.
The hunger cycle - people with abnormal eating behavior usually have an abnormal cycle.
Neural control of cognitive factor
The amygdala - Its role is thought to be primary in the selection of foods on the basis of previous experience. It has been found that surgically removing the amygdala would cause rats to consume both familiar and unfamiliar foods.
The inferial frontal cortex - It receives messages from the olfactory (smell) because odours influence the taste of foods. Damage to the IFC is thought to decrease eating, due to the diminished sensory responces to food odour and probably to taste.
AO2 - Neural control of cognitive factors
Kluver-Bucy syndrome - patients with this syndrome have a damaged amygdala and IPC and show increased appetite, indiscriminate eating and attempts to eat non food items. This suggests that food cues don't represent their reward values to the individual.
AO2 - Neural control of cognitive factors
Research support - they exposed healthy adult participants to smell stimuli whilst measuring blood flow to the amygdala by PET scan.
Exposure to unpleasant odours produced significant blood flow increases amygdala, visa versa.
Study uses adults - cannot generalise to youth.
Cannot generalise to other foods, just the foods used.
Must take into account individual differences (smells of food subjective).

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Neural Mechanism in Eating and Satiation

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Neural Mechanism in Eating and Satiation The Lateral Hypothalamus (LH)The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that functions to regulate body temperate, metabolic processes, such as eating, and other autonomic activities.Researchers in 1950's found that damage to the lateral hypothalamus in rats caused a condition called Aphagia - absence of eating.

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Human eating behaviour in an evolutionary ecological context | Proceedings of the Nutrition Society | Cambridge Core

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Human eating behaviour in an evolutionary ecological context - Volume 61 Issue 4 - Stanley J. Ulijaszek

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Eating insects is not for the faint-hearted, or is it? Chef Stefan Gates argues that most of us eat insects already, and for those that do not, it is easy to add them to an everyday diet.

I've got good bug news and bad bug news... although you may not agree with me about which is which.

First, for anyone who finds entomophagy (insect-eating) weird or unpleasant, you should know that 99.9% of people regularly eat insects in some form already, which I will reveal more of later.

In fact, to my total and utter delight it is almost impossible to avoid eating them.

Second, for anyone who (like me) is deeply concerned about how we are going to feed a global population of nine billion in 2050, I offer you an absurdly, unfathomably large statistic: there are estimated to be 10 quintillion insects - or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 - alive on earth at any given time.

I think we should all consider changing our diets to include plentiful, protein-rich, eco-friendly, low methane-producing bugs.

I know it's a huge leap to change our prejudices and perceptions of disgust and natural revulsion, but in global terms it is the non-bug eaters who are the weird ones: an estimated 80% of the world happily eats insects by choice, and many of them are delicious, nutritious and cheap.

I know this because I've tasted them. Raw red ant eggs, fried grasshoppers, crickets, silkworm pupae, agave larvae, Mopani worms, fat-bottomed ants: all delicious.

Bamboo worms taste just like Jerusalem artichokes. I'm not blinded by enthusiasm, mind - giant water bugs are like eating credit cards and palm weevils are simply too "chatty" - their faces look like they are smiling.

Nutritionally they are mostly very high in protein (mealworms are around 50%, red-legged locusts are 75% and leafcutter ants around 58%) which is excellent news, if irrelevant to how most people really choose their food.

But here is the bad news: collecting enough insects from the garden to make a decent meal in the UK is, like eating celery, calorie-neutral.

Our climate produces relatively few bugs compared to warmer countries so you're likely to burn as many calories hunting and metabolising them as you get in return from eating them.

Which is why three of my recipes are for adventurous gourmets who are willing to put a bit of extra effort and foraging in for an eye-opening lunch.

But there is a solution: insect farming.

It's only a matter of time before cheap, plentiful farmed bugs are available in the UK - cricket farms are big business in Thailand and the Dutch are already farming organic mealworms just across the Channel.

They're pretty ecologically-sound, too, fed on waste wheat chaff so they don't take grain out of the food chain (unlike most beef, chicken and pork).

Stefan's recipes:
Crispy crickets:

Take a large handful of crickets and deep-fry in sunflower oil until crispy.

Toss in a little freshly-picked thyme, season with salt crystals and serve warm as a snack.
Woodlouse cocktail:

Take a handful of woodlice, rinse and blanch in boiling water, then use as if prawns in a prawn cocktail.
Earthworm stir-fry:

Purge your earthworms as if they were snails (otherwise they'll be a bit gritty), then blanch in boiling water and add to a stir-fry as you would use chicken.

Most importantly, once this is done on a large scale they will be cheap, and that, my friends, is how insects are going to end up in our supermarket baskets.

The day that an insect protein-burger costs only a quarter as much as a beefburger is the day that people will finally, nervously, falteringly reach for a pack. Then everything changes - for the planet, for the world's one billion hungry, for you.

There are a lot of edible insects available in the UK, but they are mostly shockingly expensive in relation to their production cost because they are sold as gimmick food to shock or amuse.

You can find curried crickets, horribly dry Mopani worms and fat-bottomed ants at eye-bleeding prices.

So what can you feasibly cook with now?

Freeze-dried organic mealworms are probably your best bet, but even they are specially imported, so not that cheap yet.

When you fancy an adventure, you could try my recipe for gourmet mealworm burgers.

You need to add a fair bit of oil as the freeze-drying process makes the meat very dry.

And why are 99.9% of you regular insect-eaters?

Well, if you have ever eaten any pink sweet, you are likely to be eating cochineal bugs, which produce a deep pink and purple colouring, also called E120 or carmine.

Sink your teeth in:

Food & Drink with Michel Roux Jnr and Kate Goodman starts Monday 4 Feb, on BBC Two at 20:30 GMT.

It is used extensively in supermarket sausages, Battenberg cake and all manner of confectionery.

If you have really got through your life avoiding those, how about bread?

Each kilo of wheat flour is allowed to contain lots of insect fragments - in the US more than 500 insect fragments are allowed per kilo.

And have you ever eaten honey? That's multi-regurgitated bee vomit, that is.

In a good way, mind.
Watch more from Stefan on BBC Two's Follow BBC Food on Pinterest and on twitter: @BBCFood and Food & Drink on twitter: @bbcfoodanddrink Food & Drink starting Monday 4 Feb at 20:30 GMT. Or catch his documentary on entomophagy in March.

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Eating insects is not for the faint-hearted, or is it? Chef Stefan Gates argues that most of us eat insects already, and for those that do not, it is easy to add them to an everyday diet. I've got good bug news and bad bug news...

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About food choices > Philosophical reasons for food choices > Religious dietary guidelines and restrictions

A number of religions have dietary guidelines which might be observed more or less closely. Different denominations within the same religion may have slight differences in food guidelines.

Islam/Halal

Meats should be slaughtered under Halal guidance; pork is not allowed. Generally, foods that are kosher are also accepted under Halal. The major exception is alcohol, which is banned under Halal. For strict observers, this may mean not eating foods cooked with vanilla extract. There are numerous guidelines for fasting, particularly during Ramadan.

Judaism/Kosher

This extremely complex set of guidelines includes restrictions on how meat is slaughtered, which animals/birds/seafood may be eaten (most famously pork and shellfish are not allowed), the part of the animal that can be eaten, who makes certain foods, combinations of foods, avoiding contamination, what can be eaten on religious holidays, and more. Many non-Jewish people prefer foods labeled kosher because they believe them to be cleaner / more strictly prepared.

Hinduism

A lactovegetarian diet is followed by many Hindus - no meat, poultry or fish, no eggs, but milk products are allowed and encouraged. Beef is prohibited, as the cow is considered sacred. Brahmins may have restrictions on who prepares their food and how it is stored. There are many fasting days and periods in the calendar, with restrictions such as eating only plant foods.

Buddhism

There are no set prescriptions for food restrictions in Buddhism. Under the concept of ahisma / doing no harm, a lacto-vegetarian diet is followed by many Buddhists. Buddhist monks have additional restrictions such as fasting and not eating solid foods after noon.

Christianity

Catholicism

Devout Catholics fast on holy days and periods.

Eastern orthodox

Practicing orthodox Christians follow a number of fasts. Weekly fasts include abstention from meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and sometimes other foods such as olive oil and alcohol as well. Other fasts are longer and exclude some or all of the foods avoided in the weekly fasts.

Seventh-Day Adventist

Seventh-Day Adventists are lacto-ovo-vegetarian - they avoid meat, poultry and fish but eat eggs and milk products. Alcohol is also prohibited.

Mormonism

Mormonism prohibits alcohol and caffeine (in coffee, tea, chocolate etc.).

Jainism

Jainism prescribes to ahisma, or nonviolence, following scrupulous rules for the protection of all life forms. Strict Jains don't eat meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, and sometimes milk; they may avoid eating root vegetables as the whole plant is killed when the root is dug up. There are a number of religious practices involving fasting, particularly for women.

Rastafarianism

Rastafarians are permitted to eat foods that are cooked lightly. Meats are not eaten, canned goods are avoided, and there are some restrictions on seafood.

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Religious dietary guidelines and restrictions

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About food choices > Philosophical reasons for food choices > Religious dietary guidelines and restrictions A number of religions have dietary guidelines which might be observed more or less closely. Different denominations within the same religion may have slight differences in food guidelines. Meats should be slaughtered under Halal guidance; pork is not allowed.

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An Idiot Abroad: China - Chinese delicacy

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Karl goes to a small China Town to see what sort of food is on offer, and he takes note of how the Chinese people are enjoying their snacks.

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Eating cultural difference between Westerners and Chinese [widescreen]

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Cultural differences in calorie consumption

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Cultural differences in calorie consumption

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23 Photos Of People From All Over The World Next To How Much Food They Eat Per Day

Photographers Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, who also happen to be married, traveled around the world and met people from all walks of life.

During their time with these people, they asked them to pose for photographs with their daily diets in front of them. The craziest part about the entire project is the caloric intake difference between people of different walks of life.

Maria Ermelinda Ayme Sichigalo, Mother of Eight, Ecuador - 3,800 Calories
All photos by Peter Menzel

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23 Photos Of People From All Over The World Next To How Much Food They Eat Per Day

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Photographers Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, who also happen to be married, traveled around the world and met people from all walks of life. During their time with these people, they asked them to pose for photographs with their daily diets in front of them.

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Factors influencing attitudes to food and eating behaviour

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Factors influencing attitudes to food and eating behaviour Social learning theory emphasises the impact that observing other people has on our own attitudes and behaviour towards food. Our eating behaviours are a result of observing models actions. Social Learning Theory Parental modelling According to parental modelling a child's eating behaviour is learnt by observing the behaviour of their parents.

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EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATIONS TO FOOD PREFERENCES.

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EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATIONS TO FOOD PREFERENCES. Human ancestors began a preference for meat foods to compensate for a decline in the quality of plant food caused by receding forests. Fossil evidence has shown that humans' daily diet derives primarily by animal organs, such as the liver, kidneys and brain- all of which are high in energy.

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Evolutionary explanations of food preference

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Evolutionary Explanations of Food Preference

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BBC : Food on the Brain ● BBC Documentary Films [Food, Lifestyle]

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BBC : Food on the Brain ● BBC Documentary Films [Food, Lifestyle] =============================================================== Thanks for watching! Please like, subscribe, and comment what you think about this video. =============================================================== Stephen Nolan travels to the USA, the world leader in scientific research, to learn about the inner workings of the brain and the impact that the junk food we eat everyday has on it.

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Uncover the truth about Britain's obesity crisis and meet our brave volunteers whilst they try to adopt a low sugar diet to improve their health. Also, find out how much sugar is really in our everyday meals and drinks and why we always crave them.

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Miranda turned eight years old last week. For her birthday, her parents took her to a pizza parlour, where she ate pasta and ice-cream. For any other child, . Last week, during an extraordinary visit to the clinic by The Observer, Miranda tried to explain what it is like to suffer an eating disorder at such a young.

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Hi guys!!! This is the documentary I have been working on for the past 2 months I would say. Hope you all enjoy it. REMEMBER!!!! LIKE COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE!!!!!!

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Neural explanation

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To Eat or Not to Eat: Leptin and the Biologic Basis of Obesity. - Sokol Lecture Fall 2012

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Jeffrey M. Friedman, MD, PhD, researcher of the molecular mechanisms that regulate food intake and body weight. Dr. Friedman is perhaps best known for his genetic studies with mice that led to the identification of leptin, a hormone made by fat tissue, which plays a key role in regulating weight.

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National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

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Leptin, Satiety, and the Mouse Who Ate Too Much

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This video is a whiteboard animation created by the author describing the role of leptin in long-term weight homeostasis. The video wraps up by challenging students to think of a variety of ways in which leptin signaling can be disrupted, and the impact of that disruption on weight.

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Biological Approaches to Anorexia Nervosa

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Lesson 6/6 of the PSYA3 Eating Behaviours topic for AQA A Level Psychology *Warning - there are images of people with anorexia in this video*

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The second lesson in the Eating Behaviours topic this time looking at Dieting for A2 AQA-A Psychology (PSYA3)

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eating disorder (disease or medical condition)

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Eating - Explanations of Food Preference: The role of Learning

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An introduction to the Eating Behaviours (Attitudes to Food and Eating Behaviour) topic for Year 2 AQA Psychology (7182)

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Lesson 3 of the Eating Behaviours topic - looking at neural mechanisms

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Explanations for Food Preference: Evoluitonary

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Flipped classroom videos on the Eating Behaviours topic for Year 2 AQA Psychology A Level (7182). This video is for educational purposes.

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Food Preferences - learning process begins in the womb

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Food Preferences - learning process begins in the womb

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It may be a survival mechanism that's come back to bite us on the bum, but human beings are born to love sweets. We love them even when we're in the womb. Some 15 to 16 weeks after conception, foetuses will show their sugar appreciation by swallowing more amniotic fluid when it's sweet, and less when bitter (pdf). Penchants for salt and umami tastes are also innate. Most of our food preferences, however, are learned, and a growing body of research shows that this learning also begins before birth.

It is reckoned that at 21 weeks, foetuses can discern full-on flavours using their senses of smell and taste (amazingly, a study recently found that humans can distinguish a trillion different smells, and smell is the dominant sense in flavour perception) and Julie Mennella of the Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia says, "amniotic fluid is a complex 'first food' that contains chemicals that have both tastes and smells." Developing flavour awareness five months before most babies start ingesting their calories makes good sense, because when it comes to taste, familiarity breeds fondness. You can train yourself to enjoy most foods through repeated exposure - and the younger you are, the easier it is to mould neural pathways. So, the thinking goes, if a foetus gets used to tasting vegetables in the womb, then weaning the baby on to nutritious grownup foods will be a relative doddle.

The amniotic fluid sniffers

Pity the poor participants in this experiment carried out by Mennella. They had to sniff a bunch of amniotic fluid samples, and apparently had no trouble identifying the womb juice that had been extracted from women who had taken a garlic capsule 45 minutes before. All flavours tested so far, says Mennella, have been detectable in the fluid, including mint, aniseed, carrot and vanilla.

A love of veg

Another experiment by Mennella involved one group of mothers drinking 300ml of carrot juice four days a week for three weeks during the last trimester of pregnancy, a second group doing the same during the first two months of breastfeeding, and a control group giving carrot juice a wide berth altogether. The babies who tasted high concentrations of carrot in utero and in their mother's milk went on to happily eat more carrot during weaning. According to Peter Hepper, director of the Fetal Research Centre at Queen's University in Belfast: "foetuses exposed to garlic in the womb are more likely to prefer garlic in later life, indeed studies show up to the age of eight at least."

Junk-food guzzling

A depressing research paper published last year sought to understand the mechanics of why babies whose mothers ate a lot of junk food while pregnant went on to have an increased preference of junk food themselves. Junk food, in this study, is defined as highly palatable, energy-dense and nutrient-poor. It is likely that children will like the taste of this food even if it's unfamiliar because it appeals to our innate predilections. But what researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia found was that after exposure to junk food in the womb, and through breast milk, brain reward pathways become desensitised to them - in the same way that drug addicts need increasing doses of drugs to get the desired hit, the theory goes that these children will need more Kit Kats or crisps. (Note: the study was looking at rats, not humans, so this line of inquiry is still a work in progress.)

Not all is lost

If you're now feeling bad that you could only hold down dry crackers and Pringles your entire pregnancy, don't. There are plenty of other factors that shape a child's appetite for different foods as they grow up, from peer pressure and advertising to individual taste sensitivity. Scientists may have looked into the effects of fetal flavour learning on infancy and early childhood, but as Alison Ventura, assistant professor in nutritional sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia, points out "not into adolescence and adulthood. That's a good question: how strong is this effect. How long does it last? What are the other possible factors that might mediate the effect over time? You can imagine it's pretty complex - that having broccoli when you're a foetus doesn't mean you're going to love it when you're an adult."

Have you seen any correlation between what you ate while pregnant and your children's tastes? Or did yours disprove the rule?
Follow Amy Fleming on Twitter Topics

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How a child's food preferences begin in the womb

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It may be a survival mechanism that's come back to bite us on the bum, but human beings are born to love sweets. We love them even when we're in the womb. Some 15 to 16 weeks after conception, foetuses will show their sugar appreciation by swallowing more amniotic fluid when it's sweet, and less when bitter (pdf).

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Taste aversion - cockroaches avoid poison

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Taste aversion - cockroaches avoid poison

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A breed of cockroaches in Europe has been found to have evolved to change their food habits in order to avoid traps. Earlier they were attracted to sugar, hence that was used to trap them, but now their sense of taste has reorganized to like salty items.

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Food aversion learning - animal behaviour

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Food aversion learning - animal behaviour

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Food Aversion Learning - Animal Behavior

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Evolution of Food Preferences - Chad Johnson

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Project for Bio 100 at BYU on the Evolution of Food Preference.

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Could You Survive 2.5 Million Years Ago?

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Watch this amazing clip recorded on a night-vision camera to witness the nightly pilgrim of mountain dwelling animals to the deep recesses of a salt mine cave. Amazing images of animals fumbling in the darkness to find life-preserving minerals. Clip taken from BBC wildlife documentary, 'Elephant Cave'.

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Elephants living on Kenya's Mount Elgon have found amazing ways of surviving on the rocky slopes. Watch here to find out more about their lifestyles and how they and all other animals living on the mountain are dependant on hidden salt supplies for survival. Clip taken from BBC wildlife show 'Elephant Cave'.

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Anorexia: A Boy in a Girl's World, Newsbeat Documentaries - BBC Radio 1

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A special Newsbeat programme on male eating disorders.

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"My name is Emily, I am 45 years old and I am scared of gaining weight. 20 years ago, I was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa (see fact box). It means that I was highly underweight and constantly thinking about how many calories I ate (or better said, I could avoid). I spent hours just looking at my body and seeing if I gained weight somewhere. For years, it was a struggle for me to eat in front of people because I was afraid of the comments. "Emily, you should eat more" or "Next time we go to McDonald's so we get some calories in you". I hated it. Today I am still skinny but my weight has normalized. Things changed with the birth of my two daughters, who are now 9 and 12 years old. However, I am still not happy with the way I look and I dislike when I have to eat high caloric food. Recently I read in an article that daughters of anorexic mothers often also develop an eating disorder (Zerwas et al., 2012). They argued that mothers act as role models for their daughter's body image and that they teach them preoccupation with weight and shape. I became curious. Is it true, that mothers act as role models when it comes to daughter's perception of their own body? Is it really, like mother, like daughter?"
Many psychologists have found that daughters of mothers with anorexia are often also diagnosed with an eating disorder later in life (Hall & Brown, 1983; Zerwas et al., 2012). When trying to explain this phenomenon, researcher's standpoints divide into two separate corners. One group assumes that mothers act as role models for their daughters, while the other group of scientists assumes this relationship to be interactive; where mothers either facilitate or protect daughters from concerns about weight and shape.
Mothers as Role Models
One line of research focuses on mothers as a role models for their daughters when it comes to evaluating one's body. Psychologists assume that when mothers are happy with their own body and eat normally without overthinking it, they in turn teach their daughter to love and accept their own body. This should also hold when they don't look like the photo shopped models in beauty magazines (Mchiza, Goedecke, & Lambert, 2011). The same is true for mothers with a negative body image. Children of mothers with lifelong eating disorders show feeding problems as early as 6 months after birth. When the same children are 4 years old they use chocolate or other candy to sooth their emotions (de Barse et al., 2015). Further, when daughters were 8 years old they try to eat healthier than their peers and are more aware of avoiding unhealthy snacks (Ammanity et al., 2014). This early implemented and abnormal eating pattern continues into the daughter's teenage years (Allen, 2014).

Some researchers (Sadeh-Sharvit et al., 2015) wanted to know how daughters abnormal relationship with food develops. They interviewed a large group of anorectic mothers with babies and toddlers about their feeding behavior. Due to their own troubled relationship with food they experience a huge dilemma when feeding their children. Mothers constantly check their child's weight, observe if they gained "too much" weight and have a desire for their child to be skinny. They also highly control the child's food intake. They do so by giving their child less time to drink their bottle or they delay the onset of solid food to the child's diet. Finally, mothers prevent their child from exploring food in their environment, which is an important process for the child to develop a healthy relationship with food. In sum, we form the foundation of our eating habits during childhood (see Tipp 3). These habits are primarily shaped by our mothers who control when, where, what and how much we eat. Children of mothers with eating disorders learn that food intake has to be limited, that being skinny is important and that their mother is happier when they eat less (Sadeh-Sharvit et al., 2015).

It seems that there is good evidence for the modeling behavior hypothesis. However, many studies show contrary results (Ogden & Steward, 2000) and the fact that not every daughter of an anorexic mother develops an eating disorder shows that there must be more to it.
The mother daughter interaction
The other direction of research assumes mothers to either facilitate or protect their daughters from weight and shape concerns. Psychologists consider an interactive relationship of the influence of mothers in the daughter's development of eating disorders where many variables can influence this process. The Psychologist Dr. Ogten (1999) has found maternal autonomy, the perception to have control over your daughter's actions and activities, to play an important role. Mothers who believe that they cannot control their daughter's behavior often raise daughters who restrict their diet. When mothers also believe that their daughter have no control over her actions, then daughters show even worse dietary restrictions and are less satisfied with their body. This relationship was even stronger for mother daughter pairs that are highly dependent on each other (see Tipp 4). One example of this is, when daughters think it is very important that they live up to their mother's expectations. These results not only show that the mother daughter relationship is more complex when it comes to weight concerns in daughters but also that a lack of independence is a risk factor for eating pathology in young women.

Another mechanism that can cause and maintain an eating disorder is a lack of boundaries between daughters and parents. Psychologist have found (Rowa, Kerig, & Geller, 2001) that anorectic daughters often complain that they have to act as the parent in the relationship (see Tipp 2). Further, they feel highly controlled by their parents compared to healthy same aged teenage girls. One example is when parents go through the daughter's personal stuff even when asked not to do so (see Tipp 1). And finally, mothers often transfer their issues with their spouse onto the child. When there is an argument with their partner, they in turn also get angry at their daughters. Thus, when daughters feel like they can't be the "child" in the relationship and when boundaries between parents and daughters become blurry it puts the child at risk to develop eating disorders.
The relationship is more complex
So, which one is true? Do mothers act as role models and induce a good or bad body image into their daughters OR is this process more complex? Both Theories show valid arguments. However, when we compare the two theory's directly we find the influence of mothers on their daughters weight and food concerns to be more complex than simply modeling the mothers body dissatisfaction (Ogden & Steward, 2000). Rather, the mother daughter relationship is interactive in which it either protects or facilitates weight and shape concerns of the daughter. Many factors such as autonomy, self-esteem and a sense of one's own identity influences the daughter's relationship to food intake and evaluation of their body (Rowa, Kerig, & Geller, 2001; Ogten, 1999). Still, science has yet to determine other influential factors. Taking all this information into account we learn that Emily does not need to worry about her daughter simply copying her behavior. Yet she should be aware of not transmitting her own body concerns onto her daughter. She should not restrict and control her daughters eating too much, nor should she give her daughters the feeling that their mothers love depends on how much she weighs.

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4 tipps to prevent your daughter from developing an eating disorder

Know your boundaries. Women who developed anorexia nervosa often report a lack of boundaries with their mothers (Rowa, Kerig, & Geller, 2001). Do you really need to know everything your daughter thinks and feels? Puberty is tough enough on its own. I am sure you can imagine that you don't need the additional pressure of your mother constantly gazing over you. Be the support that your daughter needs. That means, provide her with a stable foundation and be present when she needs you. However, allow her enough freedom to make her own decisions and to develop her own identity.

Be a parent, not a friend. Even though your teenage daughter now dresses like a grown up and uses as much make up (or probably more than the average adult), she is still your child. Therefore, try not to rely on your daughter for emotional support. Rather call up a girlfriend when you're angry about work or have issues with your spouse (Rowa, Kerig, & Geller, 2001).

Family dinners. It is important to teach children healthy eating patterns. Having regular times for family dinners will not only make sure that your daughter eats regular and healthy proportions. She will also learn to associate food with pleasant, social experiences. Even when your families schedule is crazy, make sure that everyone makes the daily family dinner a priority (Safeh-Sharvit et al., 2015).

Empower her. Research shows that young women who form their own identity and are self-confident are less likely to develop an eating disorder (Ogten et al., 1999). Being a mother myself I understand that it's hard to see how quickly your daughter grows up. However, it's the circle of life to let her leave the nest when the appropriate time has come. All you can do is give her the best foundation for life. Teach her that she can achieve anything she wants, when she is willing to work hard for it.

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"My name is Emily, I am 45 years old and I am scared of gaining weight. 20 years ago, I was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa (see fact box). It means that I was highly underweight and constantly thinking about how many calories I ate (or better said, I could avoid).