It is still not a diet and exercise problem
Despite varied treatment, relief, and preventive efforts, the global prevalence and severity of obesity continue to worsen.
Here, the authors propose a combined model of obesity – a unifying paradigm linking four general models: the energy balance model (EBM), based on calories as the driver of weight gain; the carbohydrate–insulin model (CIM), based on insulin as a driver of energy storage; the oxidation–reduction model (REDOX), based on reactive oxygen species (ROS) as the driver of altered metabolic signalling; and the obesogen model (OBS), which proposes that environmental chemicals disrupt hormonal signalling leading to obesity.
They propose a combined OBS/REDOX model where environmental chemicals (in air, food, food packaging, and household products) generate false autocrine and endocrine metabolic signals, including ROS, that undermine standard regulatory energy mechanisms, increase basal and stimulated insulin secretion, impair energy efficiency, and affect appetite and energy expenditure, leading to weight gain.
This combined model incorporates data supporting the EBM and CIM models, creating an integrated model that covers significant aspects of all mechanisms potentially contributing to the obesity pandemic.
Importantly, the OBS/REDOX model provides a foundation and approach for future preventive efforts based on reducing exposure to environmental chemicals.
REFLECTION
Overweight and obesity are multidisciplinary problems. If your parents are overweight, then you – and your dog – likely are too. Then there are behavioural patterns where children are fed as soon as they cry, and food becomes comfort for the rest of their lives.
Sugar is as addictive as morphine. Quitting sugar causes withdrawal symptoms – you need help with that.
Then there is the “Friday treat” culture and reward habits, often found in families where parents grew up with limited resources and overcompensate with the soda and candy that did not exist when they were children
Then there is the “Friday treat” culture and reward habits, often found in families where parents grew up with limited resources and overcompensate with the soda and candy that did not exist when they were children.