For many people, particularly the younger members of the community, body image is an important factor in their attempts to maintain a normal body weight. However, obesity is more than body image because there is increasing evidence that it increases the risk of a variety of disease states, including diabetes, heart disease, asthma, sleep apnoea, some forms of cancer, and even dementia.
There is little doubt that the incidence of obesity has increased dramatically over the last century. According to the World Health Organisation, more than a quarter of the world population is either overweight or obese. In some developed countries such as the USA the prevalence of obesity is believed to be even greater than this. As inhabitants of some remote indigenous communities with completely different diets and lifestyle have much lower levels of obesity it has led to speculation that these factors may be important factors in the development of obesity. This has led to the evolutionary mismatch and discordance theories that have speculated that the modern way of life, with its major dietary changes , reductions in physical activity, and increasing exposure to a variety of chemicals added to food, may be a factor driving the increases in body weight. There is a view that some of these chemicals, referred to as obesogens, may interfere with the normal hormonal processes that take part in the utilisation of energy produced by our food.
While diet and lifestyle changes are clearly important there is increasing evidence that our genetic makeup plays an important role in the development of obesity, This is clear from studies with identical twins and from studies with individuals whose severe obesity is linked to major changes, referred to as mutations, in certain genes. More recently an increased risk of obesity has been observed in those with minor changes, referred to polymorphisms, in a number of genes. As we better understand the link between our genes and body weight it is likely that we may even be able to better predict our likelihood of developing obesity.
As inhabitants of some remote indigenous communities with completely different diets and lifestyle have a lower incidence of obesity it has led to the evolutionary mismatch and discordance theories that have speculated that the modern way of life with its major dietary changes, reduced physical activity, and increasing exposure to a variety of different chemicals added to our food, may be factors that are driving the increases in body weight. There is a view that some of these chemicals, referred to as obesogens, may interfere with the many hormonal processes that regulate food uptake and utilisation, as well as fat storage in the body.
Professor Alfred Poulos 