Hunger and the Mind
About 69% of people in the US are
considered overweight or obese. Obesity can lead to many health complications
such as heart disease and diabetes. Although many men and women are actively
dieting today, 95% of those people will gain the weight back within a 5-year
time span. It’s difficult to lose weight because humans have evolved to want
sugar to use as a source of energy. When people are tired or worn down, sugar
helps boost a person’s energy levels. However, because of this desire for
sugar, people can eat too much of it which is then broken down into simple
sugars which is then converted into excess fat. The obesity epidemic is not just
a result of the increase in fast food or high calorie meals, but also
psychological causes that allow people to feel hungry even though he or she
might be full.
Research has shown that hunger can be
controlled by two different cues: internal cues and external cues. Internal
cues are the cues that are received from the stomach to the brain allowing one
to recognize that they are full. External cues are external stimuli that make a
person feel hungry even though they are full. For example, seeing a large
portion size can prepare someone to eat a larger meal than what they can
actually eat. Sensory information such as vision or smell could make a person
crave different foods, despite actually feeling full. Studies have shown that
people who are obese are more likely to respond to external cues rather than
internal cues. Researchers have suggested that examining and understanding the
psychological processes of hunger will help keep weight off once it is lost.
Recognizing the difference between internal and external cues could be the key
to dieting and maintaining a healthy weight.
Based on what we have learned about the
ventral tegmental area of the brain and how it relates to addiction, this
article could help explain addictions to food. We talked about how the environment
can help us prepare to give into our addictions and these could relate to
external cues. Someone could be addicted to eating fast food, and the sight of
a logo or restaurant could allow someone to relapse after following a strict
diet. Understanding addiction could really have an impact on the science behind
dieting and weight loss.
This article makes some very interesting point about eating and the obesity epidemic that is happening in society. I find it strange that they know some of the largest factors that are having a negative impact on people's weight such as the large portion sizes, sights and smells and still nothing has been done to change it. I would think restaurants would be encouraged to lessen their portions sizes, even though it might be bad for business, it would be beneficial for people in society. There are also so many different diets and weight loss plans out in the world today, but I have never seen any that would try and take the approach of explaining and making sure people understand the psychological process of hunger. The article thinks having that understanding will make weight loss easier for people, so I would think that companies or even doctors, trainers, or nutritionists would want to try that technique. Thanks for sharing!
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ReplyDeleteThis article was an interesting read because it affects every member of society due to eating and the obesity epidemic right now. I found it interesting that are many factors that have a negative impact weight towards each person is different. Like the portion size of the food at the restaurant, sights of food, smell of food and with these kind of factors, its like there is no change but shouldn't it be our own intuition to control ourselves to lessen the chance of obesity. However, sometimes we usually get that urge on a certain day to let go and have big portions of food and enjoy it and gain a little bit but the next day we stop. I think thats one factor in our society that is not being mentioned as a cause towards this epidemic and eating. I have noticed that certain restaurants have reduced their portion sizes but could that help the epidemic of obesity? But I don't know and it could be a starting step to combat this problem in today society. This relates to me because I have noticed that I have increased portion size and started to understand that this is a factor in gaining weight and other problems that could caused problems in the future, its my thinking that I think about how I eat and how to lessen the factors causing obesity and change to reverse and get back to a healthy lifestyle. This article relates to the class by us learning about hunger and how it travels signals from stomach to brain and other responses toward our brain triggering our hunger. This was a great article to read, thank you.
While reading this article, I started to think of all the reasons one could be obese. Individuals could have a thyroid problem making it easier for them to gain weight and harder for them to lose it. Also, one of my classes discussed how back in the day we ate as much as we could because we didn't know when our next meal would be; so overeating could be slightly related to that. I think if individuals change the way they think they could change their behaviors of eating too much. Obesity has been shown throughout years to have many downsides to our health. The more information we know, the better we can educate others.
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