Regulating Obesity

This book explores the effectiveness of legal interventions aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles. In it, W.A. Bogart examines the complex effects of law and its relationship with norms, including the unintended consequences of regulation.

The fact that about 30-40% of the adults in the Western world are overweight or obese testifies to the frequency of the disturbances in body weight regulation. Scientists have established that caloric intake, macronutrient composition of the diet, basal and resting metabolic rate, thermic response to food, energy expenditure associated with movement and physical activity, and preferential storage of the surplus of calories as fat or lean tissues are critical determinants of energy balance and body weight. While much has been learned, the field is poised for major advances with the advent of a variety of imaging techniques, progress in quantitative and molecular genetics, use of transgenic rodent models and of breeding experiments with informative inbred strains, availability of stable isotopes for metabolic and behavioral studies, and a growing number of useful experimental animal and human models. This volume takes an integrative approach to obesity. It is structured around four major topics: (1) the animal and human models currently available for the study of body weight regulation with their strengths and limitations, (2) the molecular and genetic basis of the regulation of body weight, (3) the metabolic and physiological mechanisms involved, and (4) the behavioral and social determinants. The 13 background papers provide a critical overview of the present knowledge base while the group reports summarize the extensive deliberations of 38 international experts. Particular emphasis has been given to promising research areas and on the advances needed to ensure a better understanding of the biological and behavioral mechanisms of the regulation of body weight, with a particular emphasis on overweight and obesity.

In the 2001 Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, warned of the negative effects of the increasing weight of American citizens and outlined a public health response to reverse the trend. The Surgeon General plans to strengthen and expand this blueprint for action created by her predecessor. Although the country has made some strides since 2001, the prevalence of obesity, obesity-related diseases, and premature death remains too high.

Metabolism at a Glance presents a concise, illustrated summary of metabolism in health and disease. This essential text is progressively appropriate for introductory through to advanced medical and biochemistry courses. It also provides a succinct review of inborn errors of metabolism, and reference for postgraduate medical practitioners and biomedical scientists who need a resource to quickly refresh their knowledge. Fully updated and extensively illustrated, this new edition of Metabolism at a Glance is now in full colour throughout, and includes new coverage of sports biochemistry; the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates and cholesterol; glyceroneogenesis, α-oxidation and ω-oxidation of fatty acids. It also features the overlooked “Krebs Uric Acid Cycle”. Metabolism at a Glance offers an accessible introduction to metabolism, and is ideal as a revision aid for students preparing for undergraduate and USMLE Step 1 exams.

Nearly one out of every three adults in America is obese and tens of millions of people in the United States are dieting at any one time. This has resulted in a weight-loss industry worth billions of dollars a year and growing. What are the long-term results of weight-loss programs? How can people sort through the many programs available and select one that is right for them? Weighing the Options strives to answer these questions. Despite widespread public concern about weight, few studies have examined the long-term results of weight-loss programs. One reason that evaluating obesity management is difficult is that no other treatment depends so much on an individual's own initiative and state of mind. Now, a distinguished group of experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine addresses this compelling issue. Weighing the Options presents criteria for evaluating treatment programs for obesity and explores what these criteria meanâ€"to health care providers, program designers, researchers, and even overweight people seeking help. In presenting its criteria the authors offer a wealth of information about weight loss: how obesity is on the rise, what types of weight-loss programs are available, how to define obesity, how well we maintain weight loss, and what approaches and practices appear to be most successful. Information about weight-loss programsâ€"their clients, staff qualifications, services, and success ratesâ€"necessary to make wise program choices is discussed in detail. The book examines how client demographics and characteristicsâ€"including health status, knowledge of weight-loss issues, and attitude toward weight and body imageâ€"affect which programs clients choose, how successful they are likely to be with their choices, and what this means for outcome measurement. Short- and long-term safety consequences of weight loss are discussed as well as clinical assessment of individual patients. The authors document the health risks of being overweight, summarizing data indicating that even a small weight loss reduces the risk of disease and depression and increases self-esteem. At the same time, weight loss has been associated with some poor outcomes, and the book discusses the implications for program evaluation. Prevention can be even more important than treatment. In Weighing the Options, programs for population groups, efforts targeted to specific groups at high risk for obesity, and prevention of further weight gain in obese individuals get special attention. This book provides detailed guidance on how the weight-loss industry can improve its programs to help people be more successful at long-term weight loss. And it provides consumers with tips on selecting a program that will improve their chances of permanently losing excess weight.

Presents the State-of-the-Art in Fat Taste TransductionA bite of cheese, a few potato chips, a delectable piece of bacon - a small taste of high-fat foods often draws you back for more. But why are fatty foods so appealing? Why do we crave them? Fat Detection: Taste, Texture, and Post Ingestive Effects covers the many factors responsible for the se

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related conditions cause more than 40 percent of all deaths globally, and their substantial burden is rising, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Their burden extends well beyond health effects to include significant economic and societal consequences. Most of these conditions are related, share risk factors, and have common control measures at the clinical, population, and policy levels. Lives can be extended and improved when these diseases are prevented, detected, and managed. This volume summarizes current knowledge and presents evidence-based interventions that are effective, cost-effective, and scalable in LMICs.