The Evolution Of Obesity

Draws on popular examples and sound science to explain our expanding waistlines and to discuss the consequences of being overweight for different demographic groups. Reviews the various studies of human and animal fat use and storage, including those that examine fat deposition and metabolism in men and women; chronicle cultural differences in food procurement, preparation, and consumption; and consider the influence of sedentary occupations and lifestyles.

How can we work together to understand the rise of obesity and reverse its related diseases and societal impacts? Obesity is a complex condition that increases a person's risk for developing diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and other life-threatening conditions. Contrary to prevailing notions that it results solely from a person's diet and exercise failings, a predisposition to obesity is actually determined by genetics as well as by environmental and socioeconomic factors that lie beyond individual control. In Can the Obesity Crisis Be Reversed?, Dr. Rexford Ahima draws on his extensive laboratory and clinical experiences at top institutions to examine the complicated causes of obesity, as well as the most cutting-edge approaches for prevention and treatment. Ahima looks at how the rising trends of obesity and associated diseases are driving up health care costs. He also offers insight into the widespread suffering that obesity imposes and its disproportionate impacts in minority and underserved communities. Calling for greater societal and community engagement in stemming the obesity crisis, Ahima argues that there is an urgent need to promote healthier foods and environmental infrastructure as well as formal programs that reduce obesity. By understanding and applying fundamental knowledge, Can the Obesity Crisis Be Reversed? makes a convincing case that all of us, working individually and collectively, can help to reverse the obesity crisis. Features • Provides information on the biological pathways that control eating and metabolism • Explains genetic and environmental bases of obesity • Reviews the contributions of diet and physical activity to weight gain while speaking to the folly and dangers of individual blame • Offers practical recommendations for healthy diets, exercise, and lifestyle • Discusses current medical and surgical treatments of obesity • Examines comprehensive societal strategies for obesity prevention Johns Hopkins Wavelengths In classrooms, field stations, and laboratories in Baltimore and around the world, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professors of Johns Hopkins University are opening the boundaries of our understanding of many of the world's most complex challenges. The Johns Hopkins Wavelengths book series brings readers inside their stories, illustrating how their pioneering discoveries benefit people in their neighborhoods and across the globe in artificial intelligence, cancer research, food systems' environmental impacts, health equity, science diplomacy, and other critical arenas of study. Through these compelling narratives, their insights will spark conversations from dorm rooms to dining rooms to boardrooms.

Education, Culture and Politics in Modern France is concerned with the interrelationships among educational theory and practice, culture, and politics in France, with emphasis on the process of educational change during the first fifteen years of the Fifth Republic. This book presents a contemporary history of education in France and examines the debate about its schools and universities, as well as some of the underlying factors that account for the passion of the argument. This monograph argues that a new view of culture—defined as all the artefacts of men, whether these be material objects or their thoughts, ideas, beliefs and opinions—has enlarged the narrower, more literary concept that has swayed French education for 170 years. The discussions are organized around historical and cultural aspects; administration, finance and planning; schools, teachers, and society; and the politics of education. Government policies and school administration in France are analyzed, together with planning and budgeting for education; social factors in schooling; and the reform of higher education. Politics and education from 1958 to 1968 and since 1968 are also discussed. This text will be a useful resource for educators, politicians, sociologists, and political scientists as well as policymakers in the fields of education, culture, and politics.

This comprehensive synthesis of current medical and evolutionary literature addresses key questions about the role body fat plays in human biology. It explores how body energy stores are regulated, how they develop over the life-course, what biological functions they serve, and how they may have evolved. There is now substantial evidence that human adiposity is not merely a buffer against the threat of starvation, but is also a resource for meeting the energy costs of growth, reproduction and immune function. As such it may be considered as important in our species evolution as other traits such as bipedalism, large brains, and long life spans and developmental periods. Indeed, adiposity is integrally linked with these other traits, and with our capacity to colonise and inhabit diverse ecosystems. It is because human metabolism is so sensitive to environmental cues that manipulative economic forces are now generating the current obesity epidemic.

Leaders in the field present today's most comprehensive coverage of bariatric surgery, one of the most promising current treatments for the growing global epidemic of overweight and obesity. This brand new resource begins with a through examination of the history, incidence, demography, etiology, biology, comorbidities, longevity, and social and economic implications of obesity. It then discusses pre-, peri-, and postoperative issues of importance before examining the evolution of bariatric procedures. Individual chapters present the best surgical approaches, their outcomes, and other considerations involved in this surgical approach. Presents a comprehensive overview of the entire field of bariatric surgery, as well as a broad discussion of critical non-operative topics. Discusses the evolution of bariatric procedures, followed by individual chapters that examine laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, vertical banded gastroplasty, the banded gastric bypass, and other surgical approaches. Reviews the outcomes of bariatric surgery with respect to nutrition, diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, orthopedic conditions, and metabolism. Offers guidance on practical and academic training of the bariatric surgeon, patient support groups, the importance of the multidisciplinary team, managed care, allied health, laparoscopic suites and robotics, liability issues, and more. Includes dietary, drug management, and other alternative non-operative approaches. Addresses the growing incidence of childhood obesity with a chapter focusing on adolescent bariatric surgery patients. With 91 additional contributing experts.

"This comprehensive synthesis of current medical and evolutionary literature addresses key questions about the role body fat plays in human biology. It explores how body energy stores are regulated, how they develop over the life-course, what biological functions they serve, and how they may have evolved. There is now substantial evidence that human adiposity is not merely a buffer against the threat of starvation, but is also a resource for meeting the energy costs of growth, reproduction and immune function. As such it may be considered as important in our species evolution as other traits such as bipedalism, large brains, and long life spans and developmental periods. Indeed, adiposity is integrally linked with these other traits, and with our capacity to colonise and inhabit diverse ecosystems. It is because human metabolism is so sensitive to environmental cues that manipulative economic forces are now generating the current obesity epidemic"--Provided by publisher.

Clinicians and scientists are increasingly recognising the importance of an evolutionary perspective in studying the aetiology, prevention, and treatment of human disease; the growing prominence of genetics in medicine is further adding to the interest in evolutionary medicine. In spite of this, too few medical students or residents study evolution. This book builds a compelling case for integrating evolutionary biology into undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, as well as its intrinsic value to medicine. Chapter by chapter, the authors - experts in anthropology, biology, ecology, physiology, public health, and various disciplines of medicine - present the rationale for clinically-relevant evolutionary thinking. They achieve this within the broader context of medicine but through the focused lens of maternal and child health, with an emphasis on female reproduction and the early-life biochemical, immunological, and microbial responses influenced by evolution. The tightly woven and accessible narrative illustrates how a medical education that considers evolved traits can deepen our understanding of the complexities of the human body, variability in health, susceptibility to disease, and ultimately help guide treatment, prevention, and public health policy. However, integrating evolutionary biology into medical education continues to face several roadblocks. The medical curriculum is already replete with complex subjects and a long period of training. The addition of an evolutionary perspective to this curriculum would certainly seem daunting, and many medical educators express concern over potential controversy if evolution is introduced into the curriculum of their schools. Medical education urgently needs strategies and teaching aids to lower the barriers to incorporating evolution into medical training. In summary, this call to arms makes a strong case for incorporating evolutionary thinking early in medical training to help guide the types of critical questions physicians ask, or should be asking. It will be of relevance and use to evolutionary biologists, physicians, medical students, and biomedical research scientists.

Ever seen a fat fox? Didn't think so. Why it is that only humans - or animals in the care of humans - develop obesity? In Ever Seen a Fat Fox?: Human Obesity Explored Professor Mike Gibney delves into the history of the human relationship with food. He traces the evolution of our modern diet and looks to science to offer solutions to the phenomenon of human obesity. He calls on governments to cease the single-issue ad-hoc approach and demands a massive governmental long-term investment in weight management. It is a commonly held belief that obesity is a recent phenomenon. Professor Gibney reveals that obesity is nothing new - in fact, the modern upward trend in obesity began in the mid-nineteenth century. Obesity has been part of human experience whenever and wherever we've had affluence. There are many who seek to apportion blame for the epidemic of obesity. Blaming the food industry for obesity is always popular: sugar is public enemy number one. Debunking exaggerated views and cutting through the mixed messaging Gibney demonstrates that most food processing techniques are old, hundreds and thousands of years old.The genetics of obesity, the practice of dieting, and the value of physical activity are thoroughly assessed.The failures of the players in obesity - including the media, scientists, academic organisations, international agencies, specifically the WHO, and the food industry are brought into sharp focus. What can we learn from the fox? An expert in public health and personalised nutrition with bestselling books and over 300 peer-reviewed papers in the area, Professor Mike Gibney uncovers the full story behind obesity based on painstaking research, and offers us tangible solutions to this very human phenomenon.