final paper

Critiquing Internet Sources: Causes of Obesity

Laura E. Knight

GEN499: Gen Ed Capstone

Gloria-Yvonne Williams

March 30th, 2015

Blog: Factors that May Cause Obesity.

According to Dr. Anthone and Dr. Cronk, (2015), obesity can be caused by the following factors;

Genetic Factors

Scientific facts have shown that genes play crucial roles in the tendency of a person to gain excess weight. For example, identical twins with the same genes have shown a much higher similarity of body weight as compared to fraternal twins who have different genes. Also, the body weight of adopted children has shown no correlation with the body weight of their adoptive parents. Again their weights have almost 80 percent correlation with their genetic parents whom they have never met. Human beings have several genes that are directly linked to weight. In their analysis, Walter, Tim, Inge & Elizabeth, (2002) genes that predispose to obesity occur in approximately 50 percent of the population. They further find out in their analysis that, “The rapidity of changes in prevalence clearly excludes a genetic basis for the changes, because the gene pool remained unchanged between 1980 and 1994.”

Environmental Factors.

The roles played by environmental and genetic factors are closely correlated. For example, if a person has a genetic predisposition towards obesity, then the modern environment and lifestyle may make it hard controlling weight. Dr. Anthone and Dr. Cronk, (2015) also found out that an anything less than a total change in environment for those suffering from morbid obesity resulted in a failure to attain and maintain a healthy body weight.

Metabolism

According to research, there is a theory called “set point” that refers to some kind of thermostat in the human brain which makes people resistant to either weight gain or loss. When one tries to override the set point by drastically lowering the calorie in-take, the brain responds by lowering the metabolism and slowing activity. This then results in gaining back any weight lost previously.

Eating Disorders and Medical Conditions

Evidence supports that high-fat diet produce obesity in part since they produce a more metabolically efficient state (Surwit et al, 1995). Medical conditions such as hypothyroidism can cause obesity. Also people suffering from Cushing’s syndrome are likely to be overweight.

From the above discussion, the authors can be seen as not being bias as most of the issues discussed are directly linked to obesity. Concerning validity, the authors can be verified since they are medical doctors hence making them qualified to give valid information concerning obesity. The information given by the authors is very applicable as they are based on scientific research

Video: What really Causes Obesity?

Consuming More Calories Than You Need

In her video, Janet Bruno, 2010 state, “People don’t become obese stuffing themselves with fruits and vegetables, rather obesity stems from consuming food that is calorie dense.” Thus consuming large quantity of food with high amount of fat can lead to people becoming obese.

Sedentary Lifestyle

The modern lifestyle in which people are involved in a reduced to absolute minimum physical activity is one of the common courses of obesity in people according to Janet Bruno, 2010.

Lack of Sleep

There are two mechanisms through which lack of sleep causes obesity. The first one is that sleep deprivation results in increased secretion of Ghrelin which is a hormone whose action is to stimulate appetite. Getting inadequate sleep causes the hormone to be produced which leads to increased appetite hence the affected individuals tend to eat large quantity of food that may put them at risk of being obese.

The second mechanism is the body’s automatic self-preservation response. Lack of sleep is interpreted by the body as a stressful situation. The response here is to slow down metabolism in order to preserve your calorie reserves or fat. Thus those who are constantly not getting enough sleep are at a risk of becoming obese.

Disruptions in your Endocrine Functions

Researchers have observed that there are certain foods that affects lipid metabolism in a negative manner. Example of such a food is fructose which doctors have found to be having a strong link between its consumption and lipid accumulation and this has been linked to obesity.

The author of this video as somehow biased as she tends to be putting blame on the obese people as to why they are obese. The author ought to have included other courses of obese such as genetic factors which are indeed natural so as to balance out the causes of obesity. Concerning the validity of the information in the video is that it could not be up to date as it was created in 2010. The information given is applicable as they can be linked to obesity.

Podcast: Obesity and the Environment

According the above podcast, the conventional wisdom is that obesity is purely the result of people eating more calories than they are utilizing. Dr. Blumberg states that in cases of cases of caloric excess, when you give people more calories than they need to maintain in their body weight, the nature of the calories makes a crucial difference in whether they gain weight or whether they don’t. Another cause of obese according to Johnson is through the chemicals called obesogens we are exposed to through the food, water, and air that we take. She says that their evidence that certain chemicals could make you gain weight even if you are not eating too much.

The author of this podcast is not biased as proper explanations concerning the causes of obese have been well stated. Concerning validity, the authors can be verified since they are medical doctors hence making them qualified to give valid information concerning obesity. The information here can be applicable because the last review on this was done in July 6, 2014 meaning that it is well updated.

Factors Considered When Evaluating Internet Sources for Research Evaluation

1. The author of the information source

2. Reliability and credibility of the information.

3. Accuracy of the information.

References

Janet Bruno, (November 29, 2010). What really causes obesity? Retrieved from

http://JanetBrunoMD.com

Methodist Physicians Clinic, (2012). Causes of obesity [Blog Post]. Retrieved from

http://www.methodistbariatric.com/obesity/causes-of-obesity/

Podcast: Obesity and the environment, (July 6, 2014). Retrieved from niehs.nih.gov/podcasts

Surwit R.S, Feinglos M.N, Rodin J, Sutherland A, Petro A.E, Opara E.C, Kuhn C.M, Rebiffe-

Scrive M. (May, 1995) Differential effects of fat and sucrose on the development of

obesity and diabetes. p. 645-651

Walter B, Tim J.C, Inge L, Elizabeth M.E.P (2002). Child and adolescent obesity: Causes and

consequences, prevention and management. Cambridge University Press