Possible Cause 1: Artificial sweeteners, it turns out that artificial sweeteners can mess with the part of your brain that keeps track of calories. "Animals learn to use taste to predict caloric consequences, and in nature, sweetness is almost always an indicator of calories... a sweet taste with no accompanying caloric intake, it confuses that calibration tool...might actually deprogram your calorie-counting mechanism for good [in the rats, effects were seen in as few as 10 days]." Popular Science March 2009 "The unusual suspects"
Possible Cause 2: Viral Infection, in 1988 a virus was discovered that turns adult stem cells into fat cells in birds. In 2008 a new strain was discovered, named Ad-36, that has the same effect on humans. "...tested more than 500 people for the presence of Ad-36 antibodies...found that infected people weighed more than non-infected people" Popular Science March 2009 "The unusual suspects"
Possible Cause 3: Lack of Adequate Sleep, evidence suggests that not getting enough sleep can cause your body to store more fats, and cause you to have cravings for sweet and salty foods (like candy and fast food). "Of 87,000 American adults surveyed between 2004 and 2006, about 33% who slept fewer than six hours a night were obese, compared with only 22% of those who got the recommended six to nine hours. Previous studies have shown that chronic sleep deprivation increases levels of ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone, and decreases leptin, a hormone that helps you to register fullness." Popular Science March 2009 "The unusual suspects"
Possible Cause 4: Chemicals found in plastics, certain chemicals in plastics can mimic estrogen and interfere with the body's ability to process fats. "Three studies presented last May at the European Congress on Obesity shone an international spotlight on....bisphenol-A or BPA...We make 7 billion pounds of it each year...There is virtually nobody in the US without biologically active levels of BPA in their body... [in rats] Research has shown that if you give mice a single exposure while pregnant, those offspring will be predisposed to being between 10 and 15 percent fatter as adults, for life, even if they are never exposed to it again" Popular Science March 2009 "The unusual suspects"
All of these have evidence, and are possibly contributing to the obesity epidemic, but no one of them is enough to explain the ever growing number of obese people around the world.
Kinda scary stuff.......
EDIT: found this later in the article, lol Heart Attack Grill Diet Center
Possible Cause 2: Viral Infection, in 1988 a virus was discovered that turns adult stem cells into fat cells in birds. In 2008 a new strain was discovered, named Ad-36, that has the same effect on humans. "...tested more than 500 people for the presence of Ad-36 antibodies...found that infected people weighed more than non-infected people" Popular Science March 2009 "The unusual suspects"
Possible Cause 3: Lack of Adequate Sleep, evidence suggests that not getting enough sleep can cause your body to store more fats, and cause you to have cravings for sweet and salty foods (like candy and fast food). "Of 87,000 American adults surveyed between 2004 and 2006, about 33% who slept fewer than six hours a night were obese, compared with only 22% of those who got the recommended six to nine hours. Previous studies have shown that chronic sleep deprivation increases levels of ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone, and decreases leptin, a hormone that helps you to register fullness." Popular Science March 2009 "The unusual suspects"
Possible Cause 4: Chemicals found in plastics, certain chemicals in plastics can mimic estrogen and interfere with the body's ability to process fats. "Three studies presented last May at the European Congress on Obesity shone an international spotlight on....bisphenol-A or BPA...We make 7 billion pounds of it each year...There is virtually nobody in the US without biologically active levels of BPA in their body... [in rats] Research has shown that if you give mice a single exposure while pregnant, those offspring will be predisposed to being between 10 and 15 percent fatter as adults, for life, even if they are never exposed to it again" Popular Science March 2009 "The unusual suspects"
All of these have evidence, and are possibly contributing to the obesity epidemic, but no one of them is enough to explain the ever growing number of obese people around the world.
Kinda scary stuff.......
EDIT: found this later in the article, lol Heart Attack Grill Diet Center
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