Obesity

Obesity is dangerous in all types of life. Obesity is defined as a condition that entails the individual having an excess of body fat. To be diagnosed as being obese your Body Mass Index (BMI) would be 30 or greater and a waist circumference measurement of 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men. (Obesityaction.org) Obesity affects all age groups. As of 2012 8.4% of 2-5 year olds, 17.7% of 6-11 year olds, and 20.5% of 12-19 year olds are obese (cdc.gov, 2014). 69% of adults 20 years and over are overweight, including obesity (cdc.gov, 2015).

The way that weight is gained in when the calorie intake is higher than what is being used with energy. When you take in more calories than is being burned or metabolized, you will gain weight. This being said there are a few causes to obesity. They are genetics, overeating, high intake of carbohydrates, frequency of eating, slow metabolism, physical inactivity, medications, psychological factors, and diseases (medicinenet.com). I will be focusing on the psychological aspect, specifically stress eating.

Stress is a normal part of life, it can occur at any time during the day and to everyone. Some people can handle stress in appropriate ways like using it to motivate, but some go the other way and it is detrimental. Stress can lead to binge eating and a bad diet. Some may use it as a coping mechanism or with the stress you have no time to think about healthy alternatives. When you are stressed there are some hormones that are produced that may cause you to have bad eating habits. Serotonin, Cortisol and Neuropeptide Y. (Thompson Jr, 2009)

Serotonin acts as a neurotransmitter, it is a chemical that relays signals form one area of the brain to the other. 90% of serotonin is found in the digestive tract and in blood platelets. Serotonin is important because a lack of it could lead to depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, panic, and excess anger. (Bouchez) Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is produced in the adrenal gland. It is released in response naturally when you wake up in the morning and continues to be released, but in smaller amounts throughout the day. It is also released in response to stress and high adrenaline moments. Cortisol is not all bad as it provides proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, immune function, and inflammatory  (Scott, 2014). Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a peptide chemical messenger secreted by the portion of the brain that controls hunger, thirst, fatigue, and body temperature. It also has a hand in energy regulation, memory foundation, and seizure activity. In an experiment conducted with rats, they were injected with Leptin. Leptin is an appetite suppressant that occurs naturally. In the rats that were obese, the NPY was affected and they began to lose or maintain their weight, but not gain more. The experiment showed that NPY is the lead contributor to overeating that leads to obesity. Emotional stress is a factor that causes the secretion of neuropeptide Y (Michel).

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