Why Am I Still Fat?

Summary

El aumento mundial de la obesidad es un problema de salud pública que afecta a millones de personas. La ciencia busca entender y combatir este fenómeno, explorando cómo el cuerpo defiende su peso a través de mecanismos como la reacción a la hambruna. Se investigan dietas rápidas y lentas, el impacto de sustancias químicas en el desarrollo de la obesidad y la potencial influencia de los epígenos. Además, se abordan intervenciones drásticas como la cirugía de la banda laparoscópica y la importancia de un enfoque holístico para abordar la obesidad.

Takeaways

• 🌍 La obesidad ha aumentado dramáticamente en todo el mundo, con el doble de personas consideradas obesas en las últimas décadas.
• 👶 El número de niños obesos ha triplicado, y la población está engordando rápidamente.
• 🏥 La obesidad se ha convertido en la 'nueva normalidad', con casi dos tercios de los australianos con sobrepeso.
• 🧬 Aunque hay variantes genéticas asociadas con la obesidad, estas solo contribuyen a menos del 5% de la variación en el tamaño corporal.
• 🧠 Nuestros cuerpos tienen un mecanismo de defensa contra la pérdida de peso, conocido como la 'reacción a la hambruna', que es controlado por el cerebro.
• 🍽️ La 'reacción a la hambruna' aumenta el apetito y hace que nuestro cuerpo sea más eficiente en la combustión de energía, lo que dificulta la pérdida de peso.
• 🔬 El estudio TEMPO en la Universidad de Sídney compara los efectos a largo plazo de la pérdida de peso rápida y lenta en mujeres postmenopáusicas.
• 🏋️‍♀️ La mayoría de las dietas no funcionan a largo plazo, ya que ocho de cada diez personas que pierden peso lo recuperan en cinco años.
• 🏥 La cirugía de la banda laparoscópica, como la operación de banda de lazo, puede ser una solución para aquellos que no pueden perder peso de otra manera.
• 🥗 Los alimentos ricos en antocianinas, como zanahorias moradas y ciruelas, pueden ayudar a combatir los efectos inflamatorios de la obesidad.
• 🧪 Los contaminantes químicos, como los ftalatos y la BPA, pueden afectar el riesgo de obesidad en niños, alterando la función genética relacionada con la regulación del peso.

Q & A

¿Qué ha ocurrido con la obesidad a nivel mundial en las últimas décadas?

La prevalencia de la obesidad se ha duplicado en las últimas décadas, y el número de niños obesos se ha triplicado, convirtiéndose en una epidemia.

¿Cuál es la relación entre el BMI y la cantidad de grasa en el cuerpo?

El BMI (índice de masa corporal) indica que aproximadamente un tercio del peso del cuerpo es grasa.

¿Qué es la reacción de la hambruna y cómo afecta el cuerpo humano?

La reacción de la hambruna es un mecanismo de supervivencia innato del cerebro que defiende el peso corporal, aumentando el apetito y haciendo que el cuerpo queme menos energía, lo que dificulta la pérdida de peso.

¿Por qué es difícil mantener la pérdida de peso a largo plazo?

El hipotálamo en el cerebro reajusta la cantidad de grasa que el cuerpo defiende, lo que hace que sea más difícil de perder peso a medida que se lleva más tiempo con sobrepeso.

¿Qué es el estudio TEMPO y qué objetivo tiene?

El estudio TEMPO es una investigación en la Universidad de Sídney que compara los efectos a largo plazo de la pérdida de peso rápida con la lenta en 100 mujeres postmenopáusicas, buscando entender mejor la reacción de la hambruna.

¿Qué es un lazo gástrico y cómo ayuda a la pérdida de peso?

Un lazo gástrico es una cirugía bariátrica que ajusta el tamaño del estómago para que quede más pequeño, lo que reduce la cantidad de comida que se puede comer y ayuda a la pérdida de peso.

¿Qué es la antocianina y cómo está relacionada con la obesidad?

La antocianina es un pigmento natural encontrado en alimentos de color morado que puede tener propiedades antiinflamatorias y potencialmente ayudar a combatir los efectos inflamatorios de la obesidad.

¿Qué son los obesógenos y cómo pueden afectar la obesidad en los niños?

Los obesógenos son sustancias químicas sintéticas que actúan como hormonas y pueden alterar la forma en que nuestro cuerpo reacciona a la grasa, afectando el riesgo de obesidad, especialmente en la infancia.

¿Qué es la epigenética y cómo puede influir en la obesidad?

La epigenética es el estudio de cómo el entorno puede cambiar la función de los genes sin alterar su estructura, lo que puede influir en el desarrollo y la obesidad.

¿Cuál es el resultado preliminar del estudio TEMPO después de seis meses?

Después de seis meses, los participantes en el estudio TEMPO que siguieron una dieta de baja energía para la pérdida de peso rápida parecen haber evitado el aumento del apetito debido a la reacción de la hambruna.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 La epidemia de obesidad mundial

El primer párrafo aborda el aumento dramático de la obesidad a nivel mundial, con un enfoque en la doble prevalencia de obesidad en las últimas décadas. Se menciona que el número de niños obesos ha triplicado y que 9 millones de adultos están en condiciones de sobrepeso. Se destaca que la obesidad se ha convertido en la 'nueva normalidad', con casi dos tercios de los australianos en condiciones de sobrepeso. Se explora la relación entre el BMI y la composición corporal, y se plantea la pregunta de cómo la ciencia puede ayudar en la lucha contra la obesidad. Se introduce la idea de que el cuerpo defiende los esfuerzos para perder peso, lo que se denomina 'reacción a la hambruna', un mecanismo de supervivencia controlado por el cerebro.

05:01

🔬 Investigación científica en la pérdida de peso

El segundo párrafo se centra en la experiencia personal de Amanda, quien lidera el estudio TEMPO en la Universidad de Sídney, y cómo esto la motiva en su investigación. Se describe el estudio de tres años que compara los efectos a largo plazo de la pérdida de peso rápida y lenta en 100 mujeres postmenopáusicas. Se explican los dos tipos de dietas que se comparan: una dieta de muy bajos calores para una pérdida de peso rápida y una dieta convencional para una pérdida de peso lenta. Se presentan las experiencias de Andrea, quien sigue una dieta lenta, y de Jenny, que está en la dieta rápida, destacando los desafíos y la determinación de ambas en su camino hacia una mejor salud.

10:01

🏥 Intervención quirúrgica para la obesidad

El tercer párrafo explora las intervenciones más drásticas para perder peso, como la cirugía de la banda laparoscópica. Se presenta a Deb Richardson, quien ha estado esperando una operación de banda laparoscópica durante seis años debido a su incapacidad para perder peso y a su condición de salud. Se describe el proceso de la cirugía y cómo la banda laparoscópica funciona, así como las expectativas de pérdida de peso y la mejora en la calidad de vida. Además, se aborda la investigación de Amanda Paige sobre cómo el estómago comunica con el cerebro y cómo la obesidad puede alterar la sensación de saciedad.

15:01

🍔 Influencia de la industria alimentaria en la obesidad

El cuarto párrafo cuestiona la responsabilidad de la industria alimentaria en la obesidad, destacando la resistencia de algunos sectores a la etiqueta de elección saludable y la manipulación de la palatabilidad de los alimentos para aumentar la ingesta calórica. Se discute cómo la industria ha creado productos que satisfacen el apetito por proteínas, pero en realidad son fuente de grasas y carbohidratos, lo que lleva a un sobreconsumo de calorías y a la obesidad.

20:02

🍇 Poder medicinal de los alimentos contra la obesidad

El quinto párrafo se centra en la investigación de Lindsay Brown, quien estudia los efectos de los pigmentos naturales, como los antocianinas, en la prevención y reversión de los efectos inflamatorios de la obesidad. Se mencionan los resultados promisorios de ensayos en ratas y se sugiere que los alimentos ricos en antocianinas, como los zanahorias moradas y las ciruelas, pueden ser una herramienta efectiva para combatir la obesidad y sus complicaciones.

25:04

🧪 Investigación en obesidad y exposición química

El sexto párrafo explora la relación entre la exposición a sustancias químicas, como los agentes obesógenos, y el riesgo de obesidad, especialmente en niños. Se describe un estudio que mide los niveles de exposición a estas sustancias en bebés y su relación con la tasa de crecimiento y la composición corporal. Se discute la posibilidad de que la exposición temprana a estas sustancias pueda afectar el riesgo de obesidad a lo largo de la vida.

🔄 Resultados preliminares del estudio TEMPO

El séptimo párrafo presenta los resultados preliminares del estudio TEMPO, que sugieren que las dietas de baja energía pueden ser efectivas para evitar la reacción de la hambruna y promover la pérdida de peso. Se comparten las experiencias de Andrea y Jenny, quienes han tenido éxito en perder peso a diferentes ritmos, y se destaca la importancia de continuar el estudio para comprender mejor los efectos a largo plazo de los diferentes enfoques dietéticos para la pérdida de peso.

Keywords

💡Obesity

La obesidad se refiere a un exceso de peso debido a un acumulo de grasa en el cuerpo, lo que aumenta el riesgo de enfermedades crónicas. En el guion, se menciona que la obesidad ha duplicado en las últimas décadas y ha triplicado en niños, llegando a ser una epidemia. Este término es central en el video, ya que explora las causas y los efectos de esta creciente prevalencia.

💡BMI

El Índice de Masa Corporal (BMI) es una medida utilizada para determinar si una persona tiene un peso saludable para su altura. Se menciona en el guion que el presentador tiene un BMI de 31, lo que significa que un tercio de su peso corporal es grasa. El BMI es un indicador clave en la discusión sobre la obesidad y la salud.

💡Familia

La familia se menciona en el contexto de la influencia genética y del entorno familiar en la obesidad. Aunque solo un 5% de la variación en el tamaño corporal se atribuye a la genética convencional, el guion sugiere que hay más que la genética involucrada, incluyendo factores ambientales y comportamientos familiares.

💡Dietas

Las dietas son un tema recurrente en el guion, ya que se exploran diferentes enfoques para perder peso, como las dietas de bajos calores para la pérdida de peso rápida y las dietas convencionales para la pérdida de peso lenta. El video analiza cómo las dietas pueden influir en la respuesta del cuerpo a la pérdida de peso y cómo manejar la 'reacción de hambruna'.

💡Reacción de hambruna

La 'reacción de hambruna' es un mecanismo del cuerpo que se activa en respuesta a la pérdida de peso, lo que lleva a aumentar el apetito y a hacer que el cuerpo queme menos energía. En el guion, se discute cómo esta reacción puede dificultar la pérdida y mantenimiento de peso, y cómo las dietas rápidas y lentas afectan esta respuesta.

💡Cirugía bariátrica

La cirugía bariátrica es una intervención quirúrgica para la pérdida de peso, como se muestra en el caso de Deb, quien recibe un lap band. Este procedimiento es un ejemplo de las medidas drásticas que algunas personas toman para perder peso cuando las dietas no son suficientes, y se discute cómo afecta el sentido de la saciedad y la regulación del apetito.

💡Químicos obesógenos

Los 'químicos obesógenos' son sustancias químicas que pueden afectar el metabolismo y la regulación del peso. En el guion, se menciona que los plásticos y otros productos químicos pueden contener estos compuestos, lo que sugiere que pueden haber contribuido a la obesidad a nivel global. Este término destaca la importancia de considerar factores ambientales en la obesidad.

💡Epigénesis

La epigénesis es el estudio de cómo los factores ambientales pueden cambiar la expresión de los genes sin alterar su secuencia. En el guion, se sugiere que la exposición a ciertos químicos durante el desarrollo puede influir en la obesidad, incluso sin cambios en la estructura genética. Esto apunta a la complejidad de los factores que contribuyen a la obesidad.

💡Inflamación crónica

La inflamación crónica es una respuesta del cuerpo a un daño o una lesión, y se asocia con muchas enfermedades crónicas, incluyendo la obesidad. En el guion, se discute cómo la obesidad puede causar inflamación que a su vez dañe los órganos y cause enfermedades como la diabetes y la enfermedad cardiovascular. Este concepto es crucial para entender los efectos a largo plazo de la obesidad en la salud.

💡Antocianinas

Las antocianinas son pigmentos naturales encontrados en alimentos de color púrpura que tienen propiedades antioxidantes y antiinflamatorias. En el guion, se menciona que los alimentos ricos en antocianinas, como los zanahorias moradas y las ciruelas, pueden ayudar a combatir los efectos inflamatorios de la obesidad. Esto sugiere un potencial en la nutrición y la dieta para mitigar los efectos de la obesidad.

Highlights

El aumento mundial de la obesidad ha duplicado en las últimas décadas.

El número de niños obesos ha triplicado.

La obesidad se está convirtiendo en la nueva normalidad con casi dos tercios de los australianos con sobrepeso.

El 1/3 de la masa corporal de una persona con un BMI de 31 está compuesto de grasa.

La ciencia busca entender cómo el cuerpo defiende su peso a pesar de los esfuerzos para perderlo.

El cuerpo humano tiene un mecanismo de supervivencia llamado reacción a la hambruna que promueve la retención de grasa.

La reacción a la hambruna aumenta el apetito y la necesidad de comer.

La investigación en la Universidad de Sídney está comparando dietas rápidas y lentas para la pérdida de peso.

El estudio TEMPO es uno de los primeros en comparar el efecto de dietas rápidas versus lentas en la reacción a la hambruna.

Dos tipos de dietas se comparan: una baja en calorías para pérdida rápida y una convencional para pérdida lenta.

La pérdida de peso es difícil de mantener, ya que el hipotalamo reajusta la cantidad de grasa que el cuerpo defiende.

La reacción a la hambruna altera las hormonas y hace que el cuerpo sea más eficiente en la combustión de energía.

La cirugía de la banda laparoscópica puede ser una solución para aquellos que no pueden perder peso de otra manera.

Los neurocientíficos están investigando cómo el estómago comunica con el cerebro para controlar el apetito.

Los alimentos procesados con bajo contenido de proteínas pueden ser una causa del sobrepeso.

Los alimentos ricos en antocianinas, como zanahorias moradas y ciruelas, pueden ayudar a combatir la obesidad.

Los químicos obesogénicos, como los plásticos y los BPA, pueden afectar el riesgo de obesidad en niños.

La epigenética puede explicar cómo los factores ambientales afectan la función genética relacionada con la obesidad.

El estudio TEMPO muestra que algunas personas pueden tener éxito con dietas de baja energía para la pérdida de peso rápida.

La cirugía de la banda laparoscópica ha ayudado a algunas personas a perder peso y mejorar su salud.

La lucha contra la obesidad requiere más que solo dieta y ejercicio; es necesaria una comprensión científica profunda.

Transcripts

the shape of the human body is changing

dramatically worldwide the prevalence of

obesity has doubled in the last few

decades if you go back 50 years and you

look at the proportion of the population

that was considered obese and you look

at it now it really is an epidemic the

number of obese children has tripled the

population is getting fatter 9 million

adults are overweight an explosion of

fat related diseases now with nearly two

out of three Australians overweight

obesity is the new normal

I've been told I'm 31 BMI BMI which

means that basically 1/3 of my body

weight is fat what does science bring to

the fight against fat if we can

understand how that enemy is working

then we'll be better equipped to be able

to get in there and intervene our kids

are at risk before they're even born

[Music]

and there's a lot more than just

conventional genetics at play of the 50

or so genetic variants that have been

associated with obesity that only

contributes to less than 5% of the

variation in body size

the increase in global obesity some call

it globey city has been so rapid that it

can't just be explained by eating too

much or exercising too little are there

things in our bodies in our brains in

our environment that conspire against

our best efforts to lose weight in this

program we'll see how science is

answering your question why am I still

Sat it sounds paradoxical but your body

actually defends itself from your

efforts to lose weight by helping you to

keep the kilos on it's an inbuilt

survival mechanism controlled by our

brain that we all share and it's called

the famine reaction one of the major

effects of the famine reaction is that

it makes you hungrier it increases your

drive to eat when a man does sell us an

account of the feminine reaction as a

teenager she didn't have a name for it

and instead of just saying oh yeah I'm a

normal girl having a famine reaction I

ate and said to myself I'm a useless

person that's terrible I've broken my

diet I'm hopeless I can't do anything

and then I ate even more and I gained

weight and in six years

I actually went from 53 kilos to 93

kilos I gained 40 kilos and I literally

dieted myself fat

Amanda's personal experience now

motivates her research she leads the

tempo diet trial at the University of

Sydney these women are part of world

first research they're at the start of a

three-year study into the long-term

effects of weight loss in 100

postmenopausal women there's never been

a study that's compared the effects of

fast versus slow weight loss on the

famine reaction head-to-head so it's new

and it's different

two types of diets are being compared a

very low energy diet of 800 calories a

day for fast weight loss against a

conventional diet for slow weight loss

the women in the study don't get to

choose which one they're on keen

gardener and medical researcher Andrea

is one of the participants controlling

her weight has always been a bit of a

struggle it's been more of an issue at

times and generally I would say that I

was a very classic yo-yo dieter all my

life but eating well with her family

remains a joy what generally I do is I

kind of wait until cleitus most of the

cooking so wait until he's decided what

he's going to cook and then I kind of

fit in around that Andrea is on the slow

and steady diet in the tempo trial

husband clive is not a dieter but he's

inspired by her determination I've never

had to worry about what I eat but on the

other hand I suppose you know I couldn't

drop dead of a heart attack just as easy

as somebody who is who weighed more I

mean I'd just be a thinner corpse but

I'd still be dead and he's adapted more

to our diet than than we have to hers IT

manager Jennifer Moretti is part of the

tempo study too but unlike Andrea she's

on the fast-track diet for rapid weight

loss it's a bit scary that I'm now

eligible for a diet trial because

technically I'm obese which I never felt

Jenny's passionate about her horses

which she rides in eventing the

triathlon of horse sports I think you

probably don't notice when you're

putting weight on and you just do things

with the body that you've got and it's

start to affect your horse riding I

probably didn't look as elegant I

probably looked like one of those little

kids on earth there well in Pony be

Kentuckian bopping around husband Peter

needs to lose weight too and wants to

follow Jenny's example but when I open

the fridge somehow without any conscious

control that hand reaches out for the

honey yogurt or something like that it's

like an addiction eight out of ten

dieters who lose up to ten percent of

their body weight put it back on again

within five years

why is maintaining weight loss so

difficult what are so many dieters hit a

wall that's exactly where Amanda's tempo

study comes in the longer you carry

weight the harder it is to lose it

because the hypothalamus in your brain

resets the amount of fat your body

defends the famine reaction keeps you

craving food I know how hard it is when

you're trying to lose weight and nobody

around will give you the right to feel

hungry today

Andrey is in for a DEXA scan a type of

x-ray that measures the massive fat

muscle and lean tissues as well as the

mineral density of bone

using different lines we can calculate

how much fat is in different regions of

the body gauging the impact of the

famine reaction also means entering the

body pod quite being shot into space but

it's only 20 seconds the pod is another

way to measure body composition this

time using air displacement reaction

alters your hormones in a way that tends

to make your body very inclined to hold

on to fat particularly in the midriff

region and also makes your body more

inclined to lose lean tissues such as

muscle and bone this gives an estimate

so fat mass is around 32% and lean mass

is around 68 percent let's eat some

quiet time under the calorimetry hood

measures Andrea's metabolic rate or how

much fat she's burning while the Thaman

reaction increases your drive to eat it

also makes your body more fuel efficient

to stay awake and relaxed and awake why

you whispering I guess if we have to be

very quiet here because we want Andrea

to remain relaxed but awake and that's

because we're measuring resting energy

expenditure and that uncannily it

changes with weight loss and it affects

how many kilojoules you burn over the

course of the day and affects how much

you can eat without putting on weight

one assumption the tempo trial is

testing through participants reporting

how hungry they feel is that rapid

weight loss should be avoided because it

makes the famine reaction stronger we'll

return to see what works for Jenny and

Andrea when they get their first

progress results but diets don't work

for everybody some need a more drastic

intervention to lose weight rapidly and

as we'll see even making it harder for

food to fit in your stomach may not be

enough in Hobart 52 year old dead

Richardson has been waiting for a lap

band operation for six years I'm unfit

I feel unhealthy and I never feel well

and I want to change that I want to

start wanting to go out for walks and

and meeting new people and doing

different things I just need to be in

amongst it how do you feel about food

food I'm obsessed with food I think

about food all the time

Deb's GP referred her for lap band

surgery because of her inability to lose

weight along with type 1 diabetes high

blood pressure and a high BMI it's

currently 34 think we would be hoping to

lose 30 kilos which is a substantial

amount for a lady who is not not

particularly big for Deb a bariatric

surgeon offers her the last chance to

avoid the life-threatening diseases that

come with obesity what I'd like you to

do is to think of the Lap Band is a tool

that we're going to give you to help

yourself this is the Lap Band here

itself you can see it's made out of a

ring of silicon and on the inside is a

balloon that balloon is attached to a

tubing and an injection port so if some

saline is injected into the injection

port it will inflate the balloon and

make the band a little bit tighter and

that will be under your skin on the

tummy and as we fill that balloon up it

just compresses the outlet of that

little pouch and it takes longer for the

food to empty out of the pouch into the

stem

it's adjustable and because it's keyhole

surgery it's relatively safe that small

piece of silicon has a powerful effect

on the nerves that control appetite

neurologist Amanda Paige wants to

unravel how those nerves allow the

stomach to communicate with the brain

it's a really difficult situation once

you're obese to actually lose that

weight again this experiment shows how

weight gain actually resets the sense of

feeling full with a piece of stomach

from a mouse she hooks up the nerves

that fire when receptors respond to

stretching there's a tension sensitive

nerve in the stomach and we placed a

hook next to that nerve and we've

connected it to a cantilever system and

then we can actually record the nerve

activity here so if we place a weight

onto this cantilever system that's

clearly made of something like Lego yes

connects slowly release

you can see that their nerve activity

increases the signals to the brain if it

was doing the mouse which would increase

and it would patellar than else that it

was full this is central to regulating

appetite because without it the brain

wouldn't know when to stop eating and

here's the key when she compares the

stomach's of lean mice with obese ones

the response to stretch is dramatically

reduced in the obese mice and doesn't

return to normal the same thing happens

in humans

people will say so why weren't an obese

person just stopped eating it's easy to

stop eating but actually they're not

getting those signals of fullness so

they can't finding a way to reset the

receptors back to their lean condition

may lead to a non-surgical therapy for

obesity in the future it's Deb's big day

bariatric surgeon Steven Wilkinson

prepares to install her Lap Band deftly

manipulating the laparoscopic

instruments Steven introduces the Lap

Band into the abdomen and pulls it

around the stomach now the band has got

a locking mechanism that's a bit like

one of those cable ties okay so that's

got the band pretty much you know

perfect position there so we'll put

three or four stitches in just to fix it

to the top part of the fat pad just over

the esophagus and just spot Wells the

stomach across the front of the band and

it stops the band's I'm slipping down

Stephen says the procedure has about the

same risk profile as gall bladder

surgery it has a very low mortality rate

I've done about 3,000 lap bands I've had

one mortality which is tragic when that

happens it's a deceptively simple

operation it's taken less than 20

minutes but it's got the potential to

change Debbie's life forever

the long-term results are that people

lose about 55 percent of their excess

weight by about 10 years and maintain

that while Stephen performs another 7

lap band operations today Deb recovers

from hers I must admit it's better than

what I thought I was gonna be life

starts today for a second time so that's

good

Debbie's going home tomorrow I'll visit

her in a few months time to see how

she's going oh the contradictions our

society values thinness and health but

at the same time encourages us to

overeat and consume more fat sticks deer

ribs

back in 1981 this ad was suspended from

commercial television after complaints

by an advertising agency with food

companies as clients get it off more

than 30 years later to what extent can

we blame obesity on food manufacturers

well there's still resistance from some

sections of the industry to labeling for

healthy choice and these days

nutritional science is thinking less

about individual nutrients and more

about finding the best mix in a balanced

diet appetite isn't just a single thing

we have separate appetites for different

major nutrients we're talking here about

carbohydrates proteins and fats your

appetite control automatically gives

priority to protein if your diet runs

short you make up for it by getting

energy from fats and carbohydrates the

taste like protein no that's sort of

lip-smacking amino acid umami flavors

diluting protein makes food cheaper to

make good for business but bad for your

appetite control that's the savory snack

food industry your potato chip is a

protein decoy tastes like protein our

bodies have evolved to associate those

flavor cues with protein but actually

all you're getting is loaded up with

more fat and carbs leaving your protein

appetite unfulfilled and hence you're

gonna continue to snack and eat more

those subversive extra calories explain

a lot about why we get fat our white fat

cells protect us by providing a safe

home for lipids that is they keep the

fats out of our organs but when they get

overloaded they swell and burst leaking

lipid into the bloodstream the body's

defenses go into red alert with an

inflammatory reaction this chronic

low-grade inflammation causes organ

damage resulting in cardiovascular and

fatty liver disease the insulin

resistance and diabetes anything that

stops the obesity also stops this

inflammation in Toowoomba at the

University of Southern Queensland

Lindsay brown researches the medicinal

power of natural foods to counteract

obesity and reverse its inflammatory

effects or more specifically fruit and

vegetables of a certain color the color

purple anthocyanin is a natural pigment

one of a range of compounds in plants

that keep their systems healthy and

potentially Al's too

which Vichy has the highest emphasis on

the purple carrots are by far the best

with that they've got an amazing amount

of antler cider and when we do this the

color just goes the whole way through it

when it comes to fruit sues for super

star the super star is the queen gonna

plummet so it's a wonderful plum so it's

not just an ordinary purple plum this

has got five or ten times as much of the

purple color in it and you can see it in

there Lindsay and his team tested the

effects of anthocyanins on rats fattened

up on a diet

similar to thick shakes burgers and

fries the body mass index of these rats

is 25 to 35 equivalent to the BMI of

most of the Australian human population

what's happening as a result of obesity

in these rats bodies right now blood

pressures going up quite dramatically

the heart function is going down the

liver function is going down the

abdominal fat pads increase the hormones

go up the whole of the body is being

affected and that's characteristic of

obesity and it's all linked together by

this inflammatory response it's all

linked together because the inflammatory

response occurs in every woman there's

no woman that is immune from that and

then after eight weeks he added at the

sign and rich juice to the food of half

the rats much to my surprise actually we

found that the anthocyanins in purple

carrots in Queen garnet plums in all of

these things completely reverse all of

those changes so we haven't changed the

diet they're still getting this high

carbohydrate high fat diet and yet with

that intervention all of those

parameters that characterize obesity are

back to normal that's incredible

that is incredible and you think wait a

minute this is not the sort of

billion-dollar multinational company

type product this is a carrot this is a

plum the results with rats have led to

human clinical trials which are now

underway

but beyond food there seems to be

something else driving obesity

especially in young children V's growing

up in a country where nearly 1 in 4

children are overweight or at least in a

world where obesity is one of the

leading threats to public health how

that will change in our lifetime

depends on what we can learn from new

science there's emerging research into

synthetic chemicals that act like

hormones and change the way our bodies

react to fat

they're called obese agents you can't

find a group that are not exposed to

these chemicals 99 to 100 percent of

Australian people have phthalates 80 to

90 to 100 percent depending on how when

they're measured have is phenols in

their bodies plasticizers like bitter

phenols or BPA are almost impossible to

avoid as they're common in our food

packaging and consumer goods it's also

often used as a resin and the lining of

household water supply so that means

even our drinking water he is often

contaminated for their degree of BPA as

well our pipes yes waiting for taps

attempts the question is even though

these chemicals only stay in our bodies

for a few hours can exposure in children

affect their obesity risk for the rest

of their lives

in Brisbane Bridgette Marr makes house

calls to measure their chemical load

baby Luke is about to turn three months

old to sample short-lived chemicals

Bridgette takes wipes from his hands

which isn't always easy and from his mum

Michelle's job is to collect samples of

Luke's urine her breast milk even house

dust over a period of time is she

worried what they might reveal yes I am

concerned and I would like to know you

know there's also there's also part of

me that's saying well if it's not

relevant then we also need to know that

too because you can get you can get to

kind of paranoid about what you're

putting into your child's body

Luke is one of thirty babies currently

in the study that will eventually

involve a hundred or so their levels of

chemical exposure from high to low are

compared with their growth rates

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Luke's development is tracked from birth

with his body composition measured every

six weeks like the bod pod in the tempo

study there's a miniature version for

babies

it's called a pea pods and it can give

us an estimation of the babies percent

body fat and lean body mass this is the

first study of its kind in Australia and

perhaps the world to search for links

between short-lived environmental

chemicals and obesity in the first six

months of loss when babies outgrow the

Peapod Brigette uses a handheld device

to monitor their growth rates her BMI is

twenty one point six and impedance is

six fifty at nine months old Evy loves

her food her mum Paula tries to slow her

weight gained through diet sometimes I

worry that perhaps she's growing a

little bit too fast because I know that

that can increase your risk of obesity

and metabolic disease later in life and

she's just learned something else

disturbing about BPA evey loves crinkly

paper and in an emergency sometimes to

settle her I'll give her a receipt and

sometimes she even eats them and Bridget

has told me that actually that is one of

the highest sources of BPA which is very

concerning to me the level of BPA in the

thermal paper of shop receipts is more

than a hundred thousand times higher

than in canned foods it's still too

early in this study to link the

variability of growth rates in babies

with chemical exposure but there's

alarming evidence from elsewhere about

the effects of BPA exposure in

school-aged children

those children with the highest levels

of exposure have a 35 to 40 percent

increased risk of being obese compared

to those children's with the lowest

level of exposure the likely explanation

is that BPA is an endocrine disruptor

that interferes with the hormone system

but could a be surgeons be reshaping our

genetic destiny as well there's this

other science called epigenetics where

the environment changes not the

structure of the gene but the function

of the gene this epigenetics is a normal

part of our human development that's the

way babies grow so the organs develop

and change and through these epigenetic

processes it's when they get hijacked by

environmental toxicants that things go

off

after six months in the tempo diet trial

the answer to losing weight for Jenny

and Andrea depends on overcoming their

biological drive to keep eating Andrea

on the slow and steady diet has lost

eight kilos jetty on the fast track diet

has lost 14 kilos so far that's actually

only seven kilos of fat so Jenny you've

lost double that and Andrea you've lost

more than that oh that's scary Lord yeah

it's a sizable amount of fat to lose so

well done thank you up to now it looks

like Jenny's low energy diet has

actually prevented her feminine reaction

from making her want to eat more with

the fast weight loss that you are on

Jenny

it feels like the famine reaction is

going undercover and can you see what's

happening here to your appetite did you

notice that you couldn't be bothered

eating almost wow this early result

seems to contradict the notion that

crash diets are not the way to go but

this trial has a couple of years to run

yet to really know which diet is best

Amanda wants more women to join the

study we encourage our clinical trial

participants to be like the boss of

their body as their I can see if their

menu action I see what you're doing to

my hunger and for them to be aware of

what's happening and to know that it's

nothing to feel bad about it's just you

know you're a normal woman having a

family reaction

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back in Hobart life has changed for Deb

to five months after her lap band

operation I've caught up with Deb to

take her out to lunch

thank you I still find it really hard to

cut the portion size down when I look at

it I think I can do double mmm but I

definitely can't how's your weight

changed life after lap band oh good it's

done really well I've lost sixteen and a

half q I can cut relationship thank you

excuse me

you're a mouthful but that's impressive

Eddy that's more than halfway to your

target almost to the to the key light

yeah so that is good how do I feel about

that I would have liked it to come off

fast even so she still feels judged I

actually had a lady in a shop say to me

that don't you took the easy way out

mm I actually was for the first time

felt bad about having in the life band

and then I thought no I had it for

medical reasons not you know it wasn't

an easy option for me so I don't go into

that shop anymore this journey to

explore obesity has opened my eyes my

weight is in the healthy range even

though I eat what I like my excuse is

that I'm just a skinny bloke but while a

healthy diet and more exercise is better

for everyone anyway when it comes to

losing weight it's not as simple as that

we shouldn't rely on excuses to answer

the question why am I still set or even

why am I not cecht but we can rely on

new science to improve our public health

methods to tackle obesity

look beyond the easy assumption that

getting fat is about being lazy you're

lacking willpower and we can see the

full picture

the powerful biological and

environmental reasons why we put weight

on and regain what we managed to lose

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