{"id":2624,"date":"2015-10-05T15:09:05","date_gmt":"2015-10-05T15:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=2624"},"modified":"2024-05-09T03:34:07","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T03:34:07","slug":"is-there-really-a-way-even-if-you-have-the-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/is-there-really-a-way-even-if-you-have-the-will\/","title":{"rendered":"Is There Really A Way Even If You Have The Will?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Obesity is one of the biggest health problems in the world.\u00a0 It can be a contributing factor in other diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, and dementia. Overeating is often cited as the only reason people are obese. In discussions about weight gain and obesity, many people seem to think that it is purely a function of willpower.<\/p>\n<p>Since what we weigh is, normally, attributed to what we eat we must ask the question:<\/p>\n<p>Is over-eating the only reason a person becomes overweight?<\/p>\n<p>Human behavior is driven by various biological factors like genetics, hormones, and neural circuits.\u00a0 Eating behavior, just like sleeping behavior, is driven by biological processes. Therefore, saying that behavior is a function of willpower is way too simplistic.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some factors thought to be the leading causes of weight gain, obesity and metabolic disease that have nothing to do with willpower:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Genetics<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Obesity has a strong genetic component. Offspring\u2019s of obese parents are much more likely to become obese than offspring\u2019s of lean parents.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Insulin<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Insulin is a very important hormone that regulates energy storage, among other things. One of the functions of insulin is to tell fat cells to store fat and to hold on to the fat they already carry.\u00a0 When insulin levels elevate, energy is selectively stored in fat cells instead of being available for use.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Medications<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Certain medications can cause weight gain as a side effect. Some examples include diabetes medication, antidepressants and antipsychotics. These medications don\u2019t cause a \u201cwillpower deficiency,\u201d they alter the function of the body and brain, making it selectively store fat instead of burning it.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Leptin<\/strong><\/span> \u2013This hormone is produced by the fat cells and is supposed to send signals to the hypothalamus (the part of our brain that controls food intake) that we are full and need to stop eating. The problem for some is their leptin isn\u2019t working as it should because the brain becomes resistant to it.\u00a0 This is called leptin resistance and is believed to be a leading factor in the pathogenesis of obesity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Thyroid Disease<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Thyroid hormone regulates our metabolism. Too little hormone slows the metabolism and often causes weight gain.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Cushing\u2019s syndrome <\/strong><\/span>\u2013 This condition results when the adrenal glands (located at the top of each kidney) produces an excess amount of a steroid hormone called cortisol. This leads to a buildup of fat in characteristic sites such as the face, upper back and abdomen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A doctor can determine if any of these conditions or treatments is responsible for your obesity.\u00a0 If you would like to see a physician, please contact the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center\u2019s Ambulatory Care Center to schedule an appointment. 718-206-7001.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Obesity is one of the biggest health problems in the world.\u00a0 It can be a contributing factor in other diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, and dementia. Overeating is often cited as the only &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/is-there-really-a-way-even-if-you-have-the-will\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2624"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11105,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624\/revisions\/11105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}