Photo courtesy of http://www.oprah.com/health/yourbody/slide/20061102/yourbody_20061102_350_103.jhtml

Fat Facts: What I Finally Learned From Science!

 

How many of you know what Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Mehmet Oz are holding in the photograph? I'll give you a hint: it is something that all of us have inside our bodies. When I was in middle school, we called it junior high where I went, I thought science class was where I got out of dissecting gross stuff. Back then, I was thin and athletic. Maybe it would have helped if I had spent more time listening and less time thinking about the guy across the aisle. For several years now, I have struggled with obesity. Despite trying nearly every diet out there, fad and otherwise, I seemed to only gain more weight. How could science class help your teacher, or someone you know, maybe even you, feel better and become healthier? Or better yet, how can you avoid ever becoming overweight to begin with? Read on for the answer...

 

Vocabulary for Ms. Gullett's Science Class & Other Curious People:

 

Omentum: Stores fat that can be quickly accessed by the liver. It is a fatty tissue layer that hangs underneath your stomach muscles. The only way to see how big your omentum is when you are alive is by having a CT scan. By the way, this is what they are holding up in the photograph. Dr. Oz is holding an omentum from an overweight person and Oprah is holding an omentum from a person of average weight. Which one do you think is closer to the size of your omentum? The good news is that your body can burn off the omentum fat and become healthier again.

 

Adiponectin: Stress and inflammation reducing chemical in the body. According to Dr. Oz, the more adiponection a person has, the less fat a person has. If you have a bigger omentum, your body will produce less adiponectin. So what does this say about a person who has a big belly and is trying to lose weight?

 

Ghrelin: Hormone that makes you think you need to eat. It also stimulates Neuropeptide Y. Ghrelin stimulates growth hormones. How do you think a person will grow if their growth hormones keep getting stimulated?

 

Leptin: Hormone that makes the body feel full and satisfied. You have less leptin receptors the older you get and so you may not recognize that you are full as easily. Is this why some older people gain weight? What does it say about whether it is easier to learn good eating habits when you are younger or older?

 

Hypothalamus: Receives signals from the body to decide whether or not you are hungry. It also controls body temperature, metabolism, and thirst.

 

Neuropeptide Y: Stress hormone that increases as stress increases. It makes you hungrier and slows your metabolism. Could this be why some people under stress gain weight?

 

CART: Chemical in the body that stimulates the hypothalamus. As a result of this function, metabolism increases, your appetite is reduced, and insulin increases to give energy to your muscles instead of being stored as fat.

 

CCK: Notifies the brain that your stomach is full. When food enters the small bowel, it releases CCK into the wall of the stomach. According to Dr. Oz, eating foods high in saturated fat actually cause you to be less sensitive to CCK.

 

Pylorus: Opening at the end of the stomach. CCK causes it to shut. Do you think it still shuts properly if you eat a lot of saturated fat?

 

High Fructose Corn Syrup: A sweetener that according to Dr. Oz is not recognized by our brain as food. Because of this, he says that the body does not think it is full when we eat foods high in this additive. How many foods and drinks that you regularly enjoy have this additive? Do you notice a difference in how quickly you feel full when you eat something with it vs. without it? Do you want to eat sooner after having foods or drinks that contain it?

 

Bile: Green fluid that the liver secretes. It is then stored in the gallbladder and released into the small intestine. Bile also surrounds fat so that it doesn't stick to the walls of the small intestine. Many adults end up having their gallbadder removed. What do you think happens to the bile if you no longer have a gallbladder?

 

Gallbladder: Organ that helps to store bile, which helps the body to absorb nutrients. CCK causes the gallbladder to contract. What do you think might happen to a person's ability to get nutrition from the foods that they eat if this organ is surgically removed?

 

Ileocecal valve: Slows down the passage of food from the small intestine to the large intestine. Fiber also slows the passage of food from the small intestine to the large intestine. Lots of people take extra fiber if they don't eat enough of it in their food. What foods can you think of that contain a lot of fiber? What do you think would happen if you don't eat enough fiber? What about if you ate too much? If you eat fiber at breakfast will you be hungrier at lunch?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please share your thoughts about what you read here:

 

 

 

 

How have things changed???

 

Hi! This is Ms. Gullett's dad, James. She asked me to add my ideas about obesity, so here goes. I think the main problem is that people, including me, spend way too much time in front of computers and t.v. sets, sit more, and exercise less. When I was a kid, all our food was homemade and we had a more rounded diet. I grew up on a farm and we would come in after a hard day's work, even after going to school, and eat a big dinner, with potatoes, fruit, vegetables, and a big piece of real meat. Once we finally got a t.v. we would all sit together and watch a show or two before reading the Bible and going to bed. We didn't have hamburgers in front of the screen like so many people do now. Now people eat a lot of fast food and are much lazier. Ever since I was in the Air Force, I eat a lot faster than I did growing up, so maybe that has something to do with it too, who knows...

 

I'm Carol. I'm Ms. Gullett's mom. Here is my two cents worth about this so-called epidemic of obesity. I think that everyone has their own individual reasons for weight problems. Some people just eat too much and don't exercise, some people have medical issues, and some people have no alternative way to handle stress. I can tell you that when I was growing up, if we had a Coke, it came in a six ounce bottle not a giant Big Gulp cup full of pure sugar. Coke and pizza were treats, not habits. We didn't eat on the run or in our cars on the way to our next stop. Well, actually, come to think of it, we did eat in our cars, but that was at the root beer stand sitting still enjoying the fresh air in the summer with our friends. We didn't have McDonalds and all these fast food places back then. We ate at home most of the time and ate breakfast, lunch, and supper at the same times every day. Each meal came from the five basic food groups and supper was when we sat down as a family and shared our day together and bonded with each other. We used real butter and grain fed beef or non-injected chickens and we fried things in Crisco or even bacon grease sometimes. No one worried about cholesterol or fat. We didn't obsess over weight. If you started getting heavy you ate less pie crust made from lard or got out and worked in the yard until your clothes fit better. You didn't pay someone to tell you that you needed better willpower. We ate to get rid of hunger. You ate until you were full and didn't worry about it again until time to make the next meal. We never would have considered drinking a meal out of a can like they do now. I think part of the obesity problem is that people eat tons of fast food, don't exercise as much as they used to,and instead of making healthy meals they grab whatever they can nuke or grab at the window. We don't enjoy our meals anymore. Eating used to be a main event, with a focus on enjoying the atmosphere and company. Now, it's a necessary evil that we gulp down in a hurry. We are all rushing to get somewhere. My guess is to an early grave if we keep this up. Lucky for us, all the preservatives and chemicals we are poisoning our bodies with will preserve us so our kids don't have to.

 

Just like you can drive a car and not understand how the engine works, you can eat and not know how your body works. I hope that by learning more about how your body processes the food you eat, you will be able to make educated choices about what you put in your body. Knowledge is power and I want you to be able to power your body in the way that is best for you. I hope you have enjoyed this lesson and found at least one or two things that made it fun and interesting for you. Let me know what you think! Thanks, Ms. Gullett

 

I would like to briefly hit on childhood obesity.  I think it is something that often gets ignored, but I feel is a problem.  The popularity of video games and television has skyrocketed, so many kids prefer to stay indoors and play video games than go outside and exercise.  It didn't used to be like this.  I know my dad has told me that he used to play baseball with friends after school almost every single day.  No kids do that anymore.  For most kids, the only baseball that they play afterschool or on weekends involves a controller, a television, and a 400 dollar game system. 

 

Things have definetly changed!  Recess is quickly becoming a thing of the past.  Video games are taking over.  Staying fit is more of a conscious effort than ever!  We need to educate children on how to stay healthy and active.  They need to be taught about the effects of not eating the right foods and not getting enough exercise.  ~Jill

 

The information contained in this wiki is not an endorsement or recommendation for the diet or other weight loss tips included in the book. Never start a diet or exercise program without consulting your doctor and your parent or guardian if you are under eighteen years of age. The purpose of this page is to teach the scientific principles of physiology and anatomy and not to promote any health or diet related products or plans.