3 Surprising things that are making us BIG…!
Don’t worry, junk food, lack of exercise and medical conditions, all those “Well Known” things are not on this list!
“Why Do Some People Get FAT and Others DON’T?”
Why the Obesity has become an epidemic suddenly, especially post 1980s?
How did we become a race of Couch Dwellers?
“Did we become Obese because we stopped being physically active or did we become lazy because we were getting heavier? What came first the chicken or the egg?”
Does gaining weight really only boils down to the energy equation?
Calories In> Calories Out = Weight Gain
REALLY? Is it really that simple?
“Eat Less, Move More It’s that simple!” But is it really?
What if there is something else at work that is absolutely out of our control?
I myself, being a dietitian would like to believe that healthy eating, healthy lifestyle and physical activity should suffice; not just because its true but also because it will make my life and job as a counselor a hell lot of convenient! But truth to be told, every once in a while I come across cases where there is more to the story than just the energy equation! That got me thinking and I started digging and pursuing alternative causes of the medical phenomenon we all call “Obesity”. And here are my-
Top 3 things that you never knew could be making and keeping you FAT!
- A Virus!
Imagine, what if you could catch obesity virus just by shaking hands with an infected person or just because someone standing next to you in an elevator sneezed! Just like common cold or chickenpox! Crazy idea right?
Well, it might just be TRUE!
Watched Aamir Khan’s Dangal? Ever wondered how in the world did he managed to gain and then lose the weight both timely and safely?
The man behind Aamir Khan’s stunning transformation is Dr. Nikhil V. Dhurandhar. A former doctor based out of Mumbai, who discovered a virus that was making chickens fat. Convinced that this finding could be an answer to the sudden rise in obesity epidemic he devoted his entire career to pursue this arena!
He has already proved the existence of adipogenic (creation of new fat cells…) effect of Human Adinovirus AD-36. Of course more research and ultimately human trials are needed before the findings become mainstream, still a noteworthy idea don’t y’all think?
Follow Dr. Dhurandhar’s work at www.dhurandhar.com
2. Gut Bacteria!
Yes, not all gut bacteria are good (like the ones in yogurt!).
Not all of the food that we eat can be digested by our body. Some of it is unavailable. Unavailable because it is too complex and can’t be broken down (remember dietary fiber?) so our body just poops it out! But certain type of intestinal microorganisms can further digest the complex carbohydrates that otherwise would have been excreted. This causes freeing and absorption of additional simple sugars from food which is then stored in the form of fat!
What this means is,
Person A who is eating less than person B can still gain more weight because of their gut micro flora!
The scientific community is furthering their quest to figure out the relationship between gut bacteria and obesity. There are even speculations that fecal (poop) transplant from a lean person to an obese person can cure the later of the obesity. See Testing a ‘Poop Pill’ For Weight Loss.
3. “Diet” foods
Believe it or not,
Low Fat or Low Carbs ≠ Low Calories!
99% of the times low fat foods are high in carbs and low carb foods are high in fats! See the comparison of whole milk Vs low fat yogurt below!
Calories or nutrition is the last thing the food manufacturers are worried about! When you take a certain ingredient out of a recipe, to get the same consistency, you have to substitute it with something, and the substitutes are carbohydrates/sugars (in low fat items) and fats (in low carb items).
Don’t believe me, next time you are in the grocery store pick out any “Diet item” and compare it with the regular item of the same brand and see for yourself!
And those “High Fiber” biscuits! Goodness! next time you buy them, flip the pack and look at the fat and sugar content and then tell me whether or not you are better off eating a regular one!
Call To Action
Now those were my 3 least known causes of obesity. But you know what, be it a virus, be it a bacteria or a bag of baked potato chips, end result is they make you pack on pounds!
Does it really matter how you caught the cold virus? Once you have it, you just have it and you are gonna have to tend to the symptoms of runny nose and sore throat for a week anyways… Similarly, till we know for sure if there are viruses and bacteria causing obesity and vaccines and prevention protocols are developed, let us follow the tried and tested methods of healthy diet + exercise to treat the symptom of weight gain, shall we? :)
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