Wednesday, August 11, 2010

This May Explain Why You're Overweight

Science is a multi billion dollar industry. It's good we have the science industry discovering new answers for health issues.

A lot of research is being done on ghrelin, a hormone that causes hunger. A pill that controls it's affect on the obese is in the works.

There's a disorder called Prader-Will that may benefit from that pill. People with the disorder have slowed development, severe obesity and insatiable hunger. The scientists are linking the extreme excess of ghrelin in their bodies as one of the factors that may cause this disorder.

They also are finding that ghrelin helps with learning, memory and good mood. Those are very positive affects of the hormone so it's important to have a normal amount of ghrelin in your system.

They also know that lack of sleep increases the amount of ghrelin stored in the body and helps to explain why people over eat when they don't get at least 6 hours of sleep each night.

Some scientists have a theory that we were designed to be eating machines for survival. They think the people who had extra ghrelin in their systems were the ones who survived in the early days of our development.

Studies have been done supporting that our genetics play a large role on our size.

The thought is that we are born with a set point weight, the weight your body is designed to be. And that no matter how much we try to alter that, our bodies will find their way back to that weight.



Varying that weight by 5 to 10% is possible but more than that is difficult. I find some truth to that. When I get under my normal weight I get extremely hungry. When I'm above that weight I'm not as hungry.

It supports the importance of finding a realistic weight to maintain and that exercise is an important factor in weight control. Those extra calories you eat due to hunger can be burned up by exercise.

Staying active burns calories and develops active tissue, muscle, which burns calories while you're resting.

Studies show people who maintain a weight slightly above their ideal weight that exercise are far healthier than those at their ideal weight who do not exercise!

Those who yo-you up and down in weight have more health complications than those who stay at a consistent weight and include exercise, even if that weight is slightly above their ideal weight.

The lesson today is no pill is available currently for controlling ghrelin but you can have some control by getting enough sleep. You also have some control of your weight by exercising and staying active.

This information may support why people get depressed when they over eat and think more clearly on an empty stomach.

The levels of ghrelin are higher when you're hungry so the good affects of the hormone can be experienced as well as the negative ones.

The world is always gaining insight, knowledge and remedies to health disorders due to science. I'll try to keep you posted, so visit me often!

Your fitness expert

Lynn     www.getrealfit.org

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