The obesity epidemic in Denmark and across the world is a growing concern, with the number of obese individuals in Denmark doubling since 2010.
Professor Emeritus Thorkild I. A. Sørensen offers new insights into this issue, suggesting a deeper, more complex cause than previously thought.
Sørensen’s research, published in prominent journals like Science Advances and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, draws attention to a crisis that’s been developing quietly alongside other global health challenges.
He notes that obesity, similar to the climate crisis, has been slowly escalating. Shockingly, it’s predicted that soon one in every eight people globally will be obese.
This isn’t a recent phenomenon. Sørensen points out that the roots of the obesity epidemic stretch back to well before the era of fast food and sedentary lifestyles, even visible among children born in the 1930s.
This suggests an underlying process affecting a segment of the population that remains unidentified.
The big question is what causes the body to store excess calories as fat. While genetics play a role, they don’t fully explain the rapid increase in obesity rates. Sørensen believes something in our environment has triggered this epidemic, but what that is remains unclear.
Sørensen challenges the common belief that obesity results simply from eating too much and exercising too little.
He argues that these behaviors are more a consequence of obesity than a cause. In his view, obesity is linked to our social environment, possibly as a response to social challenges or perceived food scarcity.
His theory suggests that social problems manifest as mental challenges, triggering processes in the brain that lead to fat storage.
This theory is supported by research indicating that people tend to store fat when they feel uncertain about food availability, even when there’s no actual food shortage.
Sørensen also highlights the role of societal attitudes towards obesity. He believes that prejudice, stigma, and discrimination against obese individuals can exacerbate the issue, creating a psychosocial challenge that contributes to the growing crisis.
To tackle this epidemic, Sørensen suggests a shift in focus. Rather than solely promoting diet and exercise, addressing the underlying psychosocial factors and societal attitudes may be key.
By fighting prejudice and stigma, we could make significant strides in understanding and managing the obesity crisis.
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The research findings can be found in Science Advances.
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