Obesity and its Genetic Link - Case Study Example

Obesity and its Genetic Link Introduction In the of life, people often face various challenges that arise from multiple factors. For instance, environmental factors like health and hygiene sometimes cause different diseases and ailments that can be detrimental to life. On the other hand, some diseases affect people but are not necessarily caused by health hazards in the environment. For these diseases, it is important that people understand about them including ways of dealing with them whenever they arise. While some of the diseases arising from environmental health hazards are curable, research is on going to find some of the effective interventions mechanism to those that continue to claim lives of people without proper treatment. Some of the diseases that still need proper intervention strategies are those caused by genetic compositions of people 2. Genetic Disorders Genetic disorders can be described as illnesses often triggered by one or several abnormalities in individual’s genome. This condition is often present in an individual from the time of his/her birth. Most of the genetic disorders are often rare; they affect one person out of several hundreds and even thousands. It is important to realize that genetic disorders can be either heritable or not i.e. passed from parents to their off springs. As concerns non-heritable disorders, the defects are often brought about changes or mutations in the DNA. In this case, such diseases can only happen to be heritable if they happen in the respective germ line. One of the conditions that has been affecting many people across the world is obesity. Many campaigns have been running in the aim of educating people about this disease, which many people have claimed that it is caused by lifestyle and eating patterns besides genetic factors. 3. Obesity This is a medical disorder or condition characterized by an excessive accumulation of body fat to the degree that it results in negative health effects to the person affected (Haslam and Gary). In this case, the person often has a reduced life expectancy and several health conditions that are increased by this condition. In Western nations unlike many other countries, one is declared obese if his BMI (Body Mass Index) goes beyond 30 kg/m2. Body Mass Index is got by dividing one’s weight by the square of his height. A measure of 25-30kg/m2is often regarded as overweight. However, different countries have different systems they use in order to tell whether one is overweight, in East Asia, it is sometimes more stricter compared to the West. Obesity often increases the probability of having various kinds of diseases; for instance, it is associated with the heart diseases, certain types of cancers, osteoarthritis, diabetes type II, as well as the obstructive sleep apnea. In several instances, various combinations of foods that have high-energy content bring about obesity. This is often followed by little or no physical activities, as well as genetic susceptibility. It is important to understand that some cases have been reported where the condition is brought about by endocrine disorders, genes, psychiatric illnesses or certain medications. So far, little evidence has been cited in support of the fact that obese people take little portions of food yet their weight keeps on increasing. To this effect, research has shown that obese people often have a high expenditure of energy compared to their thin equivalents. The reason given in support of these view is that obese people often need much energy with is essential in supporting their large body mass. Obesity has been described as the leading causes of many deaths, albeit it is preventable, with much prevalence being in children and adults (Barbour 9). Many authorities across the world have found obesity to be a serious problem in public health in the contemporary 21st century. In many countries, the obese condition is highly stigmatized in as much as it was initially thought to be a mark of wealth in some of the historical perspectives. Health practitioners have often emphasised that regular exercises and dieting are some of the chief treatments and intervention factors to Obesity. The quality of the diet can be improved through reduction of consumption of foods with high-energy content, a good example of these foods are those with much sugars and fat (Baum and Shin 48). Besides having quality diets in this respect, additional intervention approaches can include taking of anti-obesity drugs, most of which have the purpose of reducing ones appetite or absorption of fat into the blood stream. Where these drugs are ineffective, a gastric balloon is often used to reduce the weight, in extreme case, surgery is often advised to reduce excess fat in some sections of the body. 4. The genetic Link of Obesity Across the medical fraternity, it has been accepted that obesity is a complex diseases that arises from an interplay of various environmental as well as hereditary factors. A better understanding of this condition can be made through the combined and progressive understanding of genomics, quantitative genetics as well as bioinformatics and the molecular foundations of obesity. This is important to understand that coming together of obese cases within families, congruence of the body weight for the monozygotic twins as well as the discovery of those genes related to obesity have been effective in reinforcing the arguments against the genetic dimensions of obese conditions (Burniat 28). Currently, overweight, in association with the various forms of obesity are all conditions that have tended to concentrate within families. The risk of obesity is often 2-8 times higher for people that have a family history associated with this disease in comparison to that person that does not have a family history of this condition (Cooper and Christopher 67). The risk is much higher in instances where the obesity is very severe. It is important to realize that the heritability of obesity is not uniform; it often varies in accordance to the types of phenotypes that have been studied. Nonetheless, the prevalence is sometimes higher for the phenotypes associated with the distribution of the adipose tissue, which is sometimes ranging between 40 to 55 percent. Alternatively, the range for people with excess fat or weight is between 5-45 %. As far as heredity of obesity is concerned, it has to be noted that adiposity and weight gain increases as one advances in age, something that is hereditary influenced. Some research and studies by health experts have indicated that genetic mutations can also cause diabetes; the types of obesity that are monogenic prompt this. However, it has to be understood that at present, few cases in the world have been associated with mutations of up to seven distinctive genes; in fact, the reported number currently stands at 78. The forms of obesity that are most common are those that are a result of different variations in the number of genes. The variations of sequence found within a pool that comprises of about 56 various genes have been found to be associated to obese phenotypes. Out of all the tests that had been set for investigations, only ten of them indicated positive outcomes in at least five of the different studies that were set. Overall, the study of the actual causes of obesity across various groups of people has indicated that genetic factors are actively involved and linked to the etiology of obesity. Additionally, it is exclusive of the very rare and severe cases of obesity. The genes that are involved in this case are those that actively interact with various factors in the environment, such as those associated with high-energy intake and expenditure. This has been directly linked to obesity among various groups of people that have been studied. It is presumed that the activity of identifying these genes will be essential in clarifying on the particular etiology of obesity with its associated metabolic consequences. In addition, it will also include obesity and its particular metabolic complications while identifying individuals and groups of people that have high risks of contacting this disorder. This will be in respect to the profile of their genes, with the purpose of developing various personalized interventions mechanisms in terms of treatment and prevention strategies. 5. Conclusion Obesity has been prevalent in many of the human populations, with efforts being made across the board to find effective treatment approaches. In the recent decades, the availability of foods rich in energy has resulted in a sharp increase of this condition especially in the western countries. In this case, evidence has shown that the obesogenic environment has been to blame for the increased cases of obesity. People with obese have been advised to ensure that they involve actively in physical exercises and check on their dieting in order to reduce the prevalence of obesity (Wadden 56). They have to understand that an increase in the prevalence of obesity often leads to increased opportunistic infections that claim the lives of people suffering from these diseases like heart diseases and other types of cancers. Works Cited Barbour, Scott. Obesity. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2011. Print. Baum, Charles and Shin Chou. The Socio-economic Causes of Obesity. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011. Print. Burniat, Walter. Child and Adolescent Obesity Causes and Consequences, Prevention and Management. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print. Cooper, Zafra and Christopher Fairburn. Cognitive-behavioral Treatment of Obesity: A Clinicians Guide. New York: Guilford, 2003. Print. Haslam, David and Gary Witterst. Obesity. Abingdon: Health, 2009. Print. Wadden, Thomas Handbook of Obesity Treatment. New York: Guilford, 2002. Print. Read More