Easy access to nutrients has contributed to the increase in obesity in the human population. But, what is obesity and why isn’t everybody fat? Dr. Stephen O’Rahilly provides a biomedical perspective of obesity, and evaluates which genes could potentially shift the balance towards obesity. As he explains, one becomes obese when the balance between energy intake and energy spent is shifted. Surprisingly, mutations that lead to obesity in humans aren’t in genes involved in metabolism and energy storage, but failure in satiety signals in the brain that result in people eating too much. The excess of energy intake over energy expenditure leads to obesity.
View the full talk with additional resources on our website
Obesity Genetics: Health Consequences of Being Fat
Dr. Stephen O’Rahilly provides a biomedical perspective of obesity, and evaluates which genes could potentially shift the balance towards obesity. (Talk recorded in September 2019)
- Part 1: The Causes of Obesity: Why Isn’t everybody fat?Audience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 00:31:04 - Part 2: Why Does Obesity Lead to Adverse Health Outcomes?Audience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 00:30:09