The link between a diet high in fat and sugar and the propensity to being overweight leads many people to assume that obesity is a condition with a direct link to a lazy or greedy personality. For this reason, many people blame the individual for their being overweight and assume it is a simple matter of willpower to lose this weight.
As the average weight of adults in the Western world steadily increases, more medical research into the causes and effects of obesity is undertaken, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the matters of weight loss and weight gain are much more complicated than originally thought.
The National Obesity Forum have drawn attention to 250 genes which are currently under investigation in an attempt to uncover their role in weight gain. The Imperial College London have already completed some ground-breaking research into the role of the GAD2 gene.
It is now known that GAD2 comes in two forms: one which reduces the appetite, the other which stimulates it. A large study of 1200 people uncovered that the 'protective' form of the gene is most often found in thinner people, and the other form most often in overweight or obese people.
The average weight of adults in the Western world is increasing in direct proportion to increases in health, wealth and modernity. In our developed nation, work is largely non-manual, the numbers of women staying at home and cooking with fresh ingredients are declining, we drive when we used to walk, and snack foods are everywhere. Obesity is one of the side-effects of our privilege.