Rationalities and models of obesity -- Energy balance, genetics and obesogenic environments -- Governance through measurement -- Inequalities -- Food and eating -- Global transformations of diet -- Obesity science and policy -- Complexity -- Systems and rationalities

The primary purpose of fitness and body composition standards in the U.S. Armed Forces has always been to select individuals best suited to the physical demands of military service, based on the assumption that proper body weight and composition supports good health, physical fitness, and appropriate military appearance. The current epidemic of overweight and obesity in the United States affects the military services. The pool of available recruits is reduced because of failure to meet body composition standards for entry into the services and a high percentage of individuals exceeding military weight-for-height standards at the time of entry into the service leave the military before completing their term of enlistment. To aid in developing strategies for prevention and remediation of overweight in military personnel, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command requested the Committee on Military Nutrition Research to review the scientific evidence for: factors that influence body weight, optimal components of a weight loss and weight maintenance program, and the role of gender, age, and ethnicity in weight management.

Obesity is a hugely expensive and increasing problem worldwide,leading to disability, reproductive problems, depression andaccelerated metabolic and vascular diseases in a large proportionof men, women and children. The ABC of Obesity is a newguide which will aid its effective management, addressing issuessuch as dieting, exercise, self esteem, drug treatment and surgery.Recent evidence is used to highlight frequent problems, successfultreatment options, and the most common causes. Written by leading experts, this is a widely accessible text andan indispensable guide for all general practitioners, juniordoctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who areinvolved in the treatment and research of this commoncondition.

The fact that about 30-40% of the adults in the Western world are overweight or obese testifies to the frequency of the disturbances in body weight regulation. Scientists have established that caloric intake, macronutrient composition of the diet, basal and resting metabolic rate, thermic response to food, energy expenditure associated with movement and physical activity, and preferential storage of the surplus of calories as fat or lean tissues are critical determinants of energy balance and body weight. While much has been learned, the field is poised for major advances with the advent of a variety of imaging techniques, progress in quantitative and molecular genetics, use of transgenic rodent models and of breeding experiments with informative inbred strains, availability of stable isotopes for metabolic and behavioral studies, and a growing number of useful experimental animal and human models. This volume takes an integrative approach to obesity. It is structured around four major topics: (1) the animal and human models currently available for the study of body weight regulation with their strengths and limitations, (2) the molecular and genetic basis of the regulation of body weight, (3) the metabolic and physiological mechanisms involved, and (4) the behavioral and social determinants. The 13 background papers provide a critical overview of the present knowledge base while the group reports summarize the extensive deliberations of 38 international experts. Particular emphasis has been given to promising research areas and on the advances needed to ensure a better understanding of the biological and behavioral mechanisms of the regulation of body weight, with a particular emphasis on overweight and obesity.

Taking a comparative approach, this book investigates the ways in which obesity and its susceptibilities are framed in science and policy and how they might work better. Providing a clear, authoritative voice on the debate, the author builds on early work to engage further in ecological and complexity thinking in obesity. Many of the models that have emerged since obesity became a population-level issue are examined, including the energy balance model, and models used to examine human body fatness from a range of perspectives including evolutionary, anthropological, environmental, and political viewpoints. The book is ideal for those working on, or interested in, obesity science, health policy, health economics, evolutionary medicine, medical sociology, nutrition and public health who want to understand the shifts that have taken place in obesity science, policy, and intervention in the past forty years.

It has become increasingly difficult to keep up with the growing body of literature on the genetics, metabolic phenotype and treatment of obesity. This volume brings together an array of chapters from many of the foremost authorities and researchers in this area. Key advances in the genetics of obesity are summarized and the effects of obesity in pregnancy, childhood and old age explored. By scrutinizing the hormones and enzymes most recently implicated in the development, maintenance and consequences of obesity, the biochemical and physiological background of the abnormal metabolism of obesity is mapped out. Furthermore, a practical update on clinical approach and treatment of obesity is offered. Finally, the social aspects of obesity and the view of the obese body in art throughout the centuries are reflected. A valuable overview of causes, metabolic disturbances and treatment options, this volume will appeal to those with an interest in clinical as well as pathophysiological and genetic aspects of obesity. Furthermore, it will provide useful reading for scientists and students who would like to broaden and update their knowledge in this area.

This book highlights the concordance between signaling pathways that are involved in obesity and cancer cross-talks. It describes the role of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, insulin, and adipokines in the development of obesity-associated cancers. The book reviews the role of inflammatory signaling pathways such as estrogen-mediated signaling, mTOR and AMP-activated protein kinase pathway and the involvement of adaptive and innate immunity, oxidative stress, gene polymorphism, dietary phytochemicals, and miRNAs in obesity and cancer. In addition, it covers the latest research on the drugs and natural therapeutic agents that target obesity-induced cancers and discusses various in vivo models for studying obesity and obesity-associated cancer. Lastly, it analyses the role of genetic polymorphisms in the obesity-related genes that influence cancer development. The book is a useful resource for researchers in the field of cancer, pharmacology, food chemistry, and clinical biochemistry.