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Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion  Science of Obesity Discovery Channel
Anyone watch Science of Obesity? It's sub-titled "inside the body of the morbidly obese."
They're covering gastric bypass surgery right now. Also covering Sumo wrestlers who are considered morbidly obese based on BMI, except their bodies are very different from normal obese individuals. They store subcutaneous fat, which is different than the normal fat in people called visceral fat which gets into organs and internals. Yet these sumo wresters eat 20,000 calories a day! 
There's also a good talk about ghrelin and leptin hormones. Ghrelin is produced in your stomach and upper intestines and tells your body you are hungry. Leptin on the other hand tells your brain you are full. Some super obese mice were discovered to either have been producing no leptin or lacked leptin receptors.
Lastly covered cushing syndrome, a hormonal issue.. Adrenal glands normally produce cortisol, but with cushings that can get thrown out of wack, telling your body to shift fat in a different way then normal. Small benign tumors on the pituitary glands can be the cause of this condition. Weight gain symptoms include a "hump" of fat on the top of the spine and a lot of fat increase in the belly, face and neck. |
Great info, thanks for sharing. I am going to see my doc after reading about cushings. :-)