Evolution as One of The Major Determinants in The Obesity Setting

The 1990’s, an era where everywhere you looked children were playing; roaming the streets, riding bicycles, and playing kickball in the side yards. These days seem to have vanished. The 2000’s are considered the technology era. Instead of seeing children playing tag or hide and go seek. Children have fallen to the mind capturing video games such as Modern Warfare, or Halo. It is sad to see America become an icon of laziness. The lack of activeness in the community has resulted in an epidemic called obesity. Laziness is a broad term used to describe obesity, however adiposity cannot describe with one unique term. This topic has been investigated for years with attempts to pinpoint a cause. “A person has traditionally been considered obese if they are more than 20% over their ideal weight. That ideal weight must consider the person's height, age, sex, and build” (Definition of Obese, 2016). In today’s world, obesity controls society, and it is not slowing down anytime soon.

The obesity epidemic caused by a variety of factors including a lack of exercise, poor diet and evolution. Two of these three factors are common determinants with the interpretation of obesity. However, evolution is one of the largest determinants in the obesity setting. This disease has gradually risen over a course of time; trends of obesity began as early as the 1970’s. In conjunction with the spread of this epidemic fundamental elements which correspond with obesity include allelic frequencies and phenotypes. Given the information provided from evolution, obesity may come to an end once and for all.

Working Hard or Hardly Working

Evolution is the process of change or improvement from earlier forms, also known as Darwinism. This source was the beginning of the current American obesity epidemic. Obesity is related to environmental changes however; many studies have shown a correlation between obesity and genetics. This correlation was based off the idea of certain populations obtaining an increased risk for metabolic conditions and obesity, while other communities encompass immunity. The trending numbers of obesity are unstable in many communities, however, encompass an idea of fitness. Fitness levels play a role in the evolution of a community on body fat levels. A high active enviroment such as a farm or manual labor is more likely to encompass high metabolic rates and low body fat percentages. These are due to an increased amount of cellular energy given off during a day of work. In addition to an increased work ethic, prompts a comparison to an era before heavy machinery.

Typically, before machines performed manual labor, humans carried out all tasks necessary for survival. These include growing food, taking care of cattle and performing relevant duties to ensure a healthy and stable home life. These tasks were not as simple as they seem. Many journals include the thought of men working from morning until sunset. The increased amount of physical labor had many adaptations to the human body. An increase amount of glucose was necessary for survival which primarily retrieved from fat storage. Furthermore, the calories received in meals used abruptly due to the considerate amount of work done inside and outside of the body.

Today, machines have taken over society and continue to steal jobs from humans. Society has made a drastic change about human work ethic and the jobs needed to complete using a human hand. These changes have caused the human body to adapt to a decreased amount of calorie expenditure per day. In comparison to before machinery, calorie and energy expenditure was higher, than now. These environmental and mechanical advancements have caused the human body to shift to a relaxed state with farming and industrial jobs in mind. As said previously, the body relies on a constant source of glucose to function, however given the circumstances of decreased caloric expenditure the body no longer needs as much energy as earlier decades. This lack of expenditure is another part of fat storage leading to an increased chance of obesity. These statements conclude the idea of a metabolism adapting through change of an enviroment also known as epigenetics.

Epigenetics

Epigenetics is a term used to describe an impression that alters gene expression without altering the DNA sequence (Herrera, 2011). This term suggests environmental factors during crucial developmental stages may result in obesity. Adolescents shaped by environmental factors such as poor nutritional exposure and lifestyle choices managed by their parents. Given the event of a child receiving poor nutrition during a major growth stage of life, may result in a change of gene expression, allowing the child to conform to their environmental factors. The alteration of a gene’s expression allows for a new function to arise. These changes may result in harm later in life, including an increased risk for obesity, metabolic conditions and cardiovascular diseases. The alteration of gene expressions creates an increased risk for harmful diseases due to the amendment . Nutritional factors are few but far from all underlying components which can contribute to obesity, for instance lifestyle habits are partly responsible for unhealthy tendencies.

Lifestyle habits such as regular exercise can supply a positive impact on epigenetics. Individuals may have a predisposition for obesity however gene expression can alter early in life through positive habits. The habits include regular exercise, and an increasing amount of healthy nutrition. These two components allow for the dispensation of exosomes that consist of Vitamin B6 and B12, which help in the regulation of metabolism. Vitamin deficiencies may result in medical conditions, however, depict gene expression in younger children and adolescents. To regulate poor nutrition and a lack of exercise, epigenetics regulates gene expression used to switch on and off genes . This system is a way for the human body to compete for survival during a time of stress.

Thrifty Hypothesis

In an earlier section caloric expenditure described a part of epigenetics and the adaptation of human’s work ethic. History shows a change in nutritional advancements and the availability of healthy foods. Evolutionary changes occurred due to our ancestors sustaining a positive gene alteration for energy storage (Sellayah, 2014). Given the enviroment of our ancestors, these individuals relied on an adequate amount of energy to perform an increased allotment of work. Due to the advancement of their work industry and the grueling hours spent on manual labor, it is easy to see why an increased amount of energy ability was necessary. On the other hand, manual labor was not the only part used to drive an increased amount of energy storage, but, also the lack of availability of food or in certain environments famine. Famine is the lack of availability of food, which is the driving factor for the thrifty hypothesis. This topic relates to a substantial amount of genetic drift due to the lack of predation forces. The lack of opportunity to retrieve nutrients lead to an increase of deaths. These events caused individuals to have to search for food, keeping in mind, food may support an individual due to the scarcity of nourishment. Continuing, the lack of food lead to an adaptation of increased energy storage which allowed for survival.

Previous years of famine and hard work show how humans have evolved to the environmental changes surrounding them. The lack of food sources caused an increase in energy storage; however, this is not the case in current years. Factors which encourage the advancement of obesity are fast food chains. These corporations have sprung up over the world creating an easy access, cheap, and an unhealthy food variation for all consumers. The increased access to unhealthy foods allows for a decreased perceived barrier for individuals to receive food. Earlier eras involved extra work to obtain a simple meal, such as men hunting, or fishing. Compared to today, if an individual has a bike, gas in a vehicle, or is in walking distance of a fast food chain, they can receive a meal for a dollar. Evolution has shown energy storage is greater however, there is a downfall which includes a decreased amount of caloric expenditure. Today individuals have the availability of food, compared to the past where famine was likely to strike at any time. This is a prime example of evolution based on societal changes. Society is a major contributor to human evolvement. Given the availability of a cooked meal individuals no longer scavenge woodened areas for meals.

Meals prior to the fast food era, included wild animals without any modifications. Today, our food has modifications such as hormones. Food intake has increased as well as part sizes, high calories and the best part these meals do not leave an individual broke (Nielson, 2003). This leaves the question in mind; how does this involve evolution? The prior usage of scavenging and hunting for food was a healthy activity to obtain nutrients such as protein and carbohydrates in berries and nuts. The human body began naturally digesting many of earths made products without the interaction of other modifications. Due to the availability of foods which are unhealthy and have high traces of saturated fats, our bodies have altered to store an increased amount of fat. Fast food restaurants are convenient, however, induce an unhealthy lifestyle which can lead to undesirable outcomes.

When in Doubt, Store Fat

American obesity began due to the selective pressures from food scarcity. However, famine may have caused the human body to adapt to foods rich of nutrient and the ability to continuously eat after consuming a moderate amount of food. The lack of food in previous years could have a large impact on the American way, which has resulted in an increased amount of sitting and lack of exercise. In addition to the lack of exercise, nutrients absorbed into the body may shift from internal organs and store in fat cells instead. Evolution is known to be a slow process; some of these adaptions have occurred to overcome our ancestor’s disputes. On the other hand, not all adaptations occur at a larger scale, but many occur on a smaller level such as gene mutation.

Diabetes a Downside of Human Evolution

Diabetes is a condition revolving around the body’s ability to produce insulin and/or use the hormone properly. Over 25 million individuals in the United States, and 285 million people around the world suffer from diabetes (Kavalar, 2011). Given the staggering statistics a study performed proved the link between acidic changes in the human body to insulin and glucose metabolism. In overweight individuals there is a loss of function of insulin-producing beta cells which is a key indicator of type 2 diabetes. Due to the changes in human society, obese individuals are more prone to conditions such as diabetes. This condition has undergone laboratory experiments to determine an exact cause for insulin resistance. The study relevant to diabetes used groups of mice controlled a high fat diet and the alteration of a specific human gene. This study showed individuals who have an excess amount of body fat are more like to develop insulin resistance. Not only did this study look at nutritional changes however, more in depth looked at an enzyme which was unique to human evolution. Gerald Weissmann Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB journal says the enzymes association with human evolvement is unique and may have given individuals a survival dominance over earlier species. This enzyme produced a stairway to greater discussion based on evolution relation to obesity. The microscopic levels of human creation are not the only products of evolution however organ systems have also adapted due to environmental changes.

Evolution of the Immune System

The immune system consists of the body’s ability to fight infection and disease with the use of contending cells accompanied by lymph nodes. The use of the immune system compares to factors relating to obesity. A fetus in the mother’s womb relies on her immune system and obtains much of their ability to fight from its mother. Due to the lack of outside experience when a baby is born there is a shortfall of a fully set up immune system. Without outside experiences infants are more receptive to illness and disease (Milne, 2018). The absence of outside microorganisms has a negative effect on the immune system due to this structures ability to improve from various exposures.

For these reasons, we have vaccinations allowing the body to create antibodies which protect us against foreign and unknown invaders. Uniquely, in previous years modernization was irrelevant and lacked construction; most homes built in a rural area consisted of woods and grasslands. This enviroment was a large contributing factor for gene expression in previous years allowing for the exposure to microbials and organisms. This advancement in exposure strengthened the immune system more so than in a modernized world. Today, individuals whom live in urban areas which lack the availability of nature resources tend to have a diminished immunity. Continuing, the lack of organisms and microbials found in a modern community has allowed the immune system to loosen up and rely on vaccinations for strength. This is important to realize how not only society has evolved however, the human body no longer needs to use factors which showed up in earlier eras.

Conclusion

Evolution is not a simple term relevant to one object. This is a global phenomenon which explains many issues that arise such as obesity in the human population. Human choices and behaviors support a large role in the determination of body fat percentage however, there are more in depth and molecular causes relating to the down fall of our species. The changes which have occurred over the course of years, show adaptations and evolvement to new environments and societal factors. In addition, epigenetics is also a major contributing factor to obesity. Gene expression induced by environmental components at a young age can alter the body’s ability to regulate metabolism, body weight, and other anabolic pathways. The human body works in mysterious ways and can adapt to conditions which allow for an increased survival. As of 2015-2016 the obesity rating was 39.8% and affected 93.3 million individuals in the U.S. Evolution is a contributing part to the obesity epidemic, as seen the ratings for individuals susceptible to obesity are sky rocketing. Due to the lack of exercise, poor diet, and non-adaptivity to societal factors display general reasons why evolution is important in understanding obesity. In conclusion, obesity is a wide-spread topic however, evolution has multiple reasons why the human body performs the way it does today.