The festive season is upon us and with that comes a certain amount of gluttony and excess. The staff room at the office is awash with sweet treats and the kitchen cupboards are filling up with unnecessary amounts of cheese balls and twiglets.
But can we simply deal with these excess calories by adding in a few extra runs or gym sessions to balance the books??
Sounds sensible, in theory, and if you saw the article in the BBC last week this would appear to suggest exactly that.
The BBC reported that Loughborough University has proposed labeling junk food with how much exercise it would take to burn it off. In their research, this has shown to act as a deterrent and ensure people think twice before buying unhealthy foods. They report that it helps people equate the excess calories to something tangible, such as exercise, to better understand the energy cost of food.(1)
But is it this simple?
Can we work off our poor food choices?
And if we can…..does labeling our food with exercise v calories help us make better food choices?
At Christmas, on average, its reported that we consume up to 6,000 calories on Christmas day alone, which, by the calculations done by Loughborough university, would take us a 5.5 hour run to ‘burn’ off!(1,2)
I’m unsure how many of us will be heading out on Boxing day for a 5.5 hour run!?
But Christmas is only once a year. Its only one day. The rest of the year we dont make these poor food choices, do we?
Oops…
According to NHS statistics, 29% of Adults are obese. Which has risen 3% since 2016.(3) This cannot purely be blamed on a few extra pigs in blankets and mince pies.
What else could be dictating our food choices?
Can we blame our genetics?
In part, yes.
It has been reported that people found with two gene variants - FTO and DRD2, were more likely to crave high calorie foods containing fat and sugar. Participants with these two genes, demonstrated heightened activity in their brains reward systems when looking at pictures of high calorie foods.(4)
Talking of brains…
It has been well reported that sugar has a stimulating ‘feel good’ effect on our brains through increased dopamine release.(5) However, in a recent brain imaging study, fat and umami tastes also activated the reward systems in obese participants; only adding to the struggle in making healthy decisions around food.(6)
What about Hormones?… Surely not?
Yes, hormones are heavily involved in our food choices.
Hormones such as leptin, insulin, growth hormone, estrogens and androgens all effect appetite, body fat distribution and our metabolism. Obese individuals have hormone levels that encourage fat storage and accumulation. (7)
Leptin -
Leptin is our satiety hormone that reduces our appetites. It is produced via our fat cells, notifying us that we dont need to eat anymore. In obese people, the production of this hormone is increased due to the increase in adipose tissue (fat). This results in the individuals sensitivity to Leptin reducing. (7)
Insulin -
Insulin is our blood glucose regulatory hormone. Its job is to drive glucose into the cells that need it when our blood sugar is elevated. Again, in obese people, blood sugar control is a problem due to excessive consumption of processed carbohydrates. This increases glucose in the blood and therefore increases insulin secretion. This can lead to insulin resistance and increased blood sugar which is stored as fat. If left unchecked this can lead to Diabetes type II and metabolic syndrome.(7,8)
Growth Hormone -
Growth hormone is produced by our pituitary gland and influences muscle mass, height and bone growth. Growth Hormone is also involved in carbohydrate and lipid (fat) metabolism through its interactions with insulin.(9) In obese people, growth hormone levels are lower than in normal weight people.
Sex hormones Estrogen and Androgen’s (Testosterone) -
Estrogen -
Estrogen’s are produced primarily via the ovaries in women, but they are also produced in the adipocytes (fat cells) via aromatisation (converts testosterone into estrogen). Typically, obesity is associated with elevated estrogen’s levels.(7)
Fluctuations in both estrogen and testosterone, at differing ages, can have an effect over where and how much fat is stored within the body. Women of child baring age, when their ovarian estrogen production is higher, tend to store fat around their hips and thighs. Postmenopausal women with lower amounts of ovarian estrogen production, tend to store more fat around the middle (7)
Testosterone -
Testosterone in men has been seen to have a lipolytic (fat burning) effect on fat cells. As with obese women, obese men have lower levels of testosterone and generally higher levels of estrogen due to aromatisation.(7)
Yet another factor geared against weight loss in obese individuals!
It appears that simply putting a label on our food may not be enough to overcome these huge genetic, chemical and hormonal hurdles. Perhaps the biggest factor working against us, is one which is a little harder to identify on a national scale…..
Our emotions -
Emotional eating has been consistently associated with weight gain and obesity. Our emotions often override our desire for sensible, healthy food choices and is a common factor reported by people who are struggling to lose weight. (10)
Understanding why we are using food as an emotional support would go far further in changing behaviours of obese individuals, than labeling food. Indeed it has been reported by obese individual’s, that they use food as a way of coping with the problems life throws at them and that it can be part of a deeper issue that needs dealing with.(10)
There’s a lot going on…
It’s clear that this cocktail of genes, hormones, chemicals and emotions makes losing weight very complicated.
This is very much the reason for this blog, to show that although calories and exercise are important parts of weight management; there are a host of other factors going on. People trying to lose weight often need more support than society is willing to grant them. This is where Nutritional Therapy can be hugely beneficial.
For those of you who fancy trying the 5.5 hour run on Boxing day to ‘burn’ off your Christmas day calories. You have my full support!
To contact Benjamin Cooper regarding Nutritional Therapy, please email benjamin@coopercoaching.com or go to benjamincoopercoaching.com
Reference List:
1. Exercise calorie labels 'make food less tempting' [Internet]. BBC News. 2019 [cited 17 December 2019]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-50711652
2. The disgusting amount you are going to overeat on Christmas day, revealed [Internet]. The Independent. 2019 [cited 20 December 2019]. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/christmas/food-drink/average-british-person-eats-6000-calories-christmas-day-dinner-study-wrens-kitchen-a7451651.html
3. Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet, England, 2019 - NHS Digital [Internet]. NHS Digital. 2019 [cited 20 December 2019]. Available from: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet-england-2019
4. (Scitech) u. Brain is hardwired to enjoy high-calorie foods [Internet]. Bariatric News. 2019 [cited 20 December 2019]. Available from: https://bariatricnews.net/?q=node/2218
5. Rada P, Avena N, Hoebel B. Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell. Neuroscience. 2005;134(3):737-744.
6. Kure Liu C, Joseph P, Feldman D, Kroll D, Burns J, Manza P et al. Brain Imaging of Taste Perception in Obesity: a Review. Current Nutrition Reports. 2019;8(2):108-119.
7. Sidhu S, Parikh T, Burman KD. Endocrine Changes in Obesity. [Updated 2017 Oct 12]. In: Feingold KR, Anawalt B, Boyce A, et al., editors. Endotext [Internet]. South Dartmouth (MA): MDText.com, Inc.; 2000-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279053/
8. Kahn S, Hull R, Utzschneider K. Mechanisms linking obesity to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Nature. 2006;444(7121):840-846.
9. Vijayakumar A, Yakar S, LeRoith D. The Intricate Role of Growth Hormone in Metabolism. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2011;2.
10. Frayn M, Livshits S, Knäuper B. Emotional eating and weight regulation: a qualitative study of compensatory behaviors and concerns. Journal of Eating Disorders. 2018;6(1).