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June 27, 2006
Other possible obesity contributors
Having your air conditioner running during those hot summer days helps keep you cool and comfortable, but did you ever think that it could make you fat?
A review of data on possible causes of obesity states that it just may be. How?
Modern technologies -- such as air conditioning and heating -- help keep us in "the thermoneutral zone," a temperature range where we do not have to regulate our body temperature, a report suggests.
When our bodies are above or below this zone, we increase the amount of energy we spend, which "decreases energy stores," such as fat, the study's authors say.
This is just one of many potential factors that could be driving America's obesity epidemic, said David Allison, director of the Clinical Nutrition Research Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Besides the usual suspects such as fast food and a lack of exercise, he argues that any number of things could be making the problem worse, such as sleep deprivation, taking certain medications, or even quitting smoking -- and snacking instead.
"There are many other factors [not commonly considered] that may also be quite important" to exacerbate weight gain, said Allison, the lead author of the review of obesity studies, published in the International Journal of Obesity.
For example, chronic sleep deprivation also was considered a possible factor.
Many Americans don't get enough sleep, and when tired, people do not have energy to exercise and are tempted to eat, or overeat, in order to gain energy, said David Jenkins, Canada research chair in nutrition and metabolism.
Posted by Lisa at June 27, 2006 10:18 AM
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