When I was a young postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge in 2002, a colleague took me to a fancy dinner at Peterhouse College, the oldest of Cambridge's colleges.
It was a six-course affair and, rather ridiculously, you had to change seats (and hence dinner companions) for each new course. During the first course, an older, bearded professor sitting opposite me asked, "So young man, what do you do?" I told him I was working on the genetics of childhood obesity.
"Ha! Do you know what your problem is?" he replied. "You give fat people an excuse." The disgust in his tone threw me and as I mobilised all my diplomatic nous to gently push back, I was saved by a literal bell, signalling that we had to switch seats for course number two.
It occurred to me later that the professor's view was shared by much of society. Obesity is seen as a problem of physics; people just need to eat less and move more. But although how we get to our body weight is reliant on physics, the real question is why? Why do people behave so differently toward food? Why do some people respond to stress by eating more and others by eating less? Why do some people love food, while for others it's simply fuel? Why, what, when and how much we eat have powerful societal and cultural underpinnings.
Denne historien er fra December 2023-utgaven av BBC Science Focus.
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Denne historien er fra December 2023-utgaven av BBC Science Focus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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THE HUNGER GAME
Obesity is on the rise, but as we blame our unhealthy food-ridden environment and look to wonder drugs to get rid of unwanted fat, what role do our genetics play?
HOW THE UNIVERSE WILL END
A colossal supercollider now in the early stages of development may one day help us predict the ultimate fate of the Universe. With it, scientists will be trying to find a hidden instability built into the fabric of existence... an instability that could destroy everything
DARK ENERGY MIGHT BE ABOUT TO THROW A SPANNER IN THE WORKS
The most mysterious phenomenon in the Universe could be about to spring another surprise on us
TAKE-OFF AT LAST
AFTER A LONG WAIT, THE WORLD'S FIRST ZERO EMISSIONS AEROPLANES ARE FINALLY TAXIING TO REALITY. BUT ARE THEY THE SOLUTION WE NEED?
INSIDE THE 3D, NANOSCALE ATLAS THAT REVEALS A FRACTION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN
The map is now the highest-resolution picture of the human brain ever created
HOW THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT IN NUCLEAR FORENSICS MAY HELP CLEAN UP CHERNOBYL
Contrary to popular belief, radioactive material doesn't glow. But a team of nuclear forensics experts are working on a device to make it do just that. BBC Science Focus's Noa Leach meets the scientists behind the innovative device
MAJOR STUDY SHOWS HOW ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS CHANGE YOUR LIFESPAN, IF YOU'RE NOT EATING YOUR VEG
While ultra-processed food is bad for your health, a decades-long study suggests it may not be as harmful as previously thought
ORIGIN OF EARTH'S 'SECOND MOON' DISCOVERED
Asteroid sampling mission will confirm whether moon-like Kamo'oalewa came from our Moon
INTERMITTENT FASTING AND CORRECTLY TIMED WORKOUTS ARE KEY TO FAT LOSS, SAYS STUDY
A new approach to dieting and exercise could help you lose weight and enhance your health
MASSIVE EXPLOSION SPOTTED ON MYSTERIOUS DEAD STAR
A satellite in the right place at the right time captured an important cosmic sight