Sierra Francis

P.5
12/10/14
Writing 1010
The Connection of Habits and Obesity
For a year and a half I have worked for a company called Legacy Retirement Community,
a home where elderly residents are cared for and provided services/benefits. These include: 3
course meals, easy access rooms, room service, cleaning maids, and traveling buses. This
retirement community gives retired citizens a chance of a normal life with offered assistance.
The residents life style has taken its toll. One third of the retirements residents are overweight.
These people use wheelchairs, because it is hard and uncomfortable for them to walk. They are
unable to use the stairs, because it is too tiring for them and it leads to loss of breath. Although a
few of these residents are overweight because of genetics, the majority are overweight because
of bad habits. This is the case for many people in the United States.
What is obesity? Obesity is being grossly overweight. In order to be grossly overweight
you need to have a body mass index (weight divided by height) of 30 or higher. It is estimated
that in the United States and Europe 50% of the populations are obese. Alarmingly, 20 % percent
of children are also obese (Lhachimi et al, 523). People who are overweight or obese generally
have health problems. Obese people are more prone to cancers such as breast cancer, colon
cancer, and endometrial cancer. Diseases that result from being overweight are coronary heart
disease, liver disease, and gallbladder disease. Not only has obesity led to cancer and disease, it
has also heightened the mortality rate of the entire United States of America. In the year 2000,

over 365,000 people died from obesity. This demonstrates why obesity is the second most
preventable death in the nation (Crimmins 3).
How do you prevent becoming obese? My whole life I have heard that if you exercise
and eat healthy you will be healthy. At the same time that I believe that nutrition and exercise are
very important, I cannot help thinking that there are other big factors that are equally important
in determining your health. Some scientists have demanded that genetics are the most important
factor in diagnosing obesity. They are wrong. Though I acknowledge that genetics play a part in
being obese, I will argue that habits have a greater impact on a persons body mass. Lack of
sleep, large amounts of stress, unhealthy eating, and the absence of exercise are all connected to
obesity. I propose that human beings should make an effort to keep their body healthy by
developing good habits. If they are healthy they are likely to be their normal weight.
When a person is grossly overweight they often will have trouble sleeping. The troubles
are caused by the weight gain around a persons neck, abdomen, and back. This weight gain
contributes to the persons respiratory problems which lead to the persons lack of sleep. In the
article Obesity and Sleep, Dr. Margerate Moline PhD and Dr. Lauren Broch PhD of New York
Weill Cornell Medical Center say that If a person is overweight and suffering from sleepdisordered breathing, he/she may not be as motivated to exercise or to diet. When apnea leads to
daytime sleepiness, it may be that much harder to begin or sustain an exercise program, which
has been shown to help people begin or maintain weight loss (2). If a person is sleep deprived
they are less likely to exercise.
Not only does obesity cause sleep problems, sleep problems can also contribute to
obesity. The University of Chicago did a scientific study in 1999 that showed that sleep

deprivation can lead to impaired metabolism and disrupted hormone levels. When reducing the
level of sleep of 11 healthy adults, The University of Chicago found that by reducing they also
reduced their ability to process glucose (2). The less glucose is processed in the blood stream, the
more likely the individual will have diabetes. Likewise when an individuals hormones are
changed, the easier it is for that person to become obese.
Hormone altercations from sleep deprivation can also alter appetite. In the article
Obesity and Sleep Dr. Van Cauters research is analyzed. Dr. Eve Van Cauter PhD coined the
phrase sleep deprivation.
Dr. Van Cauter's research shows that people who don't sleep adequately have physiologic
abnormalities that may increase appetite and calorie intake. The level of leptin (an
appetite stimulating hormone) falls in subjects who are sleep deprived, which promotes
appetite. It suggests that at least one factor in obesity can be sleep deprivation. Poor sleep
and sleep deprivation may increase appetite. Because the psychological manifestations of
fatigue, sleep and hunger are similar, as adults, we sometimes confuse themwe tend to
eat when were actually sleepy, because we think fatigue is a sign of hunger. [Obesity and
Sleep, 2-3]
Sleep deprivation can increase hunger. This leads to unhealthy snacking, which is another bad
habit. If we get an adequate amount of sleep, our hormones will be in better balance.
Snacking is often unplanned spontaneous eating. We snack in addition to our meals.
Snacks are added calories that are not always healthy. In order to break the habit unhealthy
snacking, a person must use their mental ability of self-restraint. The professors of Utrecht
University believe that Habits develop when a specific action to achieve a particular goal is

performed repeatedly under the same situational condition, thereby creating a mental association
between the goal and the situation triggering the behavioural response ( Verhoeven et al. 758).
If a person changes their environment and eliminates the temptation of unhealthy snack food
they will remove the habit.
A change in diet will either make increase or decrease persons health. In the article
Nutrition and the Healthy Heart with an Exercise Boost, authors Whayne and Maulik explain
that calorie balance is essential to a good diet (967). A proper nutritional balance is needed to
be healthy; this will also help prevent obesity. In describing the perspective a doctor should take
the authors says that any patient can be made to lose weight if their caloric intake can be
precisely controlled, despite their common protestation that they do not eat much of anything. In
most cases, energy balance is achievable and is the desired result (968). A good nutritional
balance will help give individuals who want to lose weight the desired results. If a good
nutritional balance is emphasized at birth, the person will have a greater chance of being a
normal healthy weight.
Another reason people snack is stress. When humans are stressed we tend to seek comfort
foods that are high in calories and fat. Bonnie Taub-Dix, who is a weight loss expert for the
American Dietetic Association, emphasizes that very often, when people are stressed they may
eat inappropriately; if that causes them to gain weight that can cause even more stress. You wind
up causing exactly what you're trying to alleviate (Thompson 1). She reminds us that when
people are stressed out, there's a tendency not to think about what they're eating and how much
they're eating (1). Stress can enhance bad habits, which in turn leads to obesity.

Much research has been done to calculate the relationship between stress and obesity.
One group of research partners: Bose, Olivian, and Lafferie discovered these findings.
Chronic stress, combined with positive energy balance, may be a
contributor to the increased risk for obesity, especially upper body
obesity, and other metabolic diseases. This association may be
mediated by alterations in the hypothalamicpituitaryadrenal (HPA)
axis. Dysregulation in the HPA axis has been associated with upper
body obesity. In addition to systemic effects, changes in local cortisol
metabolism in adipose tissue may also influence the risk for obesity.
[1]
If stress is not eliminated it will deregulate the hypothalamic pituitary- arsenal, which in turn will
create upper body obesity.
Stress can be relieved by exercising. The average adult should exercise 30 minutes a day.
Although this is listed as a fact, I find that it is highly controversial. Other scientists argue that
you should exercise 1 hour a day or 15 minutes a day. In the article, Regular Exercise is
Associated with Emotional Resilience to Acute Stress in Healthy Adults, Childs and Whit explain
that:
Indeed, clinical trials have shown that regular exercise is an effective treatment for
disease, including physical ailments e.g., cardiovascular disease (Elrick, 1996), and
psychiatric disorders e.g., depression (Dinas et al., 2011). Further, regular exercise is
frequently associated with general well-being. [Childs et al.1]

Exercise can enhance a persons overall health and well- being. Along with losing weight,
exercising can help change gene expression, clear skin from blemishes, improve sexual function,
improve mood, and improve sleep. Exercise has many benefits. If it is made into a habit, exercise
will benefit the individual greatly. It will increase their physical well-being, and mental wellbeing.
One of the major benefits of exercise is that it normalizes your glucose, insulin, and
lepton levels by optimizing insulin/leptin receptor sensitivity (Mercola, 1). This will help
control diabetes, which is prominent in many obese people. If a person starts the habit of
exercising at a young age, they will be less likely to be obese or have diabetes, because they will
have a safer balance of insulin and glucose.
Though I concede that genetics play an important role in the obesity crisis, I still insist
that habits are the most important variable when proving the causes of obesity. People who are
obese are more likely to experience pain, shortness of breath, cancers, and diseases. In order to
prevent obesity good healthy habits need to be formed. Getting the correct amount of sleep, a
balanced nutrition, stress management, and proper exercise will tremendously lower a persons
chance of being obese. A person who develops healthy habits to become normal weight will
benefit by having balanced hormones, a healthy heart, protection from diseases and cancer, stress
management tactics, confident self-esteem, etc. Healthy habits will protect you from the
tribulations of obesity.

Work Cited
Bose, Mousumi, Blanca Olivn, and Blandine Laferrre. "Stress and Obesity: The Role of the
Hypothalamicpituitaryadrenal Axis in Metabolic Disease." Current Opinion in
Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity. 2009 Web. 14 December 2014

Crimmins, Eileen M., Samuel H. Preston, and Barney Cohen. Explaining Divergent Levels of
Longevity in High-income Countries. National Academies. National Academies. 2011.
Print. 14 December 2014.

Mercola, Dr. "What Happens in Your Body When You Exercise?"Mercola.com. N.p., 20 Sept.
2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

"Obesity and Sleep." Obesity & Sleep. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

Thompson, Dennis, Jr. "The Link Between Stress and Obesity."EverydayHealth.com. Everyday
Health, 8 Apr. 2009. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.

Verhoeven, Aukie A.C., Marieke a. Adriaanse, Catherine Evers and Denise T.D. de Riddler. The
Power of Habits : Unhealthy Snacking Behavior is Primarily Predicted by Habit
Strength. British Journal of Health Psychology. Wiley Blackwell. 12 November. Web.
19 November 2014.
Whayne, Thomas F Jr. and Maulik, Nilanjana. Nutrition and a Healthy Heart with an Exercise
Boost. Canadian Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology. Canadian Science Publishing.
August 2012. Web. 17 November 2014.
.