Problems with weight: modern approach

Obesity is defined as a body weight more than 20 per cent above the norm for one's height and build. There are many factors that regulate hunger and eating. Why do some people become obese? An important factor in obesity is the body's set point, which reflects the amount of fat stored in the body. Though fat cells can increase in number and can increase or decrease in size, they cannot decrease in number. Once you have fat cells, they are yours forever. This means that obese people can lose weight only by shrinking the size of their fat cells. Because this inducesconstant hunger, it is difficult to maintain weight loss for an extended period of time.

Another important factor in obesity is the basal metabolic rate, the rate at which the body burns calories just to keep itself alive. Basal metabolic rate typically accounts for 65 to 75 per cent of the calories that your body ingests. This might explain whyone of your friends can ingest a milkshake, two hamburgers, and a large order of French fries, yet remain thin, while another gains weight by habitually ingesting a diet cola, hamburger without a bun, and few French fries. Your first friend might have a basal metabolic rate high enough to burn a large number of calories; your second friend might have a basal metabolic rate too low to burn even a modest number of calories. Keeping diet and making physical exercises can help in solving the problem of a low metabolical rate, but it should a rational and well-balanced process. Nowadays there are more and more cases when dieting becomes dying

Renay, who is now 18, says her problem started when she was 14. She says, 'I decided to go on diet because my best friend was much thinner then me. She was also very popular. I thought if I lost weight, people would like me more confidence.' Renay's diet worked. She lost weight and people told her she looked good so she lost even more weight. She didn't want to stop until she was happy with her body. She was used to missing meals and saying she' had eaten when she hadn't. She had seen very skinny fashion models in magazine like Vogue and she wanted to be like them. She became obsessed, started hating her body and starving herself until she became seriously ill.

Fashion magazines deny that they are being irresponsible. Vogue's editor said girls got anorexia because they suffered from a low opinion of themselves. He blamed their friends and family for not supporting them enough. It might be true that in some cases, severe dieting is a cry for attention or help but seeing thin models doesn't help.

Watch company Omega decided that they did not want to advertise in a magazine that promoted anorexia so they told Vogue they would not use them any more. Since than, Vogue has used one model who was not built like a matchstick and Omega have started advertising in Vogue again. Is one girl enough?

Many modeling agencies have told girls who are already very under-weight to lose a lot more weight. Lucy had anorexia when she was 15. She weighted just 41 kilograms and was waiting to go into hospital to be treated for her anorexia when two agencies told her she was the right weight to model. She says "It was ridiculous. I looked like a ghost or famine

victim, my skin was terrible and my eyes had sunk into my face." Many girls believe that they will be more attractive to boys if they are thinner. British comedian Alan Davies thinks it is crazy. He says, "When I was in college I don't remember anyone saying 'Let's go into the biology lab and find that skeleton - she's so pretty!'"