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NIH site on obesity and nutrition, with lots of brochures
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Psychologists have been interested in the causes and treatment of obesity for many years. In 1998 the American Heart Association added obesity to its list of significant risk factors for heart disease.
In 1971 Stanley Schachter reported parallels between the behavior of rats that have a damaged ventromedial hypothalamus and obese human beings. Both obese people and VMH-damaged rats are less active, tend to eat faster, are more sensitive to taste (eating more when the food tastes good), and are less willing to work for food. For example, in one experiment, Schachter gave people almonds to eat. When they were without shells, both obese and normal subjects ate them, but when they were in their shells, only the normal-weight subjects went to the trouble of shelling and eating them. The obese subjects would not work to shell the almonds. There is evidence that some overweight people eat when they feel stressed, anxious, or depressed (Greeno & Wing, 1994). Thus, they need to learn to relax, especially when in the presence of unhealthy food. What can overweight people do to help achieve and maintain weight loss? First, overweight people should shun situations in which external food cues are especially tempting. For example, they should avoid spending excessive time in the kitchen, and try not to have snack foods readily available. Overweight people can learn to establish eating patterns similar to those of normal-weight people. Since overweight people cannot depend on cues to stop them from overeating, they can consider using smaller plates, taking smaller bites, chewing food longer, and leaving the table earlier. |
To find out more about obesity,
Connect to these sites:
NIH site on obesity and nutrition, with lots of brochures
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