Presentation: Biology of obesity
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The following presentation supports the study of the biological approach to obesity.
You are not expected to learn all of the material in this presentation. When using this study for revision, remember to:
- Focus on key concepts
- Learn 2 - 3 studies that you feel you understand. You may also, instead, learn studies from the textbook or from your teacher.
- Focus on key evaluation points
- The biological approach is heavily dependent on animal models which have not always shown to be valid for the understanding of human obesity.
- There are ethical concerns about the use of animals.
- Genetics research has not yet been able to isolate the genes responsible for obesity. The interaction between genetics and the environment is complex.
- Biological arguments counter the argument that obesity is simply a lack of will power.
- Research on animals is often experimental and can be replicated to establish reliability.
- The BMI is a problematic measure of obesity, meaning that studies may lack a well operationalized measure of obesity.
- Biological arguments alone do not address cultural, class and gender differences in obesity.