How can we work together to understand the rise of obesity and reverse
its related diseases and societal impacts?
Obesity is a complex condition that increases a person's risk for
developing diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and other
life-threatening conditions. Contrary to prevailing notions that it
results solely from a person's diet and exercise failings, a
predisposition to obesity is actually determined by genetics as well as
by environmental and socioeconomic factors that lie beyond individual
control.
In Can the Obesity Crisis Be Reversed?, Dr. Rexford Ahima draws on his
extensive laboratory and clinical experiences at top institutions to
examine the complicated causes of obesity, as well as the most
cutting-edge approaches for prevention and treatment. Ahima looks at how
the rising trends of obesity and associated diseases are driving up
health care costs. He also offers insight into the widespread suffering
that obesity imposes and its disproportionate impacts in minority and
underserved communities.
Calling for greater societal and community engagement in stemming the
obesity crisis, Ahima argues that there is an urgent need to promote
healthier foods and environmental infrastructure as well as formal
programs that reduce obesity. By understanding and applying fundamental
knowledge, Can the Obesity Crisis Be Reversed? makes a convincing case
that all of us, working individually and collectively, can help to
reverse the obesity crisis.
Features
- Provides information on the biological pathways that control eating
and metabolism
- Explains genetic and environmental bases of obesity
- Reviews the contributions of diet and physical activity to weight gain
while speaking to the folly and dangers of individual blame
- Offers practical recommendations for healthy diets, exercise, and
lifestyle
- Discusses current medical and surgical treatments of obesity
- Examines comprehensive societal strategies for obesity prevention
Johns Hopkins Wavelengths
In classrooms, field stations, and laboratories in Baltimore and around
the world, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professors of Johns Hopkins
University are opening the boundaries of our understanding of many of
the world's most complex challenges. The Johns Hopkins Wavelengths book
series brings readers inside their stories, illustrating how their
pioneering discoveries benefit people in their neighborhoods and across
the globe in artificial intelligence, cancer research, food systems'
environmental impacts, health equity, science diplomacy, and other
critical arenas of study. Through these compelling narratives, their
insights will spark conversations from dorm rooms to dining rooms to
boardrooms.
