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Obesity: Nature or Nurture?

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Obesity Before Birth

Part of the book series: Endocrine Updates ((ENDO,volume 30))

Abstract

The debate about the causes of the current obesity epidemic rages on. The issue of “Whose fault is it?” frequently devolves into a related question: “Is it ‘nature’ (i.e., inherent in our genes and biochemistry before birth, and therefore out of our control) or ‘nurture’ (i.e., behaviors learned after birth and within our control to change)?” This chapter explores the phenomena and evidence which support and refute both sides of this argument. A conceptual framework is offered, whereby two of the biochemical mediators of obesity (hyperinsulinemia and glucocorticoids) can be applied throughout the life cycle. In this formulation, the question of “nature” versus “nurture” becomes merely a manifestation of the timing of the query. The results of such a rethinking of the nature–nurture argument argue for adding an “environmental safety” approach to the current “personal responsibility” approach, in order to more effectively combat the obesity epidemic.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Drs. Elissa Epel, Mary Dallman, Clement Cheung, Amanda Drake, Mark Tremblay, and Anastasia Hadjiyannakis for their collegiality and for their intellectual contributions to this treatise.

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  1. Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0434, USA

    Robert H. Lustig

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  1. Director, Weight Assessment for Teen and, Division of Endocrinology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, 94143, USA

    Robert H Lustig

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Lustig, R.H. (2011). Obesity: Nature or Nurture?. In: Lustig, R. (eds) Obesity Before Birth. Endocrine Updates, vol 30. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7034-3_1

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