The state(s) of obesity

In a recent report Ohio is listed as the 13th most obese state and Michigan the 10th most obese. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge

Despite the drum beat to exercise, eat right, and lose weight, it's no secret that the country is in the middle of an obesity epidemic and a pair of area psychologists believe the external factors that cause people to overindulge need to be explored more thoroughly.

Their observations come just days after a report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation showed that 43 states, including Ohio and Michigan, have obesity rates higher than 24 percent. The study lists Ohio as the 13th most obese and Michigan as the 10th most obese states.

It's possible that public awareness campaigns to exercise, diet, and eat balanced meals do not take into consideration the psychological, physiological, and social aspects of eating.

Toledo psychologist Diane Derr Lewis believes there is a link between the down economy and higher obesity rates, although she points out that these aren't excuses for people with serious weight problems.

"Ohio and Michigan have very much been affected by the economic downturn, so this is a time that more than ever, we want the comforting effects of food," said Ms. Derr Lewis.

With high unemployment rates, housing foreclosures, and similar widespread anxiety, stress makes people want the immediate reward of food, rather than the long-term reward of better health by losing weight. Additionally, she said that the economic climate makes this "an especially difficult time to pursue a behavior change to help us get our weight under better control."

Dr. Peter Lalor, bariatric surgeon at the Center for Weight Loss Surgery at Wood County Hospital in Bowling Green, emphasizes the point that obesity rates have a lot to do with outside influences such as stress levels and other emotions.

"The reality is that once a person reaches the morbidly obese state -- when the body mass index is 35 percent or 40 percent -- diet and exercise are not enough, and they need additional help," he said.

Though he said the results of weight-loss surgery can provide significant help, "There is nothing easy about weight loss surgery. We can fix your belly, but we can't fix your head."

Toledo clinical psychologist Marina Lung said it's true that "we all have a deep-seated association of food equals love and nurturing. Many times we eat not because we are hungry, but because we want to give ourselves that good feeling, and there are certain foods that we probably call comfort food; we all have our own."

A person's particular comfort food releases brain chemicals called endorphins, which Ms. Lung said give a feeling of well being.

"Chocolate is one of those foods. It's not a myth that it's called a love food, because it really does release those endorphins," she said. That explains why most people who overeat "do so for emotional reasons, to suppress negative feelings such as stress, sadness, anger, nervousness, etc. Have you heard the expression, it's not what you're eating, it's what's eating you? It's a truism. There are underlying emotions that people are attempting to suppress with food because food gives you that good feeling; it's also a distraction from how we really feel."

When people overeat, they get out of sync with their body's hunger and satiety sensations. However, those who maintain healthy weight listen to their bodies and don't respond with food to satisfy boredom, when they see a commercial about food, or just because the clock says it's time to eat.

While Ms. Derr Lewis points out that lifestyle changes in the last 40 years have affected obesity rates -- she said the results are obvious for Americans who are eating 25 percent more and exercising 25 percent less -- there are other forces that make it difficult to control one's weight.

For example, 50 years ago, there was no food industry.

"Now we have an industry that manufacturers food and markets to the addictive quality of food. There is research that now shows that certain qualities of food are just as addictive and stimulates parts of the brain as heroin," Mrs. Derr Lewis said. "And so both the food manufacturing and food industry are marketing to that, and we have portions that are larger, meals that supply more than the needed calorie intake for the day, and I think there is an emphasis on quantity rather than quality, and emphasis on fast rather than good."

Taking note of a product that sells both pizza and cookies in one package, Ms. Derr Lewis said that being bombarded with that type of information capitalizes on the addictive qualities of fat, sugar, and salt.

Contact Rose Russell at rrusssell@theblade.com or 419-724-6178.