The mystery of body constitution: Why are there differences in body size and nutritional deficiencies?

Why do thin people eat a lot but not gain weight?

This is due to the body type of thin people, meaning their bodies are already in a physiological state that produces this phenomenon, primarily due to a higher basal metabolic rate.

Basal metabolism refers to the energy intake and expenditure required by each person to maintain basic life activities. Basal metabolism varies greatly depending on a person's thyroid function.

A high basal metabolic rate means the body consumes more energy.

Secondly, because thin people have less subcutaneous fat, they lose body heat more easily. Therefore, they need to generate more heat in their bodies to balance this, so they consume more energy and won't gain weight even if they eat a lot.

Thirdly, it can be caused by psychological factors, such as excessive secretion of adrenaline, which breaks down fat. This is especially noticeable when stimulated by certain psychological stress, and can cause people to lose weight in a short period of time.

For the three reasons mentioned above, some people can eat a lot without gaining weight. Their biggest physiological characteristic is that their gastrointestinal system is weak, and their digestion and absorption cannot function properly. The food they eat is excreted in an undigested form. In order to replenish nutrients, their bodies will stimulate the appetite center to increase food intake, so they have to eat more than normal people. This is a very uneconomical body, often lacking vigorous energy, and their bodies are in a sub-healthy state for a long time. In fact, it is the same as obesity, which is a pathological condition.

Why do some people gain weight even though they eat very little?

In contrast to thin people, some people don't eat much but still gain weight. This is due to a lifestyle characterized by a lower basal metabolic rate, more vigorous fat formation, and less mental stress. It also includes strong digestive and respiratory abilities and weaker excretory functions.

The main reason is that obesity is almost always caused by overeating.

According to relevant surveys, obese people usually start eating less after they become obese, but once a person is obese, even if they eat less, they cannot eliminate obesity.

This is because our bodies automatically maintain metabolic balance, adjusting the reduced food intake to more efficiently generate fat.

Obesity is a vicious cycle. The more fat a person accumulates in their body, the more their metabolism will shift towards promoting fat accumulation.

Therefore, if this type of obesity is not fundamentally changed, it is impossible to get rid of obesity.

What are the causes of obesity?

Our bodies are composed of about 30% to 40% solid components and about 60% to 70% water.

Half of the solid components are body fat, accounting for about 15% to 20% of human body weight.

Most of the energy needed by the human body is supplied by fat. Accumulating fat is an instinctive function of the human body, but if the diet is not properly managed, fat will accumulate in the body and be deposited. In addition, if the body lacks exercise that increases fat, normal fat metabolism will be disrupted, causing fat to accumulate in the body.

Furthermore, dysfunction in the regulation of the nervous and endocrine systems can also lead to excessive fat production and weight gain.

When the nervous system is impaired, the feeding center cannot maintain balance. Even if you are not hungry, you will still want to eat when you see delicious food and will be unable to resist the food in front of you. When the endocrine system is impaired, the supply and demand of insulin will be unbalanced. Abnormal secretion of the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, gonads, etc., will damage the body's metabolic regulation function, all of which are causes of obesity.

Some people believe that obesity is a genetic predisposition.

Indeed, obesity often originates from the same family.

If parents are obese, two-thirds of their children will be obese; if one parent is obese, half of their children will be obese.

However, these genetic reasons are almost always caused by acquired dietary habits.

Living under the same roof and eating the same food every day, it's only natural that children and parents would also become obese due to the same diet that leads to obesity.

Obesity is not a genetic predisposition, but rather a result of inherited eating habits and methods.

Nutrient deficiencies lead to obesity

When people talk about obesity, they think of overnutrition.

However, it should be clear that obesity is caused by excess energy, not by excess nutrition.

In recent years, Japanese nutrition experts have put forward a new viewpoint, believing that some obesity is not simply due to the accumulation of nutrients, but to a large extent due to the lack of nutrients in the diet that enable fat to be converted into energy, such as vitamin B₂, vitamin B6 and niacin.

Fat will only decrease when energy is released from the body.

Researchers analyzed the trace elements in obese children aged 3 to 6 years. The results showed that the serum copper content in the obese group was higher than that in the control group, while the iron and rubidium content was lower. Although the zinc and magnesium content was not statistically significant compared with the non-obese control group, the obese children had more low zinc and magnesium content.

American experts have also found that insufficient water intake prevents the body from fully metabolizing fat, which can also lead to weight gain.

If protein is deficient for a long period, it will cause muscle atrophy. The reduction in muscle tissue will lower the body's basal metabolic rate, reduce energy consumption, and also cause weight gain.

Therefore, attention should be paid to the supplementation of nutrients in the diet, especially vitamin B₂, vitamin B6 and niacin. Attention should also be paid to the storage and cooking methods of food to prevent the destruction of nutrients.

In my country, the diet is mainly plant-based, making it prone to vitamin B₂ deficiency or insufficiency. Vitamin B₂ in food comes from various animal foods, especially animal organs, eggs, and dairy products, followed by legumes and fresh leafy green vegetables. Vitamin B6 is widely distributed in food, with higher content found in egg yolks, fish, dairy products, whole grains, cabbage, and legumes. Niacin, commonly known as vitamin PP, is widely found in both plants and animals, but in relatively low amounts in most. Yeast, peanuts, whole grains, legumes, and especially liver contain the highest amounts. Corn also has a relatively high content, exceeding that of rice.

Detailed explanation of the causes of obesity

In the simplest terms, obesity is the result of an imbalance between the body's energy intake and expenditure. That is, energy intake is greater than energy expenditure, resulting in energy being stored in the body as fat. After a period of time, weight increases significantly, leading to obesity.

In the early stages of obesity, fat cells increase in size. As weight continues to increase, the number of fat cells begins to increase, making obesity very difficult to treat at this stage.

Studies have found that losing weight through dieting or restricting energy intake does not reduce the amount of fat, so when normal eating resumes, the weight returns to the pre-diet state.

Obesity in the following stages is generally difficult to cure.

Obese infants aged 12-18 months after birth;

Obese individuals aged 12-16;

Obese adults who are more than 60% over their ideal weight (or have a body mass index greater than 40);

Obese women who are obese during pregnancy and whose weight has not been recovered after childbirth;

Because the number of fat cells increases significantly in each of the above stages of obesity, treatment becomes more difficult.

But why do some people get fat while others don't, even when eating the same diet? It's because of the following differences.