Fat Chemistry: The Science behind Obesity - Softcover

Allardyce, Claire S

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1849733252 ISBN 13: 9781849733250

Verlag: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

Written in an accessible style, this book probes the chemistry of fat in our bodies, providing a unique insight into understanding obesity.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Claire Allardyce graduated in 1993 from the University of St Andrews, Fife, with a degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology and then proceeded to do a PhD expecting this to start her career in rational drug design. During the course of her research, Claire became increasingly interested in how nutrition affected treatment, for example, the role of folic acid in decreasing the efficacy of certain anticancer drugs and the increased power of detoxification pathways after eating Brussels sprouts. Eventually her interest diverged towards presenting scientific findings to the general public, in particular, the chemistry of obesity.

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Currently, the health of over half the adult population in the UK suffers because of fat. The UK is not alone: obesity is a global problem, but the populations of some countries are heavier than others. This book probes the chemistry of fat in our bodies, providing a unique insight into understanding obesity, and how this material becomes accumulated to cause obesity with particular emphasis on the contribution of nutrition beyond calories. It visits the current hot topic of the genetic origins of obesity and progresses through to the relatively under publicised field of epigenetics, emphasising its importance to understanding the current epidemic. Coming in the wake of the establishment of international collaborations, the book aims to quantify the extent of the contribution of nutritional deficiencies to body weight gain. Yet even before these studies begin some important links have been identified and the molecular mechanisms by which they induce obesity have been mapped. This information reveals a serious problem for the next generation, but it is expected to provide the necessary information to tackle the obesity epidemic. Based on an extensive review of scientific literature, this topical book is written in a way that is accessible to the non-specialist. Suitable for the general public, the principal focus of the book is to advance the public understanding and awareness of science through the high interest subject of obesity. However, many universities recommend public understanding of science texts to students as a means of broadening general knowledge and as a means to emphasise to students the importance of communicating their research to the public. This book will be instrumental in developing this knowledge.

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Fat Chemistry

The Science behind Obesity

By Claire S. Allardyce

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Copyright © 2012 Claire S. Allardyce
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-84973-325-0

Contents

Chapter 1 Why the Fuss about Obesity?, 
Chapter 2 It all Began with Change ..., 
Chapter 3 Left to Our Own Devices, 
Chapter 4 Stone Age Obesity, 
Chapter 5 The Image of Fat, 
Chapter 6 Beyond the Helix, 
Chapter 7 A Question of Dose, 
Chapter 8 A Fat Future?, 
Chapter 9 Your Choice, 
Subject Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Why the Fuss about Obesity?

1.1 CLEARING THE NAME OF CHEMISTRY

Chemistry is a domain of science that often has negative connotations for the public. It is associated with poisoning, pollution, destruction and devastation. And yet there is another side to this science; a side on which the future of humanity depends.

If you take anything – plants, other animals or humans, the bacteria or viruses that cause disease, the sea we bathe in, the air we breathe or even the rock we stand on – and start chopping it down into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually you will make a mixture of atoms. Each type of atom is known as an element. Atoms are the basic units of everything on Earth and in space. In most materials, atoms are joined together to form molecules; few are poised enough to go it alone. Helium is. It is one of just six noble gases; elements so dignified that they reject liaisons with other atoms. They mix, but they do not merge.

Helium atoms are found naturally in the mixture of atoms and molecules we call air. True to type, they remain solitary and do not join with other atoms to form molecules. The union process – a chemical reaction – sometimes involves the exchange of heat: chemical reactions may suck energy in and trap it in the chemical bonds that link atoms together to form molecules, or they may release energy formerly trapped in the same; sometimes in anexplosive manner. Explosions are often based on the type of chemical reaction called combustion i.e. burning. In this type of reaction, fuel molecules are cleaved and fused with oxygen to release stored energy. This is the process that allows energy to be released from food to power the body, but because of the potentially violent nature of combustion, it needs to be tightly constrained to support life.

Helium's lack of interest in chemical reactions makes it very stable. It is reliable enough to give to children in balloons without a repeat of the Hindenburg disaster, when a much larger balloon, an airship to be exact, blew up dramatically back in 1937 killing many of its crew and passengers. The disaster is famed because it was one of the first tragedies to be caught on film and this footage is probably the main reason why airship travel became rather unpopular. Many more catastrophic events have been broadcast since 1937, but this old film continues to be viewed by those speculating on the cause of the blast. The favoured explanation is that the balloon leaked. The gas in the airship was hydrogen. Hydrogen is lighter than helium, therefore more effective at lifting airships or balloons off the ground, but unlike helium it is an explosive fuel; it loves liaisons. The explosion of the airship was caused by the burning of hydrogen, which is an ideal fuel, because, although this process releases plenty of energy, it produces no unwanted gases or residues, only water – super-clean combustion.

The chemical nature of hydrogen and helium gives these gases their similarities and differences: both gases are colourle

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1849733252
• ISBN 13: 9781849733250
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 340
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar