Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Thursday, April 08, 2010

'Stone Age Brains' May be to Blame for Obesity

A professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School blames many modern problems on the fact that human genes have not caught up with the modern era.

"We still have Stone Age brains inside contemporarily clothed bodies," Professor Deirdre Barrett said. "So we cannot really trust our instincts, we need to trust our intellects."

In some cases, these outdated instincts may be responsible for overweight and obesity, Dr. Barrett noted.

People may crave fat, salt and sugar because it was very scarce years ago, she said, adding that it takes about 10,000 years for genes to catch up to modern conditions.

"Our genes haven't had time to stop craving those things and start craving green leafy vegetables," she noted.

Labels: genetics, brain_activity, brain_development

Posted By: Aspen/CRC