에버딘( Aberdeen )대학교의  생명공학 및 환경과학연구소(Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences) 내 Energetics Research Group의 John Speakman 교수팀은 
버밍험에서 열린 British Science Festival에서 “비만 유행병(obesity epidemic)은 현대인의 앉아있는 생활습관과는 상관없으며 그저 지나치게 많이 먹기 때문”이라는 연구결과를 발표했다는 영국 데일리 텔레그라프의 보도입니다.

하루에 평균 3500칼로리를 섭취하고 있지만, 남성은 1일 1380칼로리를 소모하고, 여성은 950칼로리를 소모하고 있다고 합니다. 칼로리 섭취는 1980년대에 비해 1/3 가량 증가했지만, 칼로리 소모량은 1980년와 큰 차이가 없다는 것입니다.

따라서 비만과의 전쟁에서 앉아있는 생활습관을 바꾸어 운동을 하기보다는 칼로리를 더 많이 소모하는 방법을 개발하거나 칼로리 섭취를 대폭 줄이기 위해 적게 먹는 방법이 더 효과적이라는 주장이 자연스럽게 제기될 수 밖에 없겠습니다.

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Obesity epidemic simply caused by eating too much, claims academic

The obesity epidemic has nothing to do with modern sedentary lifestyles and is entirely down to eating too much, a leading academic has claimed.

By Richard Alleyne

출처 : Daily Telegraph Published: 1:00AM BST 16 Sep 2010
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8006659/Obesity-epidemic-simply-caused-by-eating-too-much-claims-academic.html

Despite appearances, overall physical activity levels have remained constant for the last quarter of a century during which time weight levels have rocketed, Professor John Speakman said.

He claimed that the average man burned 1380 calories per day in the 1980s and continues to do so today. The average woman has burned 950 calories a day during the same period.

What has changed is that calorie intake has increased by at least a third to on average 3,500 calories a day, he said.

Prof Speakman, who is a member of the Energetics Research Group at the University of Aberdeen, said that his research showed that small changes in lifestyle were not enough to fight the obesity crisis.

“Over the past 25 years, during which time obesity levels have increased enormously, there has actually been no change in our levels of physical activity,” he said at the British Science Festival in Birmingham.

“We seem to have homeostatic mechanism that regulates our calorie expenditure. The more exercise we do during the day, the less active we are during the evening.

“The idea that small changes in life style are enough to offset obesity is wrong. In fact enormous changes in energy balance are needed and that can only realistically be achieved through changes in diet.”

His team calculated energy expenditure using the “doubly labelled water technique” which tracks the progress of a water isoptopes through the body, the speed if which in turn indicates rate of metabolism.

“We should be promoting exercise exercise for health reasons but weight is not realistically going to benefit from exercise,” he said.

“Exercise is not enough to reverse the epidemic.

“Dieting on the other hand does have an effect on energy intake and this is a more realistic approach.”

To illustrate the point he said that an hour of intensive exercise will only use up on average 300 calories – the equivalent of 10 per cent of food consumption or a small sandwich.

“Since the 1980s when the obesity epidemic really took off there has been any change in energy expenditure.

“We may watch televison at night but that has always been a time when we were inactive. Before television there was sitting around reading or listening to the radio and now there is looking at a computer.

“There may be differences in what we are doing but we use the same amount of energy.”

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John Speakman