'CO2 in the atmosphere is making us all fatter' ?


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Could CO2 emissions be making us fat?

The startling theory has been put forward by a Danish researchers, who say that the increase in obese people in Denmark is roughly equivalent to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Researcher Lars-Georg Hersoug studied the weight of both fat and thin people over 22 years, and first strated looking for explanations after noticing even the thin people were putting on the pounds.

Hersoug, now a post-doc at the Research Centre for Prevention and Health at Glostrup University Hospital, told Science Nordic: 'The normal theory is that fat people get fatter because they don?t move as much as they should.

'But the study showed that thin people also get fatter, and this happened over the whole of the 22-year period of the study.'

When he looked around for other factors, he saw how the CO2 concentration of the atmosphere had also increased in correlation to the weight gain.

He now proposed that orexins, a type of hormone which reside in the brain and stimulate wakefulness and energy expenditure, may be affected by CO2.

The hormones regulate when we go to bed, as well as the stimulation of food intake.

Hersoug also suggests as evidence that obesity increases in the U.S. happened fastest in the period 1986-2010 on the East Coast, which is where CO2 concentrations are highest.

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Because Daily Fail isn't the root source. Different article...

http://sciencenordic.com/new-theory-co2-makes-you-fat

No, this is not 1 April ? and this is not an April Fool?s hoax.

Mad as it may sound, Danish researchers have announced a theory that may not only explain why people all over the world are getting fatter and fatter, but also warn of the serious consequences for life on Earth of continued pollution of the atmosphere by CO2 emissions.

In itself, the theory is quite simple: CO2 contributes to making us fat.

?There?s something in the air?

The theory arose several years ago, when Lars-Georg Hersoug studied the development of obesity among people who had been followed over a number of years in the so-called MONICA studies (Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardio-vascular Disease) in Denmark. These studies have mapped the lifestyles of thousands of Danes.

Hersoug was surprised to see that both fat and thin people taking part in the studies over a 22-year period had put on weight ? and the increase was proportionately the same.

Orexins ? which are neuropeptide hormones ? in the brain stimulate wakefulness and energy expenditure. These hormones may be affected by CO2, and this can cause us to go to bed later, affecting our metabolism so it is easier for us to put on weight. But orexins are also involved in the stimulation of food intake.

?The normal theory is that fat people get fatter because they don?t move as much as they should,? says Hersoug, now a post-doc at the Research Centre for Prevention and Health at Glostrup University Hospital. ?But the study showed that thin people also get fatter, and this happened over the whole of the 22-year period of the study.?

Obesity may follow CO2 concentration

Hersoug has since studied events and research results that could support his theory.

1. He says the development in obesity in the US was fastest in the period 1986-2010 on the east coast ? where CO2 concentrations are highest.

2. A study from 2010, covering 20,000 animals in various laboratories, showed that all the animals put on weight, even though they were given food under controlled conditions and should therefore not have put on weight. The animals studied included dogs, cats, mice and monkeys. And when researchers studied rats in both urban and rural environments in the US, the result was the same.

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Fruit is shipped abroad in modified atmospheres containing ~30% CO2, with the oxygen removed to keep the produce fresh. When you eat the product, you're actually consuming about as much CO2 as is in a can of fizzy drink. Apples in particular absorb the CO2 into their sugar cells, holding it in until you eat the fruit. So much for 5 a day being healthy if CO2 is making us fat! A lot of fresh meat produce is packaged in a "modified atmosphere" to keep it fresh, however that's usually removal of the oxygen rather than pumping in CO2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_atmosphere

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What if it is the opposite. What if the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is directly correlated to us getting fatter.

Read the article again... the CO2 isn't going up because people are getting fatter; people are getting fatter because the CO2 is going up...

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^ My theory is that fat people breathe heavier, huffing and puffing, and more cows are bred to supply cheeseburgers -- therefore CO2 increases. ;)

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Uhuh great, not you gotta prove that CO2 has anything to do with weight gain given that its involved in blood ph and the and things like that :s.

No need for the CO2 levels to be involved if it can be shown that the vomeronasal organ can quantify CO2 levels as well as it does pheromones. The VMO is directly wired to the hypothalamus, which is where olexin A and B are produced. It's possible that olexin levels are tied to CO2 via the VMO rather than the effect they're discussing.

From my link -

Orexins ? which are neuropeptide hormones ? in the brain stimulate wakefulness and energy expenditure. These hormones may be affected by CO2, and this can cause us to go to bed later, affecting our metabolism so it is easier for us to put on weight. But orexins are also involved in the stimulation of food intake.

?The normal theory is that fat people get fatter because they don?t move as much as they should,? says Hersoug, now a post-doc at the Research Centre for Prevention and Health at Glostrup University Hospital. ?But the study showed that thin people also get fatter, and this happened over the whole of the 22-year period of the study.?

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Read the article again... the CO2 isn't going up because people are getting fatter; people are getting fatter because the CO2 is going up...

:woot:

You are not even wrong. Read what I posted again... I am not really sure if you are not reading what I wrote or simply do not understand the context of what I wrote. As for me I have read and comprehend the article just fine.

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Key Words: New Theory.

I'll wait to see the actual science and how this plays out before I jump to any conclusions. Though I'm kind of hoping that the main stream media runs with this before anything is concrete, that's always fun.

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And the West has also changed its diet considerably since the mid 80's. This is precisely when health agencies started pushing for low fat everything. It's also when high fructose corn syrup use skyrocketed.

It turns out that high-fat foods like nuts and full-fat dairy actually satisfy food cravings much better than low-fat alternatives, while HFCS only makes cravings worse. I would think this sort of correlation has a MUCH stronger connection to obesity than the relatively small changes in CO2 concentration.

Edit: Additionally, and this is very important, the use of fluorine-containing pesticides has gradually increased the level of fluoride found in most foods. This has an anti-thyroid effect, and would explain why we see weight gain in a variety of animals, not just humans.

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hi

i don't get this co2 problem

ya see plants take in co2 and release o2

i used to grow pot and one thing that made the plants grow better

was co2

i would buy co2 cartridges and spray the plats to make them grow faster and better

if the co2 in the atmosphere where increasing why aren't plant growing crazy

but i do agree that man is having a effect on the planet

i'm just not see the problem being co2 related

devobtch

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lol, no. What's making people fatter is them stuffing their fat faces with fatty foods.

And the availability of said foods in a lot of places, and the fact that we have more unnatural crap added to our food than we used to.

CO2, my arse. They're just looking for ways to shift the blame now.

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And the availability of said foods in a lot of places, and the fact that we have more unnatural crap added to our food than we used to.

CO2, my arse. They're just looking for ways to shift the blame now.

Or possibly just suggesting that in a higher CO2 environment, out bodies take those crappy foods and retains more fat from them? It didn't say that CO2 was the only cause of the weight gain. It said it could be a factor. You can eat all the crappy food you want and not get fat. I am a prime example of that. :rofl:

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hi

i don't get this co2 problem

ya see plants take in co2 and release o2

i used to grow pot and one thing that made the plants grow better

was co2

i would buy co2 cartridges and spray the plats to make them grow faster and better

if the co2 in the atmosphere where increasing why aren't plant growing crazy

but i do agree that man is having a effect on the planet

i'm just not see the problem being co2 related

devobtch

Rising CO2 levels do appear to increase plant growth worldwide.

The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide1, 2. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are carbon-dense and highly productive3, 4. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in carbon storage over recent decades.

Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data12 suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in carbon stocks13, as some theory14 and models2, 10, 15 predict.

http://www.nature.co...ature07771.html

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No need for the CO2 levels to be involved if it can be shown that the vomeronasal organ can quantify CO2 levels as well as it does pheromones. The VMO is directly wired to the hypothalamus, which is where olexin A and B are produced. It's possible that olexin levels are tied to CO2 via the VMO rather than the effect they're discussing.

From my link -

as for an indirect relationship I am sure of it. I just don't believe their is a direct relationship. Its probably about as direct as renin is for blood pressure.

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