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<div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/obesity_audio.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Fighting Obesity Is a Long-Term, Complex Problem' data-article-id='451'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='8750'>For the past 15 years, experts on obesity have gathered in Plymouth, England to attend a conference. </span> <span data-start-time='8750' data-end-time='16250'>It is estimated that more than half the city's adults are overweight or obese. </span> <span data-start-time='16250' data-end-time='20229'>The rest of Britain is not doing much better.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='20229' data-end-time='32792'>But what is happening in the U.K. is also happening in the U.S. and other Western countries as well as in a growing number of developing nations.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='32792' data-end-time='46875'>VOA's Joe De Capua talked with the expert who chaired the conference called the Plymouth Symposium on Obesity, Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome. </span> <span data-start-time='46875' data-end-time='55792'>Jonathan Pinkney is a professor of endocrinology and diabetes at Plymouth University.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='55792' data-end-time='66500'>Professor Pinkney said obesity is a long-term problem that is very difficult to solve. </span> <span data-start-time='66500' data-end-time='71917'>He said no one health issue has more impact on human health than obesity.</span> <span data-start-time='71917' data-end-time='79563'>Professor Pinkney called obesity a complex issue involving more than what a person eats.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='79563' data-end-time='83167'>“I personally feel that this is such a wide field. </span> <span data-start-time='83167' data-end-time='84271'>There are so many issues.</span> <span data-start-time='84271' data-end-time='85229'>There's politics. </span> <span data-start-time='85229' data-end-time='87146'>There's biology.</span> <span data-start-time='87146' data-end-time='88958'>There's the food industry.</span> <span data-start-time='88958' data-end-time='90688'>There's everything you can imagine. </span> <span data-start-time='90688' data-end-time='95417'>So, I think it’s right to talk about everything under one umbrella.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='95417' data-end-time='103563'>Mr. Pinkney says obesity can interfere and impair the ability to have a normal life. </span> <span data-start-time='103563' data-end-time='108458'>It can destroy or devastate personal relationship.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='108458' data-end-time='119354'>“When body size becomes so huge that it impairs people’s day-to-day function and quality of life and well-being and personal relationships yeah, that’s kind of devastating. </span> <span data-start-time='119354' data-end-time='123021'>That tends to occur at a higher level of body weight.”</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='123021' data-end-time='130792'>Mr. Pinkney warns that even people who are not considered obese can still be at risk. </span> <span data-start-time='130792' data-end-time='137813'>He said many people eat the wrong foods and do not get enough physical activity. </span> <span data-start-time='137813' data-end-time='143458'>People have been getting heavier and heavier slowly over time, he said. </span> <span data-start-time='143458' data-end-time='145063'>And that’s a problem.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='145063' data-end-time='148146'>“That's the more important point for the health of the population. </span> <span data-start-time='148146' data-end-time='152354'>You know, all the diabetes and heart attacks and cancers and things. </span> <span data-start-time='152354' data-end-time='156042'>I mean that's really caused by lower levels of weight gain.”</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='156042' data-end-time='163729'>The conference provided much information about the biology of the brain and appetite control. </span> <span data-start-time='163729' data-end-time='168021'>The professor said people know how to eat healthy. </span> <span data-start-time='168021' data-end-time='173875'>But this knowledge is often overtaken by marketing of the food industry.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='173875' data-end-time='182021'>Advertisers show food on television and in print in a way that creates immediate desire. </span> <span data-start-time='182021' data-end-time='189208'>Professor Pinkney said these images can help lead some people to eat unhealthy foods.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='189208' data-end-time='197854'>He said he believes such pressure overpowers the biological systems that work to keep people at a healthy weight. </span> <span data-start-time='197854' data-end-time='206583'>Professor Pinkney said it is difficult to make progress in populations that eat a lot of sugar, salt and fat.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='206583' data-end-time='212146'>“There's a multinational food industry and there's huge vested interest in selling a lot of the stuff.”</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='212146' data-end-time='220417'>The expert argued that the obesity epidemic must be stopped at its source: when eating habits begin. </span> <span data-start-time='220417' data-end-time='226021'>Children, he said, often learn poor eating habits from their parents.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='226021' data-end-time='229271'>I think a lot of things start very early in life.</span> <span data-start-time='229271' data-end-time='232292'>You know, it's difficult to break the habits of a lifetime, isn't it?</span> <span data-start-time='232292' data-end-time='233813'>I think we all find that.</span> <span data-start-time='233813' data-end-time='238833'>But I think our health and our prospects for the future are kind of laid down fairly early.</span> <span data-start-time='238833' data-end-time='240604'>And I think that's not surprising. </span> <span data-start-time='240604' data-end-time='242375'>Big kids often have big parents.</span> <span data-start-time='242375' data-end-time='245125'>I think they learn this at an early stage.”</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='245125' data-end-time='249354'>The professor suggests one way to improve the situation.</span> <span data-start-time='249354' data-end-time='257042'>He said children should be protected from advertising and marketing put out by the food industry.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='257042' data-end-time='268167'>Besides marketing campaigns, the professor also blames refined carbohydrates and sugars for much of the obesity epidemic.</span> <span data-start-time='268167' data-end-time='274688'>Carbohydrates are commonly put into two groups: simple and complex.</span> <span data-start-time='274688' data-end-time='281042'>They can also be categorized as unrefined and refined carbohydrates.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='281042' data-end-time='290458'>Refining" is a process that removes fiber, nutrients and other items contained within the food in its natural state.</span> <span data-start-time='290458' data-end-time='299354'>Refining also concentrates sugars and can cause our blood sugar levels to change more rapidly than normal. </span> <span data-start-time='299354' data-end-time='304646'>This can cause people to feel tired or put them in a bad mood. </span> <span data-start-time='304646' data-end-time='308167'>It can also increase the appetite.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='308167' data-end-time='315479'>Prof. Pinkney said these refined, overly-processed foods set people up to fail. </span> <span data-start-time='315479' data-end-time='322000'>Without complex fiber, these foods do not satisfy a person's hunger for long. </span> <span data-start-time='322000' data-end-time='326521'>So, people eat their next meal sooner than normal.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='326521' data-end-time='333438'>Prof. Pinkney suggests we learn from our distant ancient ancestors -- the hunter-gatherers. </span> </p><p><span data-start-time='333438' data-end-time='345438'>“The hunter-gatherers, you know, going right back to last Ice Age and before that would have had a diet that was rich in complex, sort of, fiber type carbohydrate. </span> <span data-start-time='345438' data-end-time='348396'>There would be protein in it now and again. </span> <span data-start-time='348396' data-end-time='350083'>But it didn't have all the sugar. </span> <span data-start-time='350083' data-end-time='355688'>So, the diet that is, of course, followed by traditional peoples is radically different.”</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='355688' data-end-time='367104'>Prof. Pinkney said all these areas from advertising and policy to medical interventions need to be addressed to stop the obesity epidemic.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='367104' data-end-time='375563'>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says over 35 percent of American adults are obese. </span> <span data-start-time='375563' data-end-time='379292'>That is almost 79 million people. </span> <span data-start-time='379292' data-end-time='384958'>The government agency says more than 17 million children are obese. </span> <span data-start-time='384958' data-end-time='392438'>The yearly medical cost of obesity in the U.S. is almost $200 billion.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='392438' data-end-time='394542'>I’m Anna Matteo.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/obese_image.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=2645 data-hint-location='66500' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/no_one_health_issue_has_more_impact_on_human_health_than__blank_.m4a'>No one health issue has more impact on human health than <span class='blank'>obesity</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='obesity'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/insomnia.m4a'><span>insomnia</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/epilepsy.m4a'><span>epilepsy</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/diabetes.m4a'><span>diabetes</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/obesity.m4a'><span>obesity</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=2646 data-hint-location='130792' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/many_people_eat_the_wrong_foods_and_do_not_get_enough__blank_.m4a'>Many people eat the wrong foods and do not get enough <span class='blank'>physical activity</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='physical activity'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/help.m4a'><span>help</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/sleep.m4a'><span>sleep</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/physical_activity.m4a'><span>physical activity</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/oxygen.m4a'><span>oxygen</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=2647 data-hint-location='212146' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/the_obesity_epidemic_must_be_stopped_at_its_source_when_eating_habits__blank_.m4a'>The obesity epidemic must be stopped at its source: when eating habits <span class='blank'>are formed</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='are formed'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/change.m4a'><span>change</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/are_formed.m4a'><span>are formed</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/get_bad.m4a'><span>get bad</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/hurt.m4a'><span>hurt</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=2648 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/what_do_experts_discuss_at_the_conference_in_plymouth_england.m4a'>What do experts discuss at the conference in Plymouth, England?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='obesity'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/immigration.m4a'><span>immigration</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/obesity.m4a'><span>obesity</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/human_trafficking.m4a'><span>human trafficking</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/illegal_poaching.m4a'><span>illegal poaching</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=2649 data-hint-location='95417' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/what_ability_does_mr_pinkney_believe_obesity_can_impair.m4a'>What ability does Mr. Pinkney believe obesity can impair?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='to have a normal life'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/to_have_a_normal_life.m4a'><span>to have a normal life</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/to_eat_healthy.m4a'><span>to eat healthy</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/to_work.m4a'><span>to work</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/to_run.m4a'><span>to run</span></div></div></div><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=2650 data-hint-location='103563' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/what_does_devastate_mean.m4a'>What does <strong>devastate</strong> mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='to destroy most of something'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_branch_of_medicine.m4a'><span>a branch of medicine</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/to_destroy_most_of_something.m4a'><span>to destroy most of something</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_physical_desire_for_food.m4a'><span>a physical desire for food</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_usual_way_of_behaving.m4a'><span>a usual way of behaving</span></div></div></div><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=2651 data-hint-location='304646' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/what_does_appetite_mean.m4a'>What does <strong>appetite</strong> mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a physical desire for food'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_branch_of_medicine.m4a'><span>a branch of medicine</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/to_destroy_most_of_something.m4a'><span>to destroy most of something</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_physical_desire_for_food.m4a'><span>a physical desire for food</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_usual_way_of_behaving.m4a'><span>a usual way of behaving</span></div></div></div><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=2652 data-hint-location='212146' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/what_does_habit_mean.m4a'>What does <strong>habit</strong> mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a usual way of behaving'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_branch_of_medicine.m4a'><span>a branch of medicine</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/to_destroy_most_of_something.m4a'><span>to destroy most of something</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_physical_desire_for_food.m4a'><span>a physical desire for food</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/a_usual_way_of_behaving.m4a'><span>a usual way of behaving</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=2653 data-hint-location='168021' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/what_industry_negatively_impacts_our_knowledge_of_healthy_eating.m4a'>What industry negatively impacts our knowledge of healthy eating?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='food industry'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/movie_industry.m4a'><span>movie industry</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/car_industry.m4a'><span>car industry</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/music_industry.m4a'><span>music industry</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/203/food_industry.m4a'><span>food industry</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button 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