It was once believed that being overweight was healthy, but nowadays few people subscribe to this viewpoint. While many people are fighting the battle to reduce weight, studies are being conducted concerning the appetite and how it is controlled by both emotional and biochemical factors. Some of the conclusions of these studies may give insight into how to deal with weight problems. For example, when several hundred people were asked about their eating habits in time of stress, 44 percent said they reacted to stressful situations by eating. Further investigations with both humans and animals indicated that it is not food which relieves tension but rather the act of chewing.
A test in which subjects were blindfolded showed that obese people have keener sense of taste and crave more flavorful food than non-obese people. When deprived of the variety and intensity of taste, obese people are not satisfied and consequently eat more to fulfill this need. Blood samples taken from people after they were shown a picture of food revealed that overweight people reacted with an increase in blood insulin, a chemical associated with appetite. This did not happen with average-weight people.
In another experiment, results showed that certain people have a specific, biologically induced hunger for carbohydrates. Eating carbohydrates raises the level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain. Enough serotonin produces a sense of satiation, and hunger for carbohydrates subsides.
Exercise has been recommended as an important part of weight-loss program. However, it has been found that mild exercise, such as using stairs instead of elevator, is better in the long run than taking on a strenuous program, such as jogging, which many people find difficult to continue over periods of time and which also increases appetite.