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| Article - Abstract. To view full article click on the article title. | |
eMJA: Proietto, Why staying lean is not a matter of ethics The Weight Debate Why staying lean is not a matter of ethics Joseph Proietto MJA 1999; 171: 611-613 It has been argued that indulging in behaviour that is detrimental to health is, according to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, unethical: because obesity causes many health problems, and because it is the result of the individual's own actions, the obese must therefore be indulging in unethical behaviour.1 We can all have some sympathy with the view that everyone should take personal responsibility for their health. However, in this article, I hope to show that obesity is the result of genetic mutations that alter appetite and that it is unreasonable to expect individuals with such mutations to exercise their free will to sustain hunger indefinitely in the presence of an abundance of food. What is obesity? "Overweight" and "obese" indicate different degrees of severity of excess fat accumulation. Body mass index (BMI) is commonly used to relate weight to height. Although not a perfect measure of adiposity, the BMI has been widely used in many epidemiological studies. A BMI of 20-25 kg/m2 is considered healthy, 25-30 kg/m2 is considered overweight, and >30 kg/m2 is obese. Both genes and environment contribute to excess weight gain. Figure 1 shows one possible way in which this relationship may be viewed. At modest increases in BMI (eg, 25-30), environment plays the dominant role, with genetic predisposition contributing only a little. Full Article: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/171_11_061299/proietto/proietto.html |
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2006 Ethics-Governance.com |
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