Contrary to languages` heavy exploration of the term OBESITY, it is only recently that science has begun to unravel the importance of the ADIPOSE tissue and LIPID cells. For example, maternal breast milk is one of the richest nutrients in lipids and lipids provide the back-bone to many hormones. While it is generally true that an excess of ingested calories is often a cause of obesity, there are an increasing number of disorders discovered that contribute to obesity, a topic beyond the scope of this overview.

It is obvious that lack of ADIPOSE, or fatty tissues, makes humans "PINE away", pointing to the role of the PINEAL and other endocrine glands which are fatty in appearance. For example, females who overexercise and restrict their diets stop menstruating (amenorrhea). Others can develop anorexia nervosa. These examples demonstrate the critical role that lipids play to sustain good heath. Actuarial tables (used by life-insurance risk calculations) demonstrate that those under-weight are at a greater risk than those moderately over-weight. On the other extreme, OBESITY, commonly found in developed societies with "soft-drink" and "snack" vending-machine culture, is reaching epidemic proportion. It is false to entirely "blame" parental gene imprinting as the central cause of such disaster. It must be acknowledged that, too, corporations are responsible for luring children toward obesity in their quest to gain profits in the "junk" food industry. On a more general note, inadequate diet has also arisen due to "improved", "convenient", "healthy", and "instant" alternatives that replace fresh vegetables and fruits.

GRAsa, in Spanish, means GREase. Those who GORge may become fat or GORdo and loose their GRAce. Those EnGORged are likely to store the BUTTer they eat in their BUTT and cease to be GORGeous. To be fair to linguists, it must be acknowledged that GORDO and GORGE do not share the same roots, but in fact share a similar notion. Gorge also points to gargle, gargantuan, and GARGanta, or throat in Spanish.

STEATO, in Greek, means fat and points to STEATOpygia, for fat BUTTocks, as if to remind feasters not to "pig out" on food. STEATORRHEA denotes a fatty DIARRHEA.

It is self evident that FAT, or GREASE, repels water. It is also the case that some people are strongly repelled by FATty or OBESE people. The social OBstacles faced by OBese people may be rooted in history. GREASE, in Latin, is CRASSUS, a term that also stands for CRASS, COARSE, and even CRAP. OBEDERE, OBESUS, OBID, and OBIDA, Latin and Ukrainian words for eating, obesity, supper, and offense, respectfully, underscores how eating can become sinfully pathological.

It is true that OBesity may, on rare occasions, arise from genetic defects. See Prader Willi Syndrome, for instance, in our companion web-site, Clinical Eye Openers. In any case, the most common instances of OBESITY are due to obsessive eating, essen in German.

EATing consists of chewing, MASTicating, grinding, or MILling EDible foods into a MEAL. SWALLOWing or inGESTing a meal usually is followed by its diGESTion. Some foods are more diGESTible than others and some would refer to the best as EDAtious.