- As the prevalence of obesity increases across the globe, vast efforts are being directed towards understanding the origins of obesity and mechanisms underlying this rapid increase. It is well known that the current environment of an individual can affect body weight, however, growing evidence suggests that the environment in very early life may be particularly important in determining long term obesity risk. This was prompted by a series of epidemiological studies demonstrating a relationship between suboptimal early growth and later risk of obesity. Evidence from human studies as well as animal models have shown that alterations in nutrition and growth in utero and during early postnatal life can have permanent effects on systems mediating regulation of energy balance. Rapid postnatal growth in particular has been associated with increased risk of developing obesity while slower postnatal growth lowers this risk. Alterations in pathways mediating energy homeostasis have been associated with both patterns of early growth. These include changes in structure and function of neuronal pathways in the brain which lead to deregulation of pathways mediating energy balance. In addition to the alterations at the central level, early nutrition can have detrimental long-lasting effects on peripheral physiological systems, for example the storage of fat and utilization of nutrients that make an individual more prone to development of obesity. The fundamental mechanisms underlying these programmed changes are still to be fully defined, although epigenetic mechanisms may play an important role.
Overview of noun study
The noun study has 10 senses (first 8 from tagged texts)
1. (90) survey, study -- (a detailed critical inspection)
2. (17) study, work -- (applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by
reading); "mastering a second language requires a lot of work"; "no schools offer graduate study in
interior design")
3. (6) report, study, written report -- (a written document describing the findings of some
individual or group; "this accords with the recent study by Hill and Dale")
4. (6) study -- (a state of deep mental absorption; "she is in a deep study")
5. (6) study -- (a room used for reading and writing and studying; "he knocked lightly on the closed
door of the study")
6. (3) discipline, subject, subject area, subject field, field, field of study, study, bailiwick --
(a branch of knowledge; "in what discipline is his doctorate?"; "teachers should be well trained in
their subject"; "anthropology is the study of human beings")
7. (2) sketch, study -- (preliminary drawing for later elaboration; "he made several studies before
starting to paint")
8. (1) cogitation, study -- (attentive consideration and meditation; "after much cogitation he
rejected the offer")
9. study -- (someone who memorizes quickly and easily (as the lines for a part in a play); "he is a
quick study")
10. study -- (a composition intended to develop one aspect of the performer's technique; "a study in
spiccato bowing")
Overview of verb study
The verb study has 6 senses (first 6 from tagged texts)
1. (73) analyze, analyse, study, examine, canvass, canvas -- (consider in detail and subject to an
analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning; "analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare";
"analyze the evidence in a criminal trial"; "analyze your real motives")
2. (17) study -- (be a student; follow a course of study; be enrolled at an institute of learning)
3. (15) study, consider -- (give careful consideration to; "consider the possibility of moving")
4. (13) learn, study, read, take -- (be a student of a certain subject; "She is reading for the bar
exam")
5. (5) study, hit the books -- (learn by reading books; "He is studying geology in his room"; "I
have an exam next week; I must hit the books now")
6. (2) study, meditate, contemplate -- (think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes; "He
is meditating in his study")
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