PGAQ #44 by Vic Steblin, Nov 15, 2008

2570 Laurier Crescent, Prince George, BC, 250-564-1123

Todd Whitcombe’s article in the Fri Nov 15, 2008 Citizen on “Eat less and lose weight, maybe not” was interesting since I could see the subtle link of a feedback process to air quality. Research shows that fat produces a hormone called leptin that is supposed to regulate our eating habits and how we generate heat. Things get out of control when excess fat produces a negative feedback process that encourages even more eating and less heat generation.

I noticed years ago that overweight people ate a lot and also seemed to be cold. They have a full fuel reserve yet seem to have trouble using that energy.

It is the cold part that can be linked to air pollution. Cold people turn up the heat, ultimately leading to higher particulate. Overweight people are less active, further lessening the body’s ability to keep warm.

Our ability to regulate body heat is crucial to health and necessary to comfortably handle a drop in temperature. Healthy, warm people should not need to burn wood for heat. And clean air is a must if people are to exercise more, which is a nice example of a positive feedback process.