Homeostasis is a cornerstone of human health. It represents the concept of balance from a biological standpoint. All organs function well when the body can maintain balance and stability of all of its variables. This includes blood levels of electrolytes such as sodium and potassium, ample amount of vitamins and minerals and hydration levels both in the blood and in our cells. The body doesn't require an exact level of these variables but just to be within a normal range. As long as the values remain within that range, our bodies thrive. When the levels go out of range, our bodies will immediately adapt to try to right the system.
Homeostasis also includes weight.
Our bodies have intricate signals to monitor weight, nutrition and fat levels. They are a variety of hormones, many of which we still have not even identified, which travel in our bloodstream and alert our organs and brain about our current weight, nutritional status and fat stores. These signals can affect many organ systems and body functions including appetite regulation, metabolism, fat storage versus fat usage and more or less efficient digestion.
Over the course of human existence, the human body has honed these signals for survival. The ultimate goal is to thrive as a species. That means that the paramount objective is to maintain the biological state commensurate with health and longevity.
It does not mean lose weight or maintain a lower weight, despite our own personal desires. In the end, homeostasis determines our weight.
Chronic dieting and obsession with thinness challenge our basic biological system. Although many social forces have led to our competing wishes between thinness through dieting or exercise and the desire for ample supplies of processed foods provided by a powerful food industry, our biology trumps all of these pressures.
The end result is twofold. First we now have a population that has gradually increased in weight for many reasons written about extensively. Second the diet industry has influenced widespread food restriction which triggers a biophysical response to regain weight and stabilize physical health. Ultimately, biological imperative will be victorious over even our best laid plans. Maintaining a weight necessary for survival matters; our desire for thinness doesn't.
If we accept the biological reality of homeostasis, what direction do we have for eating disorders and disordered eating treatment? I will address this in the next post.
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