Joslin:

Hi, my name is Joslin Saju and I am a student in TU Dublin, first year in analytical chemistry. The theme that we chose for this exhibit is “The Hypothalamus and Obesity” from the book “AROUSED” by Randi Hutter Epstein.

The Hypothalamus is part the brain which is located just above the pituitary gland. It secretes neurohormones and acts as a connector between endocrine and nervous system. The reason why we chose this this topic is because we believe the understanding of obesity that people have in their minds is different to reality.

When we see an obese person the first thought that runs through our mind is how unhealthy that person’s behaviour might be, but in reality they might be suffering from a hormonal deficiency or problem, such as a leptin receptor deficiency. This causes them to gain a lot of weight, which many people might not know and people’s poor judgments of this person can led to other illness and affect their mental health. Therefore, we want people to understand that it’s not always about behaviour.

In the book “AROUSED” the author gives a brilliant explanation on the different hormones how they control just about everything. For this exhibit we created a poster about how hypothalamus in our brain can also take part in weight control.

Maria

My name is Maria Stephen Kunnthuparambil. I am doing  a course in Analytical Chemistry in Technological University Dublin. I am a first-year student. The theme I chose for the poster was the Hypothalamus and Obesity from the book ‘Aroused’ by Randi Hutter Epstein.

The book ‘Aroused’ talks about the history of hormones and how they control just about everything. This book is wonderful to read. We learnt from this book just how complex the interactions of homrones with all the body functions actually are, and that hormones are not to be messed with because they have so much control over how our bodies operate. We choose the subject Hypothalamus and Obesity because it is simple to read and understand, and it is also fascinating to learn how the hypothalamus in our brain functions and how its dysfunction can contribute to obesity.

People are familiar with the hypothalamus, but they are less knowledgeable on how it does what it does. One of the key reasons we choose this is because when we see someone who is obese, we automatically assume they have an unhealthy lifestyle, when in fact they might be suffering from hormonal issues that they cannot control. This is why the author has gone into great detail about hormones and how they work.

The poster we created will help you learn more about the hypothalamus and how it relates to obsessive behaviour.

Joslin

From reading this book many parts of it has inspired me for this exhibit. I was really amazed about how back in the 1800s many people didn’t even know that hormones existed, which made it even more fascinating to read about the study of hormones. Not until three years after the discovery of the first hormone in 1902 by English physician E. H. Starling did this area take a major step forward.    

A chapter that inspired me into doing this exhibit was chapter 15 “Insatiable: The Hypothalamus and Obesity”. This chapter focuses on the hypothalamus and a hormone named leptin, both of which have been linked to obesity. The one thing that drew my interest was that it contained real life example of a boy named Nate who suffered from a defect in the leptin receptor in his hypothalamus. It was really upsetting how this boy suffered a lot due to this. This not the only part that drove me into doing this exhibit the different real-life examples in the other chapters like the “fat bride” had really captivated my interest.

Maria

The book encouraged me to write about the hypothalamus because I found the subject fascinating and didn’t know much about it beforehand. I had little idea there was a hypothalamus in our brain, and now I understand a lot more about it and how it functions. This also inspired me because it had real-life examples that made the material easier to comprehend.

‘Aroused’ shows the shocking past of hormones used in the back rooms, basements, and laboratories where endocrinology started, and it fascinates me because it looks at the history and research of some of medicine’s most significant discoveries. I like how the author mixed research experiments with individual situations, making sure to ask or note the subject’s thoughts about their situation.

This book shows important hormones and explains work they in the human body.   I like how she starts with story for each chapter and then gives us information about each hormone concerned. Chapter 15, on the hypothalamus and obesity, clarifies things for me – It makes me want to learn more about endocrinology. The importance of the transition in endocrinology from the past to the future is the reason for picking this subject. I would really recommend this book to everyone.