It was once believed that being overweight was healthy, but nowadays few people subscribe to this viewpoint. While many people are fighting the battle to lose weight, studies are being conducted concerning the appetite and how it is controlled by both emotional and biochemical factors. Some of the conclusions of these studies may give insights into how to deal with weight problems. For example several hundred reacted to stressful situations by eating. Further investigations with both humans and animals indicated that it is not food that relieves tension but rather the act of chewing.

A test in which subjects were blindfolded showed that obese people have a keener sense of taste and crave more flavourful food than people who are not extremely overweight. When deprived of variety and intensity of tastes, obese people rarely satisfied and consequently eat more to fulfil this need. Also, blood samples taken from people after they were shown a picture of food revealed that overweight people reacted with an increase in blood insulin, a chemical associated with appetite. This did not happen to average-weighted people.

In another experiment, results showed that certain people have a specific, biologically induced hunger for carbohydrates. When people eat carbohydrates, the level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain, rises. Enough serotonin produces a sense of situation, and as a result, their hunger for carbohydrates subsides.

Exercise has been recommended as an important part of a weight-loss program. However, it has been found that mild exercise, such as using the stairs instead of the elevator, is better in the long run than taking on a strenuous program, such as jogging, which many people find difficult to continue over long periods of time and which also increases appetite.

Choose the right options:

• What is the main purpose of the passage? (1M)

  • To discuss the health problems caused by being overweight
  • To recommend a weight-loss program for the obese
  • To help overweight people overcome their eating problem
  • To present research into the factors causing obesity

• The author mentions people’s eating habits during times of stress to show that (1M)

  • Overweight people are tense
  • Thin people don’t eat when under stress
  • A large percentage of people deal with stress by eating
  • 56 percent of the population isn’t overweight

• The word “crave” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to: (1M)

  • Devour
  • Absorb
  • Season
  • Desire

• Paragraph 2 supports which of the following conclusions? (1M)

  • Thin people don’t enjoy food as much as overweight people do
  • A variety of foods and strong flavors satisfy heavy people
  • Overweight people have an abnormal sense of taste
  • Deprivation of food makes people fat

• According to the passage (1M)

  • Insulin increases in the bloodstream when people eat large amounts of food
  • Insulin can be used to lessen the appetite
  • Insulin causes a chemical reaction when food is seen
  • Insulin levels don’t change in average-weight people who see food

• Give synonyms for the following words: (1M)

  • Subside
  • Strenuous

• d) To present research into the factors causing obesity

• c) A large percentage of people deal with stress by eating

• d) Desire

• a) Thin people don’t enjoy food as much as overweight people do

• d) Insulin levels don’t change in average-weight people who see food

• Give synonyms for the following words:

  • Subside - Sink

  • Strenuous - using great efforts