Brain and Behavior: Regulating Body Weight (FutureLearn)

Offered by Purdue University,
Brain and Behavior: Regulating Body Weight (FutureLearn)

Explore the environmental and biological factors that influence our appetite and food choices, and regulate our body weight. This online course will cover the environmental and biological factors that contribute to the regulation of body weight and our control of food intake.

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This topic is important for understanding the current obesity epidemic in many parts of the world. Biological factors governing food intake are well known, but environmental stimuli challenge the signals and systems in the body that work to maintain a healthy weight.

The course explores how our body weight is influenced by:

  • Environmental factors
  • Social factors
  • Learned behaviors
  • Biological factors
  • Central nervous system
  • Hormonal influence
  • Genetic influence and genetic disorders
  • Gene-environment interaction

By the end of the course you will be able to:

  • Discuss the meaning of homeostasis
  • Describe the physiological factors that influence hunger and fullness
  • Explain how environmental stimuli influence eating
  • Summarize how our genes interact with the environment to influence body weight.
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