Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the art and science of keeping the internal environment stable, unaffected by external forces or influences, and at peak performance. That is exactly what the body and its multitude of systems are doing 24/7. All biological systems, in fact, are doing the same. Biological systems are all about survival and perpetuating the species. There is tolerance, of course, but it is delved very sparingly. Mother nature is very demanding in that way, and in order to survive, organisms must be at their peak performance. Such is the case for humans, as well. If it slacks off, such as it has over the past several decades, the consequences are devastating. The reasons for this slacking off have to do with our industrial, technological, and digital revolutions, which have allowed for conditions which shelter humans from their environment, and thus preclude the necessity for such a mechanism as homeostasis to play out. The price that we humans have to pay, can be seen in our clinics and hospitals. We have become a species of obese, unfit, and burdened by chronic disease, who quite often have erectile dysfunction, and thus jeopardize the continuation of the species. Obesity is easy to spot, and blatantly parading outside the bounds of homeostasis. Most interestingly, it has been socially accepted almost as a norm, and we as a species are much the worst for it. Obesity cannot and must not become an acceptable norm, by no stretch of the imagination. People with obesity are not at their peak performance, but in fact, are probably at their worst. Storing calories may have insured survival on the African desert plains during times of famine, in the West, it translates to danger. Social pressures should impact obese individuals into surrendering their adiposits and into shedding their weight in exchange for a more fit and homeostatic existence. Until such pressure is brought to bear, however, no shedding will unfortunately take place. As a society, we should emphasize the homeostatic beauty of nature, and the need for us as individuals to maintain our bodies in equilibrium where calories ingested are quickly burned.