title: Loren Allred

text: Allred is the eldest daughter born to musician parents. Her mother, Carol Ann Allred, is a classical soprano and voice teacher; her father, Brady R. Allred, was formerly the director of the Pittsburgh Bach Choir and an artistic director and conductor of Salt Lake Choral Artists.<ref name="Hayes_1/18/2018"></ref> She has three younger sisters – Megan, Brennan, and Karin.


title: Loren Allred

text: After a year of studying musical theatre at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, she transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. While in Boston, she uploaded videos to YouTube and was discovered and championed by Ne-Yo, ultimately leading to a record deal with Island Def Jam.


title: Loren Allred

text: In 2012, Allred was a contestant on season 3 of the American television show "The Voice" and selected Adam Levine as her coach. Allred was eliminated after the first week of the live playoffs, tying for 13th place.


title: Loren Allred

text: In 2014, she worked as a playback singer and member of the recording ensemble for a film musical being developed by the Broadway songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. After working on early demos, she was cast as the singing voice of Rebecca Ferguson's character, Jenny Lind, on the project "The Greatest Showman". The film soundtrack and song were successful, going Platinum and the soundtrack topping the "Billboard" albums chart in January 2018. That same month, "Never Enough" (Allred's featured song) reached number 88 on the Hot 100.


title: Loren Allred

text: Allred's vocal performance of "Never Enough" has received widespread acclaim. "Variety" said her "incandescent" performance "will sweep you up"; "Just Jared" called it "Next Level". "American Idol" alum Kelly Clarkson recorded a cover for the album "" and praised Allred on Twitter for her performance of the song. Other notable artists who have since covered the song include Jennifer Hudson, Nicole Scherzinger, Katharine McPhee, Maria Simorangkir, Jona Viray and Morissette. "Never Enough" has inspired thousands of covers on singing competition shows and across social media.


title: Loren Allred

text: In early 2019, Allred joined Michael Bublé's "Love" album for a duet of "Help Me Make it Through the Night." Bublé discovered Allred while watching "The Greatest Showman" and released a behind the scenes recording of their duet. Bublé noted that Allred has "the most beautiful voice and control".


title: Loren Allred

text: Allred joined Andrea Bocelli for selected performances on his 2021 USA Tour. In promoting the tour, he said: "If an artist wants to move the listener, he or she must have something intense and convincing to tell through the singing. This something comes from experiences and insight: it is the inner wealth that you can acquire by living. Loren Allred is a perfect example of this: her richly nuanced voice, her expressiveness, and her powers of communication describe and celebrate the beauty she has managed to cultivate within herself. A versatile musician raised in the arts, I remember how pleasantly surprised I was when we sang together for the first time in Saudi Arabia. I am delighted to soon be able to return to the stage with Loren, in that great country that is her homeland and my adoptive homeland."


title: Loren Allred

text: In 2022, Allred auditioned for the 15th series of "Britain's Got Talent", performing "Never Enough". Simon Cowell said: "You sang one of the biggest songs of all time. Why didn't you get that big deal after the song?" She responded: "I was more comfortable singing behind the scenes. But I feel kind of like the song was meant for me, and I'm kind of ready to put a face to the song. So I'm here to do that."<ref name="Johnson_6/17/2022"></ref> She received the Golden Buzzer from Amanda Holden, sending her through to the semifinals. She won her semifinal on 2 June and competed in the final, finishing in ninth place.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000, to September 26, 2003. Later competing for Bellator MMA. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz is the CEO of Punishment Athletics MMA equipment and clothing line, which is located in his hometown of Huntington Beach, California.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On November 5, 2020, Ortiz was announced as one of the winners of the Huntington Beach City Council election, becoming Mayor pro tempore. Sworn into office on December 7, 2020, he resigned from the city council less than six months later on June 1, 2021.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz made his professional boxing debut on September 11, 2021, in a round one loss to fellow former UFC champion Anderson Silva.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: At the age of nineteen, Ortiz ran into an old high school wrestling coach, a future UFC fighter and an assistant wrestling coach at Golden West College, Paul Herrera, who encouraged him to enroll in the college. Ortiz then began attending Golden West, where he was a California junior college state champion and All-American for two consecutive years before transferring to California State University, Bakersfield, where he continued wrestling but was never a full-time starter. Ortiz also trained with UFC fighter and fellow collegiate wrestler, Tank Abbott.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz's mixed martial arts debut was at "UFC 13" in 1997. Still in college, Ortiz competed as an amateur for no prize money or contracts. He beat Wes Albritton in an alternate bout by referee stoppage at 0:31 of the first round. He was selected to face Guy Mezger in the Light Heavyweight final after Enson Inoue could not continue due to injury. Despite dominating Mezger at first, Ortiz lost the fight at 2:00 in the first round by a guillotine choke submission. After returning with a TKO victory over Jeremy Screeton at "West Coast NHB Championships 1", Ortiz fought top ranked fighter and UFC 12 Light Heavyweight Tournament Champion Jerry Bohlander at "UFC 18". Ortiz dominated the fight and won via TKO due to cut stoppage. Ortiz then avenged his loss to Mezger at UFC 19 by TKO. Ortiz's post fight antics towards Mezger and the Lion's Den led to his long-running rivalry with the team's leader Ken Shamrock.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz has credited UFC Heavyweight Champion Bas Rutten for inspiration during his early days. Ortiz said; ""I looked up to Bas Rutten. Bas was my idol. People were just so scared of fighting him, he was like the man. I thought that was what I need to do now. If I train as hard as he does then one day I'll be as good as him and two years later look where I am, I'm on top of the world. I've got to say thanks to him, (Bas) for helping me out by making me believe in dreams.""


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In 1999, Ortiz fought Frank Shamrock for what is now known as the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at "UFC 22". Despite controlling Shamrock for the majority of the fight, Ortiz ended up losing via submission due to strikes. Following the victory, Shamrock retired and vacated the championship. The Middleweight division was then officially renamed the Light Heavyweight (205 lb) division and Ortiz was chosen, along with Wanderlei Silva, as a top contender. Ortiz defeated Silva for the vacant Light Heavyweight Championship at "UFC 25" via unanimous decision. He went on to defend the Light Heavyweight Championship a then-record five times in the following three years, defeating Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko and Lion's Den head Ken Shamrock.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: At "UFC 44", after a near year-long layoff from the sport, Ortiz fought the new Interim Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, who had defeated Chuck Liddell for the interim title at "UFC 43" in September 2003. Couture defeated Ortiz via unanimous decision. The loss ended Ortiz's near three and a half year title reign, which was the longest Light Heavyweight Championship reign until Jon Jones successfully defended the Light Heavyweight Championship for the sixth time on September 21, 2013. Following his loss to Couture, Ortiz faced Chuck Liddell at "UFC 47", losing by TKO in the second round. After six months off, Ortiz returned and took a unanimous decision victory over newcomer Patrick Côté at "UFC 50" and a split decision over Vitor Belfort at "UFC 51".


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In February 2005, Ortiz took time away from the UFC and was offered deals with several promotions, including PRIDE Fighting Championships and the Don King-backed World Fighting Alliance. Ortiz and fellow fighter Fabiano Iha even hired investment banker Stan Medley to take a new league, The Xtreme Fighting Championship, public. But none of these endeavors came to fruition. Ortiz opted to try his hand at professional wrestling, signing with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a guest referee.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In November 2005, UFC president Dana White announced Ortiz and Ken Shamrock would coach "The Ultimate Fighter 3" reality TV series on Spike TV, which premiered in April 2006. Ortiz's first fight in his return occurred at "UFC 59" on April 15, 2006, against previous "The Ultimate Fighter 1" winner Forrest Griffin. Ortiz won via split decision (30–27, 28–29, and 29–27). His next fight was against UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock at "UFC 61" on July 8, 2006, a match which was to conclude a main rivalry on "The Ultimate Fighter 3". Shamrock lost in the first round by TKO due to strikes (elbows) by Ortiz. On August 25, 2006, at the "UFC 62" weigh-ins, Dana White announced a rematch between Ortiz and Shamrock for October 10, 2006, on Spike TV, as the main event of . Ortiz beat Shamrock for the third time in this fight, which was stopped in the first round due to strikes. On December 30, 2006, at "UFC 66", Ortiz's rematch with Chuck Liddell (for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship) ended in defeat via referee stoppage in the third round.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: He then fought against undefeated "The Ultimate Fighter 2" winner Rashad Evans on July 7, 2007, at "UFC 73". Ortiz took charge of the fight from the outset, taking Evans down and controlling him. In the second round Ortiz once again took control and nearly submitted Evans before the culmination of the round. The fight ended in a draw after Ortiz was penalized for grabbing the fence. Ortiz's last fight on his contract with the UFC was a unanimous decision loss to the then undefeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 on May 24, 2008. All three judges scored the fight 30–27 to Machida. Ortiz came close to submitting Machida in the third round with a triangle choke before transitioning to an armbar. However, Machida managed to escape and survived the round, winning a unanimous judges' decision. The fight concluded Ortiz's stay with the promotion as he chose not to re-sign, citing his frustration with UFC president Dana White as a major factor in the decision.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: After leaving the UFC, Ortiz was approached by multiple promotions, including the now defunct EliteXC, Affliction and the American Fight League. However, a clause in his old UFC contract forbade him from signing with or fighting for any other organization until approximately April–June 2009. Until his return to the UFC, Ortiz was considered the biggest free agent on the market.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On October 6, 2008, Ortiz underwent back surgery in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to his website, he had been experiencing back pain since his fight with Randy Couture.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On Wednesday, December 17, 2008, Affliction Entertainment announced that Ortiz would be part of the broadcast team for the . Ortiz had said he would fight again in August 2009, but this did not occur.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: As part of his comeback to the UFC, Ortiz began training with his original Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Judo instructor Cleber Luciano (a student of Royler Gracie). Ortiz originally briefly trained with Luciano back in 1997, when he was still a student at Golden West College.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On July 17, 2009, both Ortiz and Dana White stated that the pair had made amends. One week later, White announced that he re-signed Tito. Ortiz stated he is returning for a six-fight deal he and White have worked out. White officially announced Ortiz's return in a conference call on July 31, 2009. White mentioned that "everyone wants to see Tito fight" and "Tito will retire in the UFC." Mark Coleman was named as Ortiz's opponent for his return to the octagon at UFC 106.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: However, Coleman pulled out of this bout due to a second-degree tear of his MCL, and was replaced by Forrest Griffin.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Due to an illness to UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, Ortiz's fight with Griffin was promoted to the headliner of UFC 106. Griffin won the fight via split decision, showing superior striking ability. Whilst Ortiz was able to secure takedowns in the first and second rounds, Griffin showed considerable improvement since their first fight and kept the fight standing throughout the third, leading to the split decision victory.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On December 5, it was announced Ortiz would coach the of "The Ultimate Fighter", with the opposing coach being Chuck Liddell. He was scheduled to fight Liddell again for the third time at the end of the season and later pulled out of the bout. On April 7, 2010, UFC president Dana White said Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 was scheduled to be the main event for UFC 115. However, on April 12, 2010, the UFC confirmed the main event for the card was Liddell vs. Rich Franklin.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz fought Matt Hamill on October 23, 2010, at UFC 121. Hamill was Ortiz's first overall pick during Season 3 of the Ultimate Fighter. Ortiz lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: UFC President Dana White hinted at Tito Ortiz's possible release from the UFC in a post-fight interview after UFC 121 stating that 'We all know what happens when guys lose four fights in the UFC'. There had been no official statement to confirm this, however. On November 7, in a response to a fan via his Twitter, Ortiz stated that he would again fight in the UFC.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz was expected to face Antônio Rogério Nogueira on March 26, 2011, at UFC Fight Night 24. UFC president Dana White said that he had expected to cut Ortiz loose from the UFC after his loss to Hamill, but decided to give him one last chance against Nogueira. Ortiz received a cut above his eye and a concussion while training for his fight with Nogueira and was forced to withdraw. He was replaced by Phil Davis.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz took on Ryan Bader on July 2, 2011, at UFC 132. Coming in as a heavy underdog, with his UFC career on the line (despite stating that in his previous 5 fights, he'd been plagued by injury), Ortiz dropped Bader with strikes and submitted him using a guillotine choke at 1:56 of the first round, thus securing his first victory since 2006 and saving his UFC career. The victory earned him "Submission of the Night" honors.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In a rematch against Rashad Evans on August 6, 2011, at UFC 133, in which he replaced an injured Phil Davis on two weeks' notice, Ortiz lost in the second round by TKO via strikes, despite nearly finishing Evans in round one with a guillotine.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz faced Antônio Rogério Nogueira on December 10, 2011, at UFC 140. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. He would state after the fight that he had suffered a neck injury before the fight, but decided to fight anyway in the hope of bringing the fans a victory.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz then stated he would retire after his next fight, the last of his contract, against Forrest Griffin at UFC 148.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz faced Forrest Griffin for a third time on July 7, 2012, at UFC 148. Ortiz was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame prior to his final bout. He lost in a "Fight of the Night" winning performance (despite landing 2 knockdowns and 2 takedowns to Griffin's zero). Griffin once again was able to out strike Ortiz for the victory.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Following his loss to Griffin, Ortiz retired from MMA and started up a management company, Primetime 360 Entertainment & Sports Management Inc. The management team would pick up Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino as its first high-profile client. He came out of retirement to fight in Bellator MMA.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On July 31, 2013, it was announced that Ortiz would come out of retirement to face former training partner and fellow former UFC Light heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson on November 2, 2013, at . However, on October 25, it was announced that Ortiz suffered a neck injury and had to pull out of his fight with Jackson. Despite having to deal with another injury, Ortiz said that he would still focus on a return to the cage and then Bellator President Bjorn Rebney said that they still wanted to see Ortiz compete in their organization.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz faced Bellator Middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko, in a match up at Light Heavyweight, in his Bellator debut on May 17, 2014, at Bellator 120. He won via first round arm-triangle choke submission. In his victory speech, he was dismissive of the UFC for the company's attempts to remove him from their history, calling it "bullshit" and stated that he will "live in the MMA memory forever".


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz faced fellow UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar on November 15, 2014, at Bellator 131. He won via split decision.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On June 19, 2015, it was announced that Ortiz would face Liam McGeary for the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship. The match eventually took place on September 19, 2015, at . Ortiz lost the fight via inverted triangle choke in the first round.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In his fourth fight for the promotion, Ortiz faced fellow UFC veteran Chael Sonnen on January 21, 2017, in the main event at Bellator 170. Before the fight Ortiz announced this would be his last mixed martial arts fight. He won via rear-naked choke in first round.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In August 2018, it was announced by Golden Boy Promotions that Ortiz would be coming out of retirement to face his rival Chuck Liddell in a third fight. The fight took place on November 24, 2018, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Ortiz won the fight by knockout in the first round.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In April 2019, it was announced the Ortiz had signed a multi-fight agreement with the Combate Americas promotion. Later, Ortiz revealed that the contract covers three fights and two years. The time of his promotional debut was set for the fall of 2019. On July 9, 2019, it was announced that Ortiz's debut opponent would be former WWE Champion and Combate Americas President Alberto El Patrón in a 210-pound Catchweight bout at Combate Americas event in Hidalgo, Texas on December 7, 2019. Ortiz won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. On February 26, 2020, it was announced that the result had been temporarily overturned to a no decision by the Texas State Athletic Commission for reasons that have not yet been disclosed. However, on February 28, it was announced that Ortiz consumed muscle relaxers, so the issue had been resolved and the result was turned back to a win for Ortiz.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In May 2005, Ortiz made an appearance for the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). On May 15, 2005, at Hard Justice Ortiz served as special guest referee in the NWA World Heavyweight Championship title match between champion Jeff Jarrett and challenger A.J. Styles at the behest of Director of Authority Dusty Rhodes. The conclusion of the match saw Ortiz knock out Jarrett with a right hook after Jarrett shoved him, which allowed Styles to hit his "Spiral Tap" for the pinfall victory and claim the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Ortiz returned to TNA on the edition of October 1 of "TNA Impact!" and the following week he was revealed as the special guest referee for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Jeff Jarrett and Kevin Nash at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view, in a segment, where he grabbed the number one contender Nash in a rear naked choke in order to prevent him from brawling with Jarrett. On October 23 at Bound for Glory Ortiz refereed the match for the title between Jarrett and Rhino, a last minute replacement for Nash. The matched ended with Ortiz knocking out America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm), two of Jarrett's associates who attempted to interfere in the match, and then counted the pinfall for Rhino to crown him the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz returned to TNA on August 1, 2013, revealing himself as the man behind the cryptic #August1Warning tweets and YouTube videos and staring down the Aces & Eights and The Main Event Mafia, which included his opponent Quinton Jackson. The following week, Ortiz returned to explain his reason for being in TNA, but he was interrupted by Kurt Angle who declared his respect for Ortiz, and later Bully Ray who declared his disrespect for both men. On August 15 at "Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice, Ortiz was picked by Jackson to sub for Angle in the Main Event Mafia to take on Aces & Eights, which Ortiz left up in the air before he was again interrupted and insulted by Bully Ray. During the main event of the evening, Ortiz turned on Jackson by hitting him with a hammer and allowed Ray to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Chris Sabin. The following week, Ortiz officially joined Aces & Eights. However, on "Impact Wrestling: No Surrender", it was announced that Bellator MMA had pulled Ortiz from TNA programming due to his upcoming PPV fight with Rampage Jackson, thus removing him from Aces & Eights. Ortiz has since parted ways with TNA.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz made his professional boxing debut against former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva on September 11, 2021. He lost via knockout in the first round.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz made a cameo in the 2008 comedy "Zombie Strippers" as the bouncer of the Rhino. In addition, he has a cameo in Jet Li's "Cradle 2 the Grave", as well as co-starring in "". Ortiz was a playable character in the 2000 video game "Razor Freestyle Scooter". Tito also played a minor role in Turkish film "", and briefly appeared in Korn's music video "Got the Life", as well as portraying American symbol Uncle Sam in the band Seether's music video for the song "Truth." He also appeared on "Hell's Kitchen" where he sat at the chef's table. He also appeared on "MADtv". Tito most recently played an MMA fighter named Derek Petrov on an episode of "" titled "Clean Sweep", which aired on January 6, 2012, on CBS. In 2017, Ortiz co-starred in the film "Boo 2! A Madea Halloween".


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In 2020, Ortiz ran for a city council seat in his hometown of Huntington Beach, with the intention of eventually becoming the mayor. (Huntington Beach does not elect mayors directly, but the mayor is chosen from among city councilmembers.) On November 5, 2020, Ortiz was elected as one of the winners of the open seats. On December 7, 2020, Ortiz was sworn in as Mayor Pro Tempore of Huntington Beach.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On November 30, 2020, Ortiz led a "curfew breaker" protest against COVID-19 regulations on the Huntington Beach pier.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In May 2021, it surfaced that Ortiz had filed for unemployment in February 2021, despite not being unemployed or underemployed.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz is a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump. As a tribute to Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again", Ortiz chose "Make Huntington Beach Safe Again" as his campaign slogan for the 2020 election. Ortiz has stated his skepticism to COVID-19, calling it "the flu," and a form of "population control." He has also declared his support for law enforcement, legal immigration and the second amendment.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In January 2021, Ortiz was refused service at a TK Burgers restaurant for not wearing a mask, and posted his experience on Instagram. Ortiz has since apologized, saying "We understand that this is a small business and we don't want to ruin our business."


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz was married to his first wife, Kristin, for 5 years, and they divorced in 2005. They have a son, Jacob. In 2006, he began dating former adult film star Jenna Jameson. He canceled a November 12, 2006, appearance as the guest of honor at the United States Marine Corps birthday ball at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, when the Corps refused to let him bring Jameson as his guest. On November 30, 2006, in an interview on "The Howard Stern Show", Ortiz stated that he was in love with Jameson, that she was no longer acting in pornography, and that they were in a monogamous relationship.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz announced in August 2008 that he and Jameson were expecting twins in April 2009. On March 16, 2009, Jameson gave birth to twin boys, Jesse Jameson and Journey Jett. Jameson and Ortiz split up in March 2013. Ortiz was granted full custody of the twins.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: In 2014, Ortiz began dating model Amber Nichole Miller. The two had previously worked together in the UFC as a fighter and Octagon Girl respectively.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: On April 26, 2010, Ortiz was arrested for felony domestic violence against then-girlfriend Jenna Jameson at their Huntington Beach, California, home. Jameson was photographed afterward that day with a bandaged arm, amid accusations by both parties against each other, with Ortiz accusing Jameson of being erratic and addicted to OxyContin, while she alleged that he was abusive. Both later recanted the allegations.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: Ortiz was arrested on DUI charges in Los Angeles on January 6, 2014. He was sentenced to three years probation, an undisclosed fine, and an obligation to enroll in an alcohol education program.


title: Tito Ortiz

text: While Ortiz describes his poker playing as a hobby, in March 2017 he placed 22nd in the $5,300 No Limit Hold'em "PokerStars" Championship Main Event in Panama. Additionally, he has appeared on Shark Cage, Live at the Bike, and has participated in a number of private tournaments.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: Sophie Irene Hunter (born 16 March 1978) is an English theatre director, playwright and former actress and singer. She made her directorial debut in 2007 co-directing the experimental play "The Terrific Electric" at the Barbican Pit after her theatre company Boileroom was granted the Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award. In addition, she has directed an Off-Off-Broadway revival of Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" (2010) at Access Theatre, the performance art titled "Lucretia" (2011) based on Benjamin Britten's opera "The Rape of Lucretia" at Location One's Abramovic Studio in New York City, and the Phantom Limb Company's "69° South" also known as "Shackleton Project" (2011) which premièred at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theatre and later toured North America.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: In August 2015, Hunter directed "Phaedra" and "The Turn of the Screw" to critical acclaim for the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival and Aldeburgh Music, respectively.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: Sophie Irene Hunter was born in Hammersmith district of London on 16 March 1978, she is the daughter of Anna Katharine (née Gow) and Charles Rupert. The couple later divorced. She has two younger brothers, Timothy and Patrick, as well as two half-siblings from her father's second marriage, Lily-Rose and Samuel. She is a niece of pianist Julius Drake. Her maternal grandfather is General Sir Michael James Gow, a British Army officer who worked with Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester in the 1950s and was Aide-de-Camp General to the Queen from 1981 to 1984. Hunter's maternal great-great grandfather was First World War politician J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: Hunter attended St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith before studying Modern Languages with a concentration in French and Italian at the University of Oxford. After graduating from Oxford, Hunter lived in Paris to study avant-garde theatre for two years at the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. She then trained at the Saratoga International Theatre Institute in New York City under theatre and opera director Anne Bogart.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: Hunter co-founded the Lacuna Theatre Company and was an associate director at Royal Court Theatre in the West End of London and Broadhurst Theatre in New York's Broadway for the play "Enron". She is the co-founder and artistic director of theatre company Boileroom, which won the 2007 Samuel Theatre Trust Award for the avant-garde play "The Terrific Electric". She also serves as collaborating director and dramaturge on marionette and puppetry production with the Phantom Limb Company.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: Known for her avant-garde plays, Hunter has directed, performed and conceived theatre productions throughout Europe, the Middle East and North America. She directed the experimental play "69° South" (2013), the New York City performance art titled "Lucretia" (2011) based on Benjamin Britten's opera "The Rape of Lucretia" and the 2010 revival of Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts". She was a member of the performance collective Militia Canteen.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: In collaboration with music director Andrew Staples, Hunter directed mezzo-soprano Ruby Philogene in "Phaedra" (2015) at the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival in Northern Ireland. The production was met with praise, with "The Guardian" saying it was "exquisitely realized," "The Stage" hailing it as "creative brilliance," and "The Times" describing it as "astonishing". She has also staged Benjamin Britten's "The Turn of the Screw" in Suffolk and London for Aldeburgh Music.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: In June 2017, Hunter took part as narrator in "Music on the Meare" at Aldeburgh Festival with readings from Ovid, John Dryden and Ted Hughes alongside oboist Nicholas Daniel.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: Hunter worked on the transfer of Punchdrunk's "Sleep No More" to New York City in 2011 while serving as creative director for the theatre company Emursive. She has also directed the company's theatrical experiences "The Forgotten" (2012) and "Don't Major in Debt Student House" (2012). In 2013, she developed "Loma Lights" (2013), one of the largest public arts programs in New York City.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: In 2005, Hunter recorded a French-language music album titled "The Isis Project" in collaboration with songwriter Guy Chambers. In 2011, she released an English-language EP titled "Songs for a Boy", again with Chambers. Hunter has also collaborated with Armin van Buuren for the song "Virtual Friend" which was included in Buuren's 2010 album "Mirage".


title: Sophie Hunter

text: Earlier in her career, Hunter acted in film and television. She had supporting roles in the television series "Midsomer Murders" (2004), "Keen Eddie" (2004), "Mumbai Calling" (2007) and "Torchwood" (2009). In 2004, she played Maria Osborne in the costume drama film "Vanity Fair" starring Reese Witherspoon and played Annabel Blythe-Smith in the 2009 thriller film "Burlesque Fairytales".


title: Sophie Hunter

text: In May 2017, Hunter was announced as a producer for the film adaptation of Megan Hunter's dystopian novel "The End We Start From" alongside her husband Cumberbatch and Adam Ackland's production company Sunnymarch, and Liza Marshall's Hera Productions.


title: Sophie Hunter

text: Hunter had a long-term relationship with sculptor Conrad Shawcross whom she met while studying at Oxford. The couple split in early 2010. On 14 February 2015, she married actor Benedict Cumberbatch at St Peter and St Paul's Church, Mottistone on the Isle of Wight followed by a reception at Mottistone Manor. They have three sons.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's weight divided by the square of the person's height—is over ; the range is defined as overweight. Some East Asian countries use lower values to calculate obesity. Obesity is a major cause of disability and is correlated with various diseases and conditions, particularly cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity has individual, socioeconomic, and environmental causes. Some known causes are diet, physical activity, automation, urbanization, genetic susceptibility, medications, mental disorders, economic policies, endocrine disorders, and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.


title: Obesity

text: While a majority of obese individuals at any given time are attempting to lose weight and are often successful, maintaining weight loss long term is rare. There is no effective, well-defined, evidence-based intervention for preventing obesity. Obesity prevention requires a complex approach, including interventions at societal, community, family, and individual levels. Changes to diet and exercising are the main treatments recommended by health professionals. Diet quality can be improved by reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods, such as those high in fat or sugars, and by increasing the intake of dietary fiber, if these dietary choices are available, affordable, and accessible. Medications can be used, along with a suitable diet, to reduce appetite or decrease fat absorption. If diet, exercise, and medication are not effective, a gastric balloon or surgery may be performed to reduce stomach volume or length of the intestines, leading to feeling full earlier, or a reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing rates in adults and children. In 2015, 600 million adults (12%) and 100 million children were obese in 195 countries. Obesity is more common in women than in men. Today, obesity is stigmatized in most of the world. Conversely, some cultures, past and present, have a favorable view of obesity, seeing it as a symbol of wealth and fertility. Nevertheless, in 2013, several medical societies, including the American Medical Association and the American Heart Association, classified obesity as a disease.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity is typically defined as a substantial accumulation of body fat that could impact health. Medical organizations tend to classify people as obese based on body mass index (BMI) – a ratio of a person's weight in kilograms to the square of their height in meters. For adults, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines "overweight" as a BMI 25 or higher, and "obese" as a BMI 30 or higher. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) further subdivides obesity based on BMI, with a BMI 30 to 35 called class 1 obesity; 35 to 40, class 2 obesity; and 40+, class 3 obesity.


title: Obesity

text: For children, obesity measures take age into consideration along with height and weight. For children aged 5–19, the WHO defines obesity as a BMI two standard deviations above the median for their age (a BMI around 18 for a five-year old; around 30 for a 19-year old). For children under five, the WHO defines obesity as a weight three standard deviations above the median for their height.


title: Obesity

text: Some modifications to the WHO definitions have been made by particular organizations. The surgical literature breaks down class II and III or only class III obesity into further categories whose exact values are still disputed.


title: Obesity

text: As Asian populations develop negative health consequences at a lower BMI than Caucasians, some nations have redefined obesity; Japan has defined obesity as any BMI greater than 25 kg/m while China uses a BMI of greater than 28 kg/m.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity increases a person's risk of developing various metabolic diseases, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer disease, depression, and certain types of cancer. Depending on the degree of obesity and the presence of comorbid disorders, obesity is associated with an estimated 2–20 year shorter life expectancy. High BMI is a marker of risk for, but not a direct cause of, diseases caused by diet and physical activity.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity is one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide. The mortality risk is lowest at a BMI of 20–25 kg/m in non-smokers and at 24–27 kg/m in current smokers, with risk increasing along with changes in either direction. This appears to apply in at least four continents. Other reserch suggests that the association of BMI and waist circumference with mortality is U- or J-shaped, while the association between waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio with mortality is more positive. In Asians the risk of negative health effects begins to increase between 22 and 25 kg/m. In 2021, the World Health Organization estimated that obesity caused at least 2.8 million deaths annually. On average, obesity reduces life expectancy by six to seven years, a BMI of 30–35 kg/m reduces life expectancy by two to four years, while severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m) reduces life expectancy by ten years.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity increases the risk of many physical and mental conditions. These comorbidities are most commonly shown in metabolic syndrome, a combination of medical disorders which includes: diabetes mellitus type 2, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and high triglyceride levels. A study from the RAK Hospital found that obese people are at a greater risk of developing long COVID. The CDC has found that obesity is the single strongest risk factor for severe COVID-19 illness.


title: Obesity

text: Complications are either directly caused by obesity or indirectly related through mechanisms sharing a common cause such as a poor diet or a sedentary lifestyle. The strength of the link between obesity and specific conditions varies. One of the strongest is the link with type 2 diabetes. Excess body fat underlies 64% of cases of diabetes in men and 77% of cases in women.


title: Obesity

text: Health consequences fall into two broad categories: those attributable to the effects of increased fat mass (such as osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, social stigmatization) and those due to the increased number of fat cells (diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). Increases in body fat alter the body's response to insulin, potentially leading to insulin resistance. Increased fat also creates a proinflammatory state, and a prothrombotic state.


title: Obesity

text: Newer research has focused on methods of identifying healthier obese people by clinicians, and not treating obese people as a monolithic group. Obese people who do not experience medical complications from their obesity are sometimes called "(metabolically) healthy obese", but the extent to which this group exists (especially among older people) is in dispute. The number of people considered "metabolically healthy" depends on the definition used, and there is no universally accepted definition. There are numerous obese people who have relatively few metabolic abnormalities, and a minority of obese people have no medical complications. The guidelines of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists call for physicians to use risk stratification with obese patients when considering how to assess their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.


title: Obesity

text: In 2014, the BioSHaRE–EU Healthy Obese Project (sponsored by Maelstrom Research, a team under the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre) came up with two definitions for "healthy obesity", one more strict and one less so:


title: Obesity

text: To come up with these criteria, BioSHaRE controlled for age and tobacco use, researching how both may effect the metabolic syndrome associated with obesity, but not found to exist in the metabolically healthy obese. Other definitions of metabolically healthy obesity exist, including ones based on waist circumference rather than BMI, which is unreliable in certain individuals.


title: Obesity

text: Another identification metric for health in obese people is calf strength, which is positively correlated with physical fitness in obese people. Body composition in general is hypothesized to help explain the existence of metabolically healthy obesity—the metabolically healthy obese are often found to have low amounts of ectopic fat (fat stored in tissues other than adipose tissue) despite having overall fat mass equivalent in weight to obese people with metabolic syndrome.


title: Obesity

text: Although the negative health consequences of obesity in the general population are well supported by the available research evidence, health outcomes in certain subgroups seem to be improved at an increased BMI, a phenomenon known as the obesity survival paradox. The paradox was first described in 1999 in overweight and obese people undergoing hemodialysis, and has subsequently been found in those with heart failure and peripheral artery disease (PAD).


title: Obesity

text: In people with heart failure, those with a BMI between 30.0 and 34.9 had lower mortality than those with a normal weight. This has been attributed to the fact that people often lose weight as they become progressively more ill. Similar findings have been made in other types of heart disease. People with class I obesity and heart disease do not have greater rates of further heart problems than people of normal weight who also have heart disease. In people with greater degrees of obesity, however, the risk of further cardiovascular events is increased. Even after cardiac bypass surgery, no increase in mortality is seen in the overweight and obese. One study found that the improved survival could be explained by the more aggressive treatment obese people receive after a cardiac event. Another study found that if one takes into account chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in those with PAD, the benefit of obesity no longer exists.


title: Obesity

text: The "a calorie is a calorie" model of obesity posits a combination of excessive food energy intake and a lack of physical activity as the cause of most cases of obesity. A limited number of cases are due primarily to genetics, medical reasons, or psychiatric illness. In contrast, increasing rates of obesity at a societal level are felt to be due to an easily accessible and palatable diet, increased reliance on cars, and mechanized manufacturing.


title: Obesity

text: Other possible contributors to the recent increase of obesity are: (1) insufficient sleep, (2) endocrine disruptors (environmental pollutants that interfere with lipid metabolism), (3) decreased variability in ambient temperature, (4) decreased rates of smoking, because smoking suppresses appetite, (5) increased use of medications that can cause weight gain (e.g., atypical antipsychotics), (6) proportional increases in ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier, (7) pregnancy at a later age (which may cause susceptibility to obesity in children), (8) epigenetic risk factors passed on generationally, (9) natural selection for higher BMI, and (10) assortative mating leading to increased concentration of obesity risk factors (this would increase the number of obese people by increasing population variance in weight). According to the Endocrine Society, there is "growing evidence suggesting that obesity is a disorder of the energy homeostasis system, rather than simply arising from the passive accumulation of excess weight". Societal pressure to diet as a means of maintaining or losing weight has also been suggested as a possible contributor.


title: Obesity

text: Excess appetite for palatable, high-calorie food (especially fat, sugar, and certain animal proteins) is seen as the primary factor driving obesity worldwide, likely because of imbalances in neurotransmitters affecting the drive to eat. Dietary energy supply per capita varies markedly between different regions and countries. It has also changed significantly over time. From the early 1970s to the late 1990s the average food energy available per person per day (the amount of food bought) increased in all parts of the world except Eastern Europe. The United States had the highest availability with per person in 1996. This increased further in 2003 to . During the late 1990s, Europeans had per person, in the developing areas of Asia there were per person, and in sub-Saharan Africa people had per person. Total food energy consumption has been found to be related to obesity.


title: Obesity

text: The widespread availability of dietary guidelines has done little to address the problems of overeating and poor dietary choice. From 1971 to 2000, obesity rates in the United States increased from 14.5% to 30.9%. During the same period, an increase occurred in the average amount of food energy consumed. For women, the average increase was per day ( in 1971 and in 2004), while for men the average increase was per day ( in 1971 and in 2004). Most of this extra food energy came from an increase in carbohydrate consumption rather than fat consumption. The primary sources of these extra carbohydrates are sweetened beverages, which now account for almost 25 percent of daily food energy in young adults in America, and potato chips. Consumption of sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, and iced tea is believed to be contributing to the rising rates of obesity and to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Vitamin D deficiency is related to diseases associated with obesity.


title: Obesity

text: As societies become increasingly reliant on energy-dense, big-portions, and fast-food meals, the association between fast-food consumption and obesity becomes more concerning. In the United States, consumption of fast-food meals tripled and food energy intake from these meals quadrupled between 1977 and 1995.


title: Obesity

text: Agricultural policy and techniques in the United States and Europe have led to lower food prices. In the United States, subsidization of corn, soy, wheat, and rice through the U.S. farm bill has made the main sources of processed food cheap compared to fruits and vegetables. Calorie count laws and nutrition facts labels attempt to steer people toward making healthier food choices, including awareness of how much food energy is being consumed.


title: Obesity

text: Obese people consistently under-report their food consumption as compared to people of normal weight. This is supported both by tests of people carried out in a calorimeter room and by direct observation.


title: Obesity

text: A sedentary lifestyle may play a significant role in obesity. Worldwide there has been a large shift towards less physically demanding work, and currently at least 30% of the world's population gets insufficient exercise. This is primarily due to increasing use of mechanized transportation and a greater prevalence of labor-saving technology in the home. In children, there appear to be declines in levels of physical activity (with particularly strong declines in the amount of walking and physical education), likely due to safety concerns, changes in social interaction (such as fewer relationships with neighborhood children), and inadequate urban design (such as too few public spaces for safe physical activity). World trends in active leisure time physical activity are less clear. The World Health Organization indicates people worldwide are taking up less active recreational pursuits, while research from Finland found an increase and research from the United States found leisure-time physical activity has not changed significantly. Physical activity in children may not be a significant contributor.


title: Obesity

text: In both children and adults, there is an association between television viewing time and the risk of obesity. Increased media exposure increases the rate of childhood obesity, with rates increasing proportionally to time spent watching television.


title: Obesity

text: Like many other medical conditions, obesity is the result of an interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Polymorphisms in various genes controlling appetite and metabolism predispose to obesity when sufficient food energy is present. As of 2006, more than 41 of these sites on the human genome have been linked to the development of obesity when a favorable environment is present. People with two copies of the FTO gene (fat mass and obesity associated gene) have been found on average to weigh 3–4 kg more and have a 1.67-fold greater risk of obesity compared with those without the risk allele. The differences in BMI between people that are due to genetics varies depending on the population examined from 6% to 85%.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity is a major feature in several syndromes, such as Prader–Willi syndrome, Bardet–Biedl syndrome, Cohen syndrome, and MOMO syndrome. (The term "non-syndromic obesity" is sometimes used to exclude these conditions.) In people with early-onset severe obesity (defined by an onset before 10 years of age and body mass index over three standard deviations above normal), 7% harbor a single point DNA mutation.


title: Obesity

text: Studies that have focused on inheritance patterns rather than on specific genes have found that 80% of the offspring of two obese parents were also obese, in contrast to less than 10% of the offspring of two parents who were of normal weight. Different people exposed to the same environment have different risks of obesity due to their underlying genetics.


title: Obesity

text: The thrifty gene hypothesis postulates that, due to dietary scarcity during human evolution, people are prone to obesity. Their ability to take advantage of rare periods of abundance by storing energy as fat would be advantageous during times of varying food availability, and individuals with greater adipose reserves would be more likely to survive famine. This tendency to store fat, however, would be maladaptive in societies with stable food supplies. This theory has received various criticisms, and other evolutionarily-based theories such as the drifty gene hypothesis and the thrifty phenotype hypothesis have also been proposed.


title: Obesity

text: Certain physical and mental illnesses and the pharmaceutical substances used to treat them can increase risk of obesity. Medical illnesses that increase obesity risk include several rare genetic syndromes (listed above) as well as some congenital or acquired conditions: hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, growth hormone deficiency, and some eating disorders such as binge eating disorder and night eating syndrome. However, obesity is not regarded as a psychiatric disorder, and therefore is not listed in the DSM-IVR as a psychiatric illness. The risk of overweight and obesity is higher in patients with psychiatric disorders than in persons without psychiatric disorders. Obesity and depression influence each other mutually, with obesity increasing the risk of clinical depression, and also depression leading to a higher chance of developing obesity.


title: Obesity

text: Certain medications may cause weight gain or changes in body composition; these include insulin, sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, atypical antipsychotics, antidepressants, steroids, certain anticonvulsants (phenytoin and valproate), pizotifen, and some forms of hormonal contraception.


title: Obesity

text: While genetic influences are important to understanding obesity, they cannot explain the current dramatic increase seen within specific countries or globally. Though it is accepted that energy consumption in excess of energy expenditure leads to increases in body weight on an individual basis, the cause of the shifts in these two factors on the societal scale is much debated. There are a number of theories as to the cause but most believe it is a combination of various factors.


title: Obesity

text: The correlation between social class and BMI varies globally. Research in 1989 found that in developed countries women of a high social class were less likely to be obese. No significant differences were seen among men of different social classes. In the developing world, women, men, and children from high social classes had greater rates of obesity. In 2007 repeating the same research found the same relationships, but they were weaker. The decrease in strength of correlation was felt to be due to the effects of globalization. Among developed countries, levels of adult obesity, and percentage of teenage children who are overweight, are correlated with income inequality. A similar relationship is seen among US states: more adults, even in higher social classes, are obese in more unequal states.


title: Obesity

text: Many explanations have been put forth for associations between BMI and social class. It is thought that in developed countries, the wealthy are able to afford more nutritious food, they are under greater social pressure to remain slim, and have more opportunities along with greater expectations for physical fitness. In undeveloped countries the ability to afford food, high energy expenditure with physical labor, and cultural values favoring a larger body size are believed to contribute to the observed patterns. Attitudes toward body weight held by people in one's life may also play a role in obesity. A correlation in BMI changes over time has been found among friends, siblings, and spouses. Stress and perceived low social status appear to increase risk of obesity.


title: Obesity

text: Smoking has a significant effect on an individual's weight. Those who quit smoking gain an average of 4.4 kilograms (9.7 lb) for men and 5.0 kilograms (11.0 lb) for women over ten years. However, changing rates of smoking have had little effect on the overall rates of obesity.


title: Obesity

text: In the United States, the number of children a person has is related to their risk of obesity. A woman's risk increases by 7% per child, while a man's risk increases by 4% per child. This could be partly explained by the fact that having dependent children decreases physical activity in Western parents.


title: Obesity

text: In the developing world urbanization is playing a role in increasing rate of obesity. In China overall rates of obesity are below 5%; however, in some cities rates of obesity are greater than 20%. In part, this may be because of urban design issues (such as inadequate public spaces for physical activity). Time spent in motor vehicles, as opposed to active transportation options such as cycling or walking, is correlated with increased risk of obesity.


title: Obesity

text: Malnutrition in early life is believed to play a role in the rising rates of obesity in the developing world. Endocrine changes that occur during periods of malnutrition may promote the storage of fat once more food energy becomes available.


title: Obesity

text: The study of the effect of infectious agents on metabolism is still in its early stages. Gut flora has been shown to differ between lean and obese people. There is an indication that gut flora can affect the metabolic potential. This apparent alteration is believed to confer a greater capacity to harvest energy contributing to obesity. Whether these differences are the direct cause or the result of obesity has yet to be determined unequivocally. The use of antibiotics among children has also been associated with obesity later in life.


title: Obesity

text: An association between viruses and obesity has been found in humans and several different animal species. The amount that these associations may have contributed to the rising rate of obesity is yet to be determined.


title: Obesity

text: Not getting enough sleep is also associated with obesity. Whether one causes the other is unclear. Even if short sleep does increase weight gain it is unclear if this is to a meaningful degree or if increasing sleep would be of benefit.


title: Obesity

text: Certain aspects of personality are associated with being obese. Loneliness, neuroticism, impulsivity, and sensitivity to reward are more common in people who are obese while conscientiousness and self-control are less common in people who are obese. Because most of the studies on this topic are questionnaire-based, it is possible that these findings overestimate the relationships between personality and obesity: people who are obese might be aware of the social stigma of obesity and their questionnaire responses might be biased accordingly. Similarly, the personalities of people who are obese as children might be influenced by obesity stigma, rather than these personality factors acting as risk factors for obesity.


title: Obesity

text: Two distinct but related processes are considered to be involved in the development of obesity: sustained positive energy balance (energy intake exceeding energy expenditure) and the resetting of the body weight "set point" at an increased value. The second process explains why finding effective obesity treatments has been difficult. While the underlying biology of this process still remains uncertain, research is beginning to clarify the mechanisms.


title: Obesity

text: At a biological level, there are many possible pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of obesity. This field of research had been almost unapproached until the leptin gene was discovered in 1994 by J. M. Friedman's laboratory. While leptin and ghrelin are produced peripherally, they control appetite through their actions on the central nervous system. In particular, they and other appetite-related hormones act on the hypothalamus, a region of the brain central to the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. There are several circuits within the hypothalamus that contribute to its role in integrating appetite, the melanocortin pathway being the most well understood. The circuit begins with an area of the hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus, that has outputs to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), the brain's feeding and satiety centers, respectively.


title: Obesity

text: The arcuate nucleus contains two distinct groups of neurons. The first group coexpresses neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and has stimulatory inputs to the LH and inhibitory inputs to the VMH. The second group coexpresses pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) and has stimulatory inputs to the VMH and inhibitory inputs to the LH. Consequently, NPY/AgRP neurons stimulate feeding and inhibit satiety, while POMC/CART neurons stimulate satiety and inhibit feeding. Both groups of arcuate nucleus neurons are regulated in part by leptin. Leptin inhibits the NPY/AgRP group while stimulating the POMC/CART group. Thus a deficiency in leptin signaling, either via leptin deficiency or leptin resistance, leads to overfeeding and may account for some genetic and acquired forms of obesity.


title: Obesity

text: The main treatment for obesity consists of weight loss via lifestyle interventions, including prescribed diets and physical exercise. Although it is unclear what diets might support long-term weight loss, and although the effectiveness of low-calorie diets is debated, lifestyle changes that reduce calorie consumption or increase physical exercise over the long term also tend to produce some sustained weight loss, despite slow weight regain over time. Although 87% of participants in the National Weight Control Registry were able to maintain 10% body weight loss for 10 years, the most appropriate dietary approach for long term weight loss maintenance is still unknown. In the US, intensive behavioral interventions combining both dietary changes and exercise are recommended. Intermittent fasting has no additional benefit of weight loss compared to continuous energy restriction. Adherence is a more important factor in weight loss success than whatever kind of diet an individual undertakes.


title: Obesity

text: Several hypo-caloric diets are effective. In the short-term low carbohydrate diets appear better than low fat diets for weight loss. In the long term, however, all types of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets appear equally beneficial. Heart disease and diabetes risks associated with different diets appear to be similar. Promotion of the Mediterranean diets among the obese may lower the risk of heart disease. Decreased intake of sweet drinks is also related to weight-loss. Success rates of long-term weight loss maintenance with lifestyle changes are low, ranging from 2–20%. Dietary and lifestyle changes are effective in limiting excessive weight gain in pregnancy and improve outcomes for both the mother and the child. Intensive behavioral counseling is recommended in those who are both obese and have other risk factors for heart disease.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity is a complex public health and policy problem because of its prevalence, costs, and health effects. As such, managing it requires changes in the wider societal context and effort by communities, local authorities, and governments. Public health efforts seek to understand and correct the environmental factors responsible for the increasing prevalence of obesity in the population. Solutions look at changing the factors that cause excess food energy consumption and inhibit physical activity. Efforts include federally reimbursed meal programs in schools, limiting direct junk food marketing to children, and decreasing access to sugar-sweetened beverages in schools. The World Health Organization recommends the taxing of sugary drinks. When constructing urban environments, efforts have been made to increase access to parks and to develop pedestrian routes.


title: Obesity

text: Mass media campaigns seem to have limited effectiveness in changing behaviors that influence obesity. At the same time they can increase knowledge and awareness regarding physical activity and diet, which might lead to changes in the long term. Campaigns might also be able to reduce the amount of time spent sitting or lying down and positively affect the intention to be active physically. Nutritional labelling with energy information on menus might be able to help reducing energy intake while dining in restaurants.


title: Obesity

text: Since the introduction of medicines for the management of obesity in the 1930s, many compounds have been tried. Most of them reduce body weight by small amounts, and several of them are no longer marketed for obesity because of their side effects. Out of 25 anti-obesity medications withdrawn from the market between 1964 and 2009, 23 acted by altering the functions of chemical neurotransmitters in the brain. The most common side effects of these drugs that led to withdrawals were mental disturbances, cardiac side effects, and drug abuse or drug dependence. Deaths were reportedly associated with seven products.


title: Obesity

text: Five medications beneficial for long-term use are: orlistat, lorcaserin, liraglutide, phentermine–topiramate, and naltrexone–bupropion. They result in weight loss after one year ranged from 3.0 to 6.7 kg (6.6-14.8 lbs) over placebo. Orlistat, liraglutide, and naltrexone–bupropion are available in both the United States and Europe, phentermine–topiramate is available only in the United States. European regulatory authorities rejected lorcaserin and phentermine-topiramate, in part because of associations of heart valve problems with lorcaserin and more general heart and blood vessel problems with phentermine–topiramate. Lorcaserin was available in the United States and then removed from the market in 2020 due to its association with cancer. Orlistat use is associated with high rates of gastrointestinal side effects and concerns have been raised about negative effects on the kidneys. There is no information on how these drugs affect longer-term complications of obesity such as cardiovascular disease or death, however, liraglutide, when used for type 2 diabetes, does reduce cardiovascular events.


title: Obesity

text: In 2019 a systematic review compared the effects on weight of various doses of fluoxetine (60mg/d, 40 mg/d, 20mg/d, 10mg/d) in obese adults. When compared to placebo, all dosages of fluoxetine appeared to contribute to weight loss but lead to increased risk of experiencing side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, insomnia and nausea during period of treatment. However, these conclusions were from low certainty evidence. When comparing, in the same review, the effects of fluoxetine on weight of obese adults, to other anti-obesity agents, omega-3 gel and not receiving a treatment, the authors could not reach conclusive results due to poor quality of evidence.


title: Obesity

text: Among antipsychotic drugs for treating schizophrenia clozapine is the most effective, but it also has the highest risk of causing the metabolic syndrome, of which obesity is the main feature. For people who gain weight because of clozapine, taking metformin may reportedly improve three of the five components of the metabolic syndrome: waist circumference, fasting glucose, and fasting triglycerides.


title: Obesity

text: The most effective treatment for obesity is bariatric surgery. The types of procedures include laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, vertical-sleeve gastrectomy, and biliopancreatic diversion. Surgery for severe obesity is associated with long-term weight loss, improvement in obesity-related conditions, and decreased overall mortality, however, improved metabolic health results from the weight loss, not the surgery. One study found a weight loss of between 14% and 25% (depending on the type of procedure performed) at 10 years, and a 29% reduction in all cause mortality when compared to standard weight loss measures. Complications occur in about 17% of cases and reoperation is needed in 7% of cases.


title: Obesity

text: In earlier historical periods obesity was rare, and achievable only by a small elite, although already recognised as a problem for health. But as prosperity increased in the Early Modern period, it affected increasingly larger groups of the population. Prior to the 1970s, obesity was a relatively rare condition even in the wealthiest of nations, and when it did exist it tended to occur among the wealthy. Then, a confluence of events started to change the human condition. The average BMI of populations in first-world countries started to increase and, consequently, there was a rapid increase in the proportion of people overweight and obese.


title: Obesity

text: In 1997, the WHO formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic. As of 2008, the WHO estimates that at least 500 million adults (greater than 10%) are obese, with higher rates among women than men. The global prevalence of obesity more than doubled between 1980 and 2014. In 2014, more than 600 million adults were obese, equal to about 13 percent of the world's adult population. The percentage of adults affected in the United States as of 2015–2016 is about 39.6% overall (37.9% of males and 41.1% of females). The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that overweight and obesity may soon replace more traditional public health concerns such as undernutrition and infectious diseases as the most significant cause of poor health.


title: Obesity

text: The rate of obesity also increases with age at least up to 50 or 60 years old and severe obesity in the United States, Australia, and Canada is increasing faster than the overall rate of obesity. The OECD has projected an increase in obesity rates until at least 2030, especially in the United States, Mexico and England with rates reaching 47%, 39% and 35%, respectively.


title: Obesity

text: Once considered a problem only of high-income countries, obesity rates are rising worldwide and affecting both the developed and developing world. These increases have been felt most dramatically in urban settings. The only remaining region of the world where obesity is not common is sub-Saharan Africa.


title: Obesity

text: Sex- and gender-based differences also influence the prevalence of obesity. Globally there are more obese women than men, but the numbers differ depending on how obesity is measured.


title: Obesity

text: "Obesity" is from the Latin "obesitas", which means "stout, fat, or plump". "Ēsus" is the past participle of "edere" (to eat), with "ob" (over) added to it. "The Oxford English Dictionary" documents its first usage in 1611 by Randle Cotgrave.


title: Obesity

text: Ancient Greek medicine recognizes obesity as a medical disorder, and records that the Ancient Egyptians saw it in the same way. Hippocrates wrote that "Corpulence is not only a disease itself, but the harbinger of others". The Indian surgeon Sushruta (6th century BCE) related obesity to diabetes and heart disorders. He recommended physical work to help cure it and its side effects. For most of human history mankind struggled with food scarcity. Obesity has thus historically been viewed as a sign of wealth and prosperity. It was common among high officials in Europe in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance as well as in Ancient East Asian civilizations. In the 17th century, English medical author Tobias Venner is credited with being one of the first to refer to the term as a societal disease in a published English language book.


title: Obesity

text: With the onset of the Industrial Revolution it was realized that the military and economic might of nations were dependent on both the body size and strength of their soldiers and workers. Increasing the average body mass index from what is now considered underweight to what is now the normal range played a significant role in the development of industrialized societies. Height and weight thus both increased through the 19th century in the developed world. During the 20th century, as populations reached their genetic potential for height, weight began increasing much more than height, resulting in obesity. In the 1950s increasing wealth in the developed world decreased child mortality, but as body weight increased heart and kidney disease became more common.


title: Obesity

text: During this time period, insurance companies realized the connection between weight and life expectancy and increased premiums for the obese.


title: Obesity

text: Many cultures throughout history have viewed obesity as the result of a character flaw. The "obesus" or fat character in Ancient Greek comedy was a glutton and figure of mockery. During Christian times the food was viewed as a gateway to the sins of sloth and lust. In modern Western culture, excess weight is often regarded as unattractive, and obesity is commonly associated with various negative stereotypes. People of all ages can face social stigmatization, and may be targeted by bullies or shunned by their peers.


title: Obesity

text: Public perceptions in Western society regarding healthy body weight differ from those regarding the weight that is considered ideal  – and both have changed since the beginning of the 20th century. The weight that is viewed as an ideal has become lower since the 1920s. This is illustrated by the fact that the average height of Miss America pageant winners increased by 2% from 1922 to 1999, while their average weight decreased by 12%. On the other hand, people's views concerning healthy weight have changed in the opposite direction. In Britain, the weight at which people considered themselves to be overweight was significantly higher in 2007 than in 1999. These changes are believed to be due to increasing rates of adiposity leading to increased acceptance of extra body fat as being normal.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity is still seen as a sign of wealth and well-being in many parts of Africa. This has become particularly common since the HIV epidemic began.


title: Obesity

text: The first sculptural representations of the human body 20,000–35,000 years ago depict obese females. Some attribute the Venus figurines to the tendency to emphasize fertility while others feel they represent "fatness" in the people of the time. Corpulence is, however, absent in both Greek and Roman art, probably in keeping with their ideals regarding moderation. This continued through much of Christian European history, with only those of low socioeconomic status being depicted as obese.


title: Obesity

text: During the Renaissance some of the upper class began flaunting their large size, as can be seen in portraits of Henry VIII of England and Alessandro dal Borro. Rubens (1577–1640) regularly depicted heavyset women in his pictures, from which derives the term Rubenesque. These women, however, still maintained the "hourglass" shape with its relationship to fertility. During the 19th century, views on obesity changed in the Western world. After centuries of obesity being synonymous with wealth and social status, slimness began to be seen as the desirable standard. In his 1819 print, "The Belle Alliance, or the Female Reformers of Blackburn!!!," artist George Cruikshank criticised the work of female reformers in Blackburn and used fatness as a means to portray them as unfeminine.


title: Obesity

text: In addition to its health impacts, obesity leads to many problems including disadvantages in employment and increased business costs. These effects are felt by all levels of society from individuals, to corporations, to governments.


title: Obesity

text: In 2005, the medical costs attributable to obesity in the US were an estimated $190.2 billion or 20.6% of all medical expenditures, while the cost of obesity in Canada was estimated at CA$2 billion in 1997 (2.4% of total health costs). The total annual direct cost of overweight and obesity in Australia in 2005 was A$21 billion. Overweight and obese Australians also received A$35.6 billion in government subsidies. The estimate range for annual expenditures on diet products is $40 billion to $100 billion in the US alone.


title: Obesity

text: The Lancet Commission on Obesity in 2019 called for a global treaty—modelled on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control—committing countries to address obesity and undernutrition, explicitly excluding the food industry from policy development. They estimate the global cost of obesity $2 trillion a year, about or 2.8% of world GDP.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity prevention programs have been found to reduce the cost of treating obesity-related disease. However, the longer people live, the more medical costs they incur. Researchers, therefore, conclude that reducing obesity may improve the public's health, but it is unlikely to reduce overall health spending. Sin taxes such as a sugary drink tax have been implemented in certain countries globally to curb dietary and consumer habits, and as an effort to offset the economic tolls.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity can lead to social stigmatization and disadvantages in employment. When compared to their normal weight counterparts, obese workers on average have higher rates of absenteeism from work and take more disability leave, thus increasing costs for employers and decreasing productivity. A study examining Duke University employees found that people with a BMI over 40 kg/m filed twice as many workers' compensation claims as those whose BMI was 18.5–24.9 kg/m. They also had more than 12 times as many lost work days. The most common injuries in this group were due to falls and lifting, thus affecting the lower extremities, wrists or hands, and backs. The Alabama State Employees' Insurance Board approved a controversial plan to charge obese workers $25 a month for health insurance that would otherwise be free unless they take steps to lose weight and improve their health. These measures started in January 2010 and apply to those state workers whose BMI exceeds 35 kg/m and who fail to make improvements in their health after one year.


title: Obesity

text: Some research shows that obese people are less likely to be hired for a job and are less likely to be promoted. Obese people are also paid less than their non-obese counterparts for an equivalent job; obese women on average make 6% less and obese men make 3% less.


title: Obesity

text: Specific industries, such as the airline, healthcare and food industries, have special concerns. Due to rising rates of obesity, airlines face higher fuel costs and pressures to increase seating width. In 2000, the extra weight of obese passengers cost airlines US$275 million. The healthcare industry has had to invest in special facilities for handling severely obese patients, including special lifting equipment and bariatric ambulances. Costs for restaurants are increased by litigation accusing them of causing obesity. In 2005 the US Congress discussed legislation to prevent civil lawsuits against the food industry in relation to obesity; however, it did not become law.


title: Obesity

text: With the American Medical Association's 2013 classification of obesity as a chronic disease, it is thought that health insurance companies will more likely pay for obesity treatment, counseling and surgery, and the cost of research and development of fat treatment pills or gene therapy treatments should be more affordable if insurers help to subsidize their cost. The AMA classification is not legally binding, however, so health insurers still have the right to reject coverage for a treatment or procedure.


title: Obesity

text: In 2014, The European Court of Justice ruled that morbid obesity is a disability. The Court said that if an employee's obesity prevents them from "full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers", then it shall be considered a disability and that firing someone on such grounds is discriminatory.


title: Obesity

text: The principal goal of the fat acceptance movement is to decrease discrimination against people who are overweight and obese. However, some in the movement are also attempting to challenge the established relationship between obesity and negative health outcomes.


title: Obesity

text: A number of organizations exist that promote the acceptance of obesity. They have increased in prominence in the latter half of the 20th century. The US-based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) was formed in 1969 and describes itself as a civil rights organization dedicated to ending size discrimination.


title: Obesity

text: The International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) which was founded in 1997. It has more of a global orientation and describes its mission as promoting size acceptance and helping to end weight-based discrimination. These groups often argue for the recognition of obesity as a disability under the US Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The American legal system, however, has decided that the potential public health costs exceed the benefits of extending this anti-discrimination law to cover obesity.


title: Obesity

text: In 2015, the "New York Times" published an article on the Global Energy Balance Network, a nonprofit founded in 2014 that advocated for people to focus on increasing exercise rather than reducing calorie intake to avoid obesity and to be healthy. The organization was founded with at least $1.5M in funding from the Coca-Cola Company, and the company has provided $4M in research funding to the two founding scientists Gregory A. Hand and Steven N. Blair since 2008.


title: Obesity

text: Many organizations have published reports pertaining to obesity. In 1998, the first US Federal guidelines were published, titled "Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults: The Evidence Report". In 2006, the Canadian Obesity Network, now known as Obesity Canada published the "Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) on the Management and Prevention of Obesity in Adults and Children". This is a comprehensive evidence-based guideline to address the management and prevention of overweight and obesity in adults and children.


title: Obesity

text: In 2004, the United Kingdom Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of Public Health and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health released the report "Storing up Problems", which highlighted the growing problem of obesity in the UK. The same year, the House of Commons Health Select Committee published its "most comprehensive inquiry [...] ever undertaken" into the impact of obesity on health and society in the UK and possible approaches to the problem. In 2006, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued a guideline on the diagnosis and management of obesity, as well as policy implications for non-healthcare organizations such as local councils. A 2007 report produced by Derek Wanless for the King's Fund warned that unless further action was taken, obesity had the capacity to debilitate the National Health Service financially. In 2022 the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) published a comprehensive review of research on what local authorities can do to reduce obesity.


title: Obesity

text: The Obesity Policy Action (OPA) framework divides measure into "upstream" policies, "midstream" policies, and "downstream" policies. Upstream policies have to do with changing society, while midstream policies try to alter behaviors believed to contribute to obesity at the individual level, while downstream policies treat currently obese people.


title: Obesity

text: The healthy BMI range varies with the age and sex of the child. Obesity in children and adolescents is defined as a BMI greater than the 95th percentile. The reference data that these percentiles are based on is from 1963 to 1994 and thus has not been affected by the recent increases in rates of obesity. Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the 21st century, with rising rates in both the developed and the developing world. Rates of obesity in Canadian boys have increased from 11% in the 1980s to over 30% in the 1990s, while during this same time period rates increased from 4 to 14% in Brazilian children. In the UK, there were 60% more obese children in 2005 compared to 1989. In the US, the percentage of overweight and obese children increased to 16% in 2008, a 300% increase over the prior 30 years.


title: Obesity

text: As with obesity in adults, many factors contribute to the rising rates of childhood obesity. Changing diet and decreasing physical activity are believed to be the two most important causes for the recent increase in the incidence of child obesity. Advertising of unhealthy foods to children also contributes, as it increases their consumption of the product. Antibiotics in the first 6 months of life have been associated with excess weight at age seven to twelve years of age. Because childhood obesity often persists into adulthood and is associated with numerous chronic illnesses, children who are obese are often tested for hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and fatty liver disease.


title: Obesity

text: Treatments used in children are primarily lifestyle interventions and behavioral techniques, although efforts to increase activity in children have had little success. In the United States, medications are not FDA approved for use in this age group. Brief weight management interventions in primary care (e.g. delivered by a physician or nurse practitioner) have only a marginal positive effect in reducing childhood overweight or obesity. Multi-component behaviour change interventions that include changes to dietary and physical activity may reduce BMI in the short term in children aged 6 to 11 years, although the benefits are small and quality of evidence is low.


title: Obesity

text: Obesity in pets is common in many countries. In the United States, 23–41% of dogs are overweight, and about 5.1% are obese. The rate of obesity in cats was slightly higher at 6.4%. In Australia the rate of obesity among dogs in a veterinary setting has been found to be 7.6%. The risk of obesity in dogs is related to whether or not their owners are obese; however, there is no similar correlation between cats and their owners.


title: This Man

text: This Man, according to a website created in 2008 by Italian marketer Andrea Natella named Ever Dream This Man?, refers to a person who was claimed to have been repeatedly seen in dreams worldwide since 2006, but was never found in the real world. Natella created the site in 2008, but it was not until October 2009 that it gained attention from the press and online internet users. This Man's notoriety spawned several internet memes that spoofed flyers of the website, references in films and television shows like "The X-Files", and a manga series based on the hoax by "Weekly Shonen Magazine".


title: This Man

text: ,000 people from other major cities across the world such as Los Angeles, Berlin, São Paulo, Tehran, Beijing, London, Rome, Dhaka, Barcelona, Durban, Stockholm, Dubai, Guadalajara, Pattaya, Sydney, Amman, Ottawa, Paris, Lisbon, Singapore City, Prague, Riyadh, Tokyo, Karachi, New Delhi, Moscow, Lagos, and Busan claimed to have seen the man while sleeping. Also according to the storyline, those who dreamed him, who remained anonymous, suggest he was a Brazilian school teacher who had six fingers on his right hand. These dreamers' experiences of the man varied from romantic, sexual, violence, crime, corruption, deadly situations to flying with the man to just seeing him staring at the dreamer and doing nothing.


title: This Man

text: Andrea Natella, when interviewed by "Vice" magazine for an article that took the myth seriously (thus making Natella answer the questions as if for real), explained that he first dreamed This Man before he was aware of who he really was; it was in the winter of 2008, and This Man, "invited [him] to create a website to find an answer to his own appearance." Following This Man's instructions, he not only made the site but also produced the mysterious man's identikit using the mobile device application Ultimate Flash Face.


title: This Man

text: An actual living human that looked like This Man was never identified, and there were some who dreamed of him who had no relationship with others also seeing him in their dreams. His voice was also unidentifiable, as it is much harder for someone to remember the audio part of a dream than the visual; it was also rare for him to speak in the dreams. However, Natella claimed that he received letters and emails that compared This Man's look to that of fictional characters such as The Man from Another Place and The Dummy and famous real-life figures such as Andrew Lloyd Webber. He also claimed that some, including an Indian guru named Arud Kannan Ayya, claimed themselves to be This Man, but with no evidence.


title: This Man

text: The story of This Man started gaining attention from internet users and the press in 2009. It was not until October of that year that views of the site skyrocketed. In a short period of time, it garnered more than two million visits and 10,000-plus emails from others sharing experiences with This Man and sending photos of those who looked like him. On October 12, 2009, comedian Tim Heidecker made a Twitter post about This Man, tweeting that it was "scaring the shit outta me." While Natella's previous marketing stunts only garnered local attention, This Man was the first time he performed a stunt that spread across the globe.


title: This Man

text: Upon This Man's initial widespread exposure, there was suspicion from not only 4chan users but also blogs like "ASSME" and "io9" that it was a guerrilla-marketing stunt, as they discovered ThisMan.org was hosted by the same company that also hosted a site named guerrila marketing it, "a fake advertising agency which designed subversive hoaxes and created weird art projects exploring pornography, politics, and advertising", described Natella. Nonetheless, some sources presented the argument of it being a hoax as simply being one side of the discussion instead of a real fact. However, a 2010 post from the "artgency" website Kook, which Natella became a partner of while This Man was gaining traction, and a published paper he wrote in 2012 titled "Viral 'K' Marketing" finally confirmed that This Man was not real but rather a stunt.


title: This Man

text: While Natella admitted ThisMan.org was simply a marketing ploy, he never revealed what it was promoting; however, some sources, including "The Kernel", suggest that it was meant to promote a film of the same name by Bryan Bertino, writer and director of "The Strangers" (2008). If the press release for the film is any indication, it would have been about a person who hears about other people he has never met before dreaming about him. Ghost House Pictures bought ThisMan.org in May 2010 and announced that they were writing and directing a film about This Man, with Bertino contracted as writer/director. No further announcement has since been made about the film.


title: This Man

text: Even after Natella's confirmations, serious coverage of This Man continued into the mid-2010s from publications like "Vice" magazine. Vice contacted the site, and Natella answered questions as if the site was not a hoax. However, on the same day the magazine published its interview with Natella, it released an announcement to its readers that This Man was not real: "we run a story, it turns out to be something that was denounced in 2009 and could be easily verified as fake with a single google, a few people call us dickheads and the editorial team drown in their own tears."


title: This Man

text: "io9" writer Annalee Newitz called This Man "Natella's greatest masterwork", reasoning that it was only "uncanny", "cheesy and a little bit scary" instead of having "artsy pseudo-intellectual politics" like a lot of his other art does." "Vice" explained that while This Man does not exist, he "properly looks like the kind of dude you might see in a dream", where "he pats you on the back[,] you feel warm and nostalgic[, and] you wake up." A 2014 article from the fringe science website "Mysterious Universe" claims that people experiencing the same type of dreams is possible; it cites not only Jung's archetypal theory but also Ervin László's pseudoscientific theory of the Akashic Field: "should it prove true that our thoughts do not reside within our own heads, but rather exist in the ether, then couldn't some of us be accessing the same information in our subconscious during dreams?" "Vice" described the purpose of the hoax as "Kind of like "Inception" but with memes", as it "prim[ed] people to dream what they've never dreamed before."


title: This Man

text: Upon This Man's initial popularity, internet users posted several internet memes spoofing flyers for the myth, which replaced This Man's facial compositions with head shots of famous figures such as Robbie Rotten, Karl Marx, and Barack Obama. Comedy Central also produced their own parody of the flyer that used Daniel Tosh's face.


title: This Man

text: This Man's identikit makes brief appearances in the beginning of the 2017 South Korean film "Lucid Dream" and "The X-Files" episode "Plus One", where it is on the upper right part of a photo of The Lone Gunmen seen previously in the show without it.


title: This Man

text: The MMORPG "Rift" has a set of collectibles inspired by This Man called "Twisted: The Dream Traveler" in its Nightmare Tide expansion.


title: This Man

text: In 2018, "Weekly Shōnen Magazine" began running a manga based on This Man and named after the hoax. Illustrated by Kouji Megumi of "Bloody Monday" fame and written by Karin Sora, it follows a police officer named Hakaru Amano and his case that involves the urban legend of This Man. The first volume ran from April 25, 2018, to April 3, 2019.


title: This Man

text: The 2019 video game "" included cameo appearances of This Man in two of its puzzle segments. Players are awarded a trophy should they see him on both of these occasions.


title: This Man

text: In 2022, the "Shōnen Jump+" Manga Dandadan included a cameo appearance of This Man during chapter 83.


title: Median

text: In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic feature of the median in describing data compared to the mean (often simply described as the "average") is that it is not skewed by a small proportion of extremely large or small values, and therefore provides a better representation of a "typical" value. Median income, for example, may be a better way to suggest what a "typical" income is, because income distribution can be very skewed. The median is of central importance in robust statistics, as it is the most resistant statistic, having a breakdown point of 50%: so long as no more than half the data are contaminated, the median is not an arbitrarily large or small result.


title: Median

text: The median of a finite list of numbers is the "middle" number, when those numbers are listed in order from smallest to greatest.


title: Median

text: If the data set has an odd number of observations, the middle one is selected. For example, the following list of seven numbers,


title: Median

text: If the data set has an even number of observations, there is no distinct middle value and the median is usually defined to be the arithmetic mean of the two middle values. For example, this data set of 8 numbers


title: Median

text: has a median value of "4.5", that is formula_1. (In more technical terms, this interprets the median as the fully trimmed mid-range).


title: Median

text: In general, with this convention, the median can be defined as follows: For a data set formula_2 of formula_3 elements, ordered from smallest to greatest,


title: Median

text: Formally, a median of a population is any value such that at least half of the population is less than or equal to the proposed median and at least half is greater than or equal to the proposed median. As seen above, medians may not be unique. If each set contains less than half the population, then some of the population is exactly equal to the unique median.


title: Median

text: The median is well-defined for any ordered (one-dimensional) data, and is independent of any distance metric. The median can thus be applied to classes which are ranked but not numerical (e.g. working out a median grade when students are graded from A to F), although the result might be halfway between classes if there is an even number of cases.


title: Median

text: A geometric median, on the other hand, is defined in any number of dimensions. A related concept, in which the outcome is forced to correspond to a member of the sample, is the medoid.


title: Median

text: There is no widely accepted standard notation for the median, but some authors represent the median of a variable "x" either as "x͂" or as "μ" sometimes also "M". In any of these cases, the use of these or other symbols for the median needs to be explicitly defined when they are introduced.


title: Median

text: The median is a special case of other ways of summarizing the typical values associated with a statistical distribution: it is the 2nd quartile, 5th decile, and 50th percentile.


title: Median

text: The median can be used as a measure of location when one attaches reduced importance to extreme values, typically because a distribution is skewed, extreme values are not known, or outliers are untrustworthy, i.e., may be measurement/transcription errors.


title: Median

text: The median is 2 in this case, as is the mode, and it might be seen as a better indication of the center than the arithmetic mean of 4, which is larger than all but one of the values. However, the widely cited empirical relationship that the mean is shifted "further into the tail" of a distribution than the median is not generally true. At most, one can say that the two statistics cannot be "too far" apart; see below.


title: Median

text: As a median is based on the middle data in a set, it is not necessary to know the value of extreme results in order to calculate it. For example, in a psychology test investigating the time needed to solve a problem, if a small number of people failed to solve the problem at all in the given time a median can still be calculated.


title: Median

text: Because the median is simple to understand and easy to calculate, while also a robust approximation to the mean, the median is a popular summary statistic in descriptive statistics. In this context, there are several choices for a measure of variability: the range, the interquartile range, the mean absolute deviation, and the median absolute deviation.


title: Median

text: For practical purposes, different measures of location and dispersion are often compared on the basis of how well the corresponding population values can be estimated from a sample of data. The median, estimated using the sample median, has good properties in this regard. While it is not usually optimal if a given population distribution is assumed, its properties are always reasonably good. For example, a comparison of the efficiency of candidate estimators shows that the sample mean is more statistically efficient when—and only when— data is uncontaminated by data from heavy-tailed distributions or from mixtures of distributions. Even then, the median has a 64% efficiency compared to the minimum-variance mean (for large normal samples), which is to say the variance of the median will be ~50% greater than the variance of the mean.


title: Median

text: For any real-valued probability distribution with cumulative distribution function "F", a median is defined as any real number "m" that satisfies the inequalities