Cindy is a 30-year-old female whose diet consists of lots of fast-food take-away and snack foods e.g., burgers, chocolates and potato chips.

Cindy is a 30-year-old female whose diet consists of lots of fast-food take-away and snack foods e.g., burgers, chocolates and potato chips. She hardly drinks water and consumes large amounts of no added sugar fizzy drinks. but very little fruit and vegetables. Cindy is starting to worry as despite exercising for 2-3 hours a week, she is consistently gaining weight and is yet to see an improvement with her weight. Cindy wonders what could be contributing to her current weight gain, despite taking no sugar drinks and exercising.  

With respect to Cindys metabolism, summarize the four main steps in the energy metabolism of glucose, glycerol, fatty acids, and amino acids.

Considering Cindy’s current lifestyle, describe six factors that could most likely contribute to her body’s lower metabolic efficiency that may explain her weight increase?