Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/everything-you-know-about-obesity-is-wrong/

About 40 years ago, Americans started getting much larger. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 80 percent of adults and about one-third of children now meet the clinical definition of overweight or obese. More Americans live with “extreme obesity“ than with breast cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and HIV put together.

And the medical community’s primary response to this shift has been to blame fat people for being fat. Obesity, we are told, is a personal failing that strains our health care system, shrinks our GDP and saps our military strength. It is also an excuse to bully fat people in one sentence and then inform them in the next that you are doing it for their own good. That’s why the fear of becoming fat, or staying that way, drives Americans to spend more on dieting every year than we spend on video games or movies. Forty-five percent of adults say they’re preoccupied with their weight some or all of the time—an 11-point rise since 1990. Nearly half of 3- to 6- year old girls say they worry about being fat.

(snip)

The second big lesson the medical establishment has learned and rejected over and over again is that weight and health are not perfect synonyms. Yes, nearly every population-level study finds that fat people have worse cardiovascular health than thin people. But individuals are not averages: Studies have found that anywhere from one-third to three-quarters of people classified as obese are metabolically healthy. They show no signs of elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance or high cholesterol. Meanwhile, about a quarter of non-overweight people are what epidemiologists call “the lean unhealthy.” A 2016 study that followed participants for an average of 19 years found that unfit skinny people were twice as likely to get diabetes as fit fat people. Habits, no matter your size, are what really matter. Dozens of indicators, from vegetable consumption to regular exercise to grip strength, provide a better snapshot of someone’s health than looking at her from across a room.

The terrible irony is that for 60 years, we’ve approached the obesity epidemic like a fad dieter: If we just try the exact same thing one more time, we'll get a different result. And so it’s time for a paradigm shift. We’re not going to become a skinnier country. But we still have a chance to become a healthier one.

Long read, but the tl;dr is, when we address obesity through programs that promote better nutrition and more exercise, people don't get skinnier, but they do get healthier and have better outcomes.

[saidsimplesimon]

1. I'm past the eat anything you want or starving.

You are giving good advise, better nutrition is paramount to good health. This is coming from someone who has finally gotten off the merry go round of weight gain and weight loss.

[GeoWilliam750]

2. Thank you for posting this

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Morning kick

[PatSeg]

4. K&R

[ananda]

5. Genetic predisposition is important too!

nt

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

6. I kind of wonder about the exercise part

Last edited Thu Sep 20, 2018, 09:25 AM - Edit history (1)

My people seem to go real extreme with their diet, but they don't do much of anything for physical activity. I typically run about 3 miles most days of the week. It works like a charm for staying fit. That's less than 30 minutes a day. I also like to walk around and hike for fun. I like to be moving and outside a lot. I can't stand spending a whole day inside sitting on the couch. I don't count my leisurely walks/hikes as exercise though. That's just extra. Exercise for me has to feel like I'm kicking my own ass, really pushing myself to perform my best at the activity. As far as diet goes, I have a general awareness of the foods that are high in calories, but don't really fill you up much. I stay away from those. Using one of the calorie counting/nutrition apps for a bit can help people figure out what it is they are eating that isn't so great for them. I hear a lot about these people that are basically starving themselves to lose weight. That is a miserable way to do it. You won't have any energy. Don't go any lower than 1200 calories a day (3 400 calorie meals that are good food, not candy bars), but then do some for real exercise. If you are really out of shape, it will take a while to get good at any type of exercise. You have to stick with it. Cardio works the best. Set your goals to trying to kick ass at a sport instead of trying to lose weight. For me, my goals are to run faster, or longer distances, or more often.

Here's an article I found from 2014. It makes a lot of sense. I think a lot of Americans are caught up in an inactivity-weight gain loop. It is probably related to changes in work people do and also people spend a lot more time watching tv/using computers for leisure.
https://www.livescience.com/43705-weight-gain-inactivity-causes-obesity.html

From the article
"It is hard for obese people to do vigorous [activity] because they have to work much harder to move their bodies around than a thin person," Sallis said. "There is good evidence that doing vigorous activity is much more effective at promoting fat loss than moderate-intensity activity. But it is hard to get them to do it."

[cally]

9. As someone who has lost lots of weight and exercises every day, the research shows this is not true

Exercise is important, but for many exercise increases appetite. Recent research shows that people tend to compensate for extra calories burned by increasing inactivity or increasing calories. I know I do unless I pay attention. I'll do a very strenuous hike, and then want to be sedentary for example. There is no simple solution to losing weight and keeping it off. The article points to type of foods consumed.

For me, I am absolutely shocked at the calorie counts of most of the foods we eat. I think our entire culture is about consuming massive calories. Go to a second hand store and notice the size of plates from 75 years ago. Much smaller. We eat too much in this culture and the entire culture has to change. Being the odd one in the entire culture is very hard.

[phylny]

11. My husband and I went to a restaurant in Roanoke last weekend. They had calories

on the menu. Dear God. DEAR GOD! It was horrific to see how many calories were in the food they served.

[treestar]

16. This is very true

Even a salad - there is a way to make salads of over 1000 calories!

[grantcart]

76. In Ca and AZ EVERYTHING on everyvmenu must show calories.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

45. Well, I think it depends on the person

I don't eat anymore for exercising. People do need to get the appetites under control. If they have a habit of eating sugary foods, they may have some problems with cravings and thinking they need to eat more than they do. I think their hunger signals are all messed up.

There is a solution though. It is a good diet paired with regular (vigorous) exercise. It's that combination that is hard for people, but it is doable. There are a lot of people that just straight up hate exercise and that is a problem. Also, a lot of people are hooked on sugary foods.

[tinrobot]

25. Exercise is super important, but you can't outrun a bad diet.

The single most important thing we can do for our bodies is exercise regularly.

That said, you don't lose weight with exercise. An hour of running may burn a few hundred calories. You can eat that back with a large order of fries.

In order to lose weight, you HAVE to cut calories. Best way to do that is the eat nutrient-dense veggies/whole foods/etc, avoid sugar and other foods with empty calories.

[lagomorph777]

28. Eating only veggies, I've found there is NO LIMIT. I can eat as much as I can cram in and

Last edited Thu Sep 20, 2018, 12:08 PM - Edit history (1)

stay skinny. It wasn't an easy transition (to put it mildly), but it's easy now! Pain-free joints, better breathing (allergies gone), no more migraines, all are huge benefits that now make it impossible for me to go back to eating poison.

Oh, also I was on a CPAP machine, but had to unplug it about 35 pounds in. No longer needed it and in fact it started inflating my gut with air.

[fishwax]

40. You don't have to cut calories to lose weight

In order to lose weight, you HAVE to cut calories. Best way to do that is the eat nutrient-dense veggies/whole foods/etc, avoid sugar and other foods with empty calories.

You have to have a caloric deficit, and for most people the easiest way to do that is probably to eat fewer calories. But if you maintain the same caloric intake and increase your expenditure through exercise, you will also lose weight.

[uponit7771]

75. +1

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

41. But noticed people aren't losing weight by just cutting calories either

They have to do both things. A lot of these people are trying to lose weight on diet alone. I think that causes the yo-yo dieting. Extreme diets to lose weight, going off the diet because it is too low calorie (unsustainable), gaining the weight all over again and then some more. In order to maintain a good weight you need a good diet and you need the exercise on top of that.

[csziggy]

38. Exercise is great for those who can do it

I've never been thin but I was always fit since I ran a farm and my husband and I did all the chores on a 60 acre horse farm, from cleaning stalls, grooming and exercising horses, mowing, brush trimming, et al.

Then a horse snatched my shoulder and I had to get it rebuilt. I got it rebuilt but two months of enforced inactivity was hard and I gained weight - though I lost most of it during the rehab afterwards.

Then I tore and folded the medial meniscus in my left knee - walking distances was no longer possible. The right knee medial meniscus followed a few years later, with a hysterectomy in between. The right shoulder had to get work.

After I got both knees replaced, I lost weight - again - but I kept running out of oxygen. It took five years for them t find the bad aortic valve, which was replaced last fall. On the way to the new aortic valve they found a cancerous kidney which was also removed. Meanwhile my weight skyrocketed. During the time I was recovering from those two surgeries I lost 27 pounds.

After cardio rehab was finished I joined a gym and continued to exercise since we were beginning a Florida summer. A balance class at the gym showed up the instability in my L5 vertebrae which is now impinging on the nerves to my legs. I suspended exercising while that was diagnosed and gained back fifteen pounds.

(The bad L5 vertebrae is from a fall off a horse 35-40 years ago - I probably cracked it then but the effects didn't show until my fitness level dropped to the point the muscles were no longer supporting the lower spine. Any exercises to develop those muscles now increases the impingement on the nerves and increase my pain tremendously.)

Three weeks ago the back surgeon told me to lose forty pounds before he can do minimally invasive surgery to stabilize that vertebrae - but to not exercise.

I'm using MyFitnessPal.com to monitor my calories and have lost that fifteen pounds I gained over the summer - in three weeks. It recommends a calorie level and nags me if I don't eat enough - and does not hassle me if I go over, though it does let me know if I do for the basic nutrients - protein, calories, fat, sodium, and sugar.

I'm worried that I will not be able to lose all the pounds I need to. I've given myself until the beginning of next year. Next week I return to the back doctor to see if an injection will relieve some of the pain in my back so I can at least get on a treadmill for some cardio exercise. I'm hoping that will be possible. Otherwise since as I lose weight my metabolism adjusts I am not sure it will be possible to get my weight where he wants it.

By the way, "meal-replacement diets—the kind most likely to fail" (from the article in the OP) was what the back doctor was pushing (literally - doctors get a kick back from the company for selling the plan he suggested). I checked it out and decided that was not for me. With MyFitnessPal.com (the free version) I can monitor my calories and basic nutrition, eat a variety of foods, select the ones I like and that fill me up. I'm keeping to 1000-1200 calories a day.

If I can go back to the treadmill, that should accelerate my weight loss - and more importantly to me, get more fit.

[d_r]

67. Man

If a person eats 1200 calories a day and ups their exercise they are going to loose weight!

[romana]

82. Same

I’ve spent the last 14 months working very hard to lose weight because I was obese for a very long time and really couldn’t enjoy lifetime experiences like travel to their fullest. I became more active (daily) and started eating better. I track what I eat, try to avoid the bad stuff except for an occasional indulgence. I originally intending to lose 20 lbs and have now lost 113 and feel better than I have in decades.

I would say becoming more active was the real key for me. A good diet helps, but building muscle and burning off fat with exercise are so important. I swim 5 days a week now, and try to get in walks or runs when I can.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

83. Wow, congrats

That's some awesome progress.

Yeah, I think it really is a overall lifestyle change that people have to commit to and I think people have difficulty with that.

[Adrahil]

7. My wife has been writing about this research for years...

Last edited Thu Sep 20, 2018, 10:11 AM - Edit history (1)

Be healthy, and let your body sort everything else out.

But people attach moral meaning to body shape. Look how many here are very quick to go after Trump's weight whenever the opportunity presents itself.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

8. It drives me up the wall when people go after his weight, as if insulting someone's body shape can

be directed only at one person. It creates the idea of worthy fat/unworthy fat, and it's harmful.

[Adrahil]

15. Thank you!

You are 100% on target.

[Johnny2X2X]

60. Agree

Your weight says nothing about your morality.

And the only reason people go after Trump's weight is because he's been so consistently cruel and judgmental of others' appearances. He's called women fat asses and pigs and been so superficial his whole life, he deserves it back. If he'd have had just one instance in his past where he's said anything compassionate to an obese person it would be different. But he's a cruel troll who belittles others for the same thing he struggles with.

[phylny]

10. Thank you for posting this. I'm almost finished reading this excellent article

I am obese. I wasn't always. I was a fat baby. I was not a fat child. In fact, I looked very normal. Then, when puberty set in, I "ballooned" to 140 pounds. Dear God, those were the days. I was very active - biking, walked home from school, I was an athlete. I got fatter after each pregnancy. My lowest weight as an adult, pre-babies, was 128. I smoked then. My lowest post-baby weight was about 145. That didn't last long.

Now, I'm 60 years old and 225 pounds. I can feel every pound walking around. I hate exercising. I have spent more money on weight loss than most people do on their clothing in a lifetime. My last round was at a hospital where tiny, young Liberty University exercise science graduates couldn't understand how I didn't LOVE exercising!!! I finally said to one, "Do you like to square dance?" She answered, "No!" I said, "No, you HAVE TO LOVE IT! How can you NOT love square dancing?" She got my point.

I can stick with most plans, things, etc. for a short period of time. I'm always hungry, or at least I'm not satisfied. I've tried Qsymia, did nothing. I've recently been attempting to do 5:2, with 1400/1500 calories on the non-fasting days. I think it may work to at least get some of this weight off me.

Anyway, sorry. I'm in emotional pain. Oh, have I mentioned that I gained 20 fucking pounds since the asshole was elected president? Yeah, that too.

[raccoon]

12. Some meds cause weight gain. Everybody I've ever known that's taken

Some meds cause weight gain. Everybody I’ve ever known that’s taken SSRI’s has gained a bunch of weight. They cause a lot of weight gain, IME and IMO.

Also I understand that steroids cause weight gain big-time.

Also some medical conditions such as hypothyroidism. The article might say all these things but I haven’t read it yet. bookmarked to read later.

Anyone who thinks that it’s as simple as calories in, calories worked off or not worked off, is uninformed and needs to inform themself about this. It is not that simple.

[treestar]

14. [phone]

[Skidmore]

20. This.

I started gaining weight rapidly with no change in diet or activities in my early forties. Scolded by doctors and PAs and endless frustration with diets and exercise programs was overwhelming. I discovered a lump near my collarbone one day. I had begun having problems swallowing and gagging on even water and a host of other health problems. I had thyroid cancer. My thyroid was removed and I began a hormone replacement program. I fluctuate in the same five pound range because the therapeutic level for that and other meds I take limit me. I am beyond caring about the finger wagging and tuttutting over weight on this board.

[Lars39]

23. I was just prescribed a nose spray

that listed weight gain as a side effect. Very frustrating.

[lagomorph777]

33. Weight gain in the nose is the WORST - I hate it when that happens.

[Lars39]

43. I'm guessing it's swallowed.

Stuff tastes nasty, so I am very careful taking it.

[Chakaconcarne]

79. SSRI's and antipsychotics are some of the worst...

Their efficacy is a crap shoot and one needs to carefully weigh their benefits vs the side effect of weight gain.

[phylny]

80. See my response (above)

I forgot to mention the Lexapro. That did a number, too. I'm off it now, but weight stayed.

[treestar]

13. It is indeed not that simple

Your metabolism changes. Prescriptions. I know my weight gain is not from eating. I eat less than I did in my 20s by a huge amount. Middle age naturally adds some. But a combination of prescription medicines and then having to go off of one of them coincides with my weight gain, along with turning 40.

[Johnny2X2X]

17. It's no one thing

America has an obesity epidemic and it can't be traced to one thing. And the primary cause can be totally different for different people.

Portions might be the biggest thing for one person. Lack of exercise for another. Processed foods certainly don't help. Sweets or alcohol might be the primary cause for others.

It's a complete cultural issue now and we need to address this epidemic at the cultural level.

The point about healthy fat people is noted, there are definitely overweight people who are healthy, I know a triathlete who's at least 60 lbs overweight. For myself, I am much much more active in the Summer, although I may only be down 6 or 7 pounds, my level of fitness is much much improved.

This isn't about fat shaming, but we need to look at thin cultures and see what the primary differences are. I suspect having good mass transit is a huge factor. Places with trains and subways promote people walking a few blocks to the subway and then getting off and walking the remaining several blocks to their destination every day, sometimes several times a day. Americans walk 15 feet to their garage.

This is a crisis, finding solutions is difficult.

[Adrahil]

18. Just a note... being fat is NOT a disease.

Part of the problem is we pathologize being "obese." We need to stop that.

We need to focus on healthy lifestyles. Let the body do whatever it does. Measure success by healthy outcomes, not body weight, or BMI.

The weight loss industry is a SCAM.

[Johnny2X2X]

21. Agree 100% on the weight loss industry

Thinner is not necessarily healthier and the weight loss industry is not concerned with healthy outcomes.

But at the same time, some people need to face some harsh facts about their health and their weight. It's not always warm and fuzzy.

[Adrahil]

34. Gonna disagree a bit.

There is very little evidence that shows weight as a causal factor for health problem, merely associative links.

But as we should all know, correlation does not equal causation.

Unhealthy lifestyles often lead to weight gain, which is, IMHO, the source of that correlations.

But my point is that doctors should not focus on "you need to lose 25 pounds," But rather, "you need to reduce your simple carbohydrate intake," as an example. The measure of success (in that case) would improved blood sugar and A1C numbers. Not some number of a scale.

Let's focus on the right numbers. For many people that will translate to weight loss, but if it doesn't, that's not a problem.

[Yupster]

19. I could lose 40 pounds too

I'm healthy enough but I'm getting older and I look at the 85 year olds I work with and I notice there aren't any fat 85 year olds. That encourages me to keep fighting.

[Johnny2X2X]

22. I'm there with you

And age is a huge factor, I was thin throughout my 20s, didn't have to worry a lick about what I ate, I was active and my metabolism was that of a hummingbird. My 30s I put on weight and it was tough for me because having never struggled before I had no idea what I was doing wrong. I tried fad diets that worked for a time, but I'd end up worse than before.

For me, I've accepted I'll probably always have a pudgy belly now. But I've made some health decisions that have paid off. I gave up sweets in January. After 9 months of no ice cream, cookies, candy, cake, or doughnuts I have noticed huge changes, but not so much in weight. I'm sleeping better, have more energy, can concentrate better, and just plain feel better without sugar.

I'm currently cutting back on beer and that has a lot of the same effects, I think more clearly each day, I sleep better, and have less mood swings.

I'm much healthier today than I was a year ago and although I'm down a few pounds I'm not significantly different in weight. I'd love to be thin again and hope my choices lead me to that, but I think I am healthier regardless.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

31. "This isn't about fat shaming, but we need to look at thin cultures and see what the primary

differences are."

Except in a way it is, because if our mass transit got better and people walked more, their health indicators and outcomes are likely to improve without correlating to weight. There are definitely improvements we can make, but the efforts should have goals of indicator/outcome improvement, not BMI or weight. The point is weight/body shape is an inaccurate predictor of health, and we need to let it go.

[Johnny2X2X]

36. I'm re-considering my posts

After reading the article a second time I realized that I (And many other posters)missed the point of the piece.

Our attitudes towards obese people make the problem so much worse. Anecdotal stories about what worked for me aren't doing anyone a bit of good except for making me feel better about me.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

55. Well, people share what works for them because it may help someone else

It have been something they learned about after struggling for a long time that made the difference for them. They share hoping that they might be saving someone else from that struggle. Just saying, I doubt people are posting what worked for them to gloat.

[Johnny2X2X]

57. Self therapy

It's self therapy, and in the context of the article it's borderline cruel. "Hey look, it's as easy as this, you're just pathetic if you can't do it too." That's the message read by people who are struggling.

The message I wish I would have thought to send is that obesity is different for everyone, it doesn't mean you're weak, it doesn't mean you have less worth, and it doesn't even mean you are unhealthy. The society we've created makes it incredibly hard to respect obese people, we need to change that first. The message I want to send is that just because you're more obese than I doesn't mean you aren't more disciplined, exercise less, make better choices, or even are less healthy than I. My anecdotes about my experiences are not what obese people need, the article communicated that effectively.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

58. Yes, the details of the solution depends on the individual

and it is never easy. I agree with you on that.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

65. Thank you for this post, and for rethinking. It's so important.

[Iggo]

24. But I thought I didn't know anything about obesity.

Does that mean I really know everything about obesity?

Whoa.

[lagomorph777]

26. I went vegan and lost over 40lbs.

Been at my target weight for months now and my health is dramatically improved. It's actually pretty straightforward: more veggies + less meat = less weight. We can stop pretending it's something magically too complicated for average Americans to comprehend.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

30. That's quite a loss, good luck keeping it off!

[lagomorph777]

32. Thanks - so far I have to pay attention or the loss just keeps going...

...and I end up looking too skinny. Earlier in the process, I got a lot of instant feedback any time I ate animal products or high-sugar treats. Allergies, headaches, joint pain come back if I mess around. So now it's very easy to stay on track.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

56. You still have to be careful of breads/cakes

that kind of thing of vegan or vegetarian diets. I know plenty of overweight/obese people who are vegan or vegetarian. I'm glad it is working out for you though.

[lagomorph777]

72. Absolutely right.

Bread is a special treat and cake is a very rare sin.

[Aristus]

27. What my patients look like is of minimal concern to me.

Don't smoke, don't overeat, drink alcohol in moderation, don't drink sugary beverages (including and especially Gatorade & Powerade; they're loaded with sugar), and get some exercise regularly.

That's it. Body-type alone is meaningless to me.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

29. You are unusual in that regard.

[Adrahil]

35. You're awesome!

Please keep that up. It's so important!

[Iggo]

39. Eat right and exercise, eh? I think you may be onto something.

[GumboYaYa]

37. I am a fitness fanatic and have been for a long time

I have run ultramarathons. I am currently training for an iron man triathlon. I exercise twice a day six days a week and I love my workouts. I also eat a plant based diet and work hard to have no refined sugar in my body ever. And the article is exactly correct.

The food production and distribution infrastructure is built around incentives to create cheap contentless calories. We design food products to take advantage of the human body's weaknesses to cravings in order to sell more. Our poorer neighborhoods do not even have access to healthy foods.

Our cities are designed to keep people from walking or riding a bike. Look at how many suburbs have no functional sidewalks or are cut off from commercial areas by highways that make walking impossible.

If you want to be fit in this country it takes a conscious effort. You need an exercise program because for most of our jobs/lives dictate that we are sedentary for large parts of the day. Going to a restaurant takes a degree in nutrition to figure out where the calories are hidden. If you are poor, affording healthy food requires major sacrifices.

It truly takes a lifestyle change to be fit in America.

[rogue emissary]

42. K & R!

[Doreen]

44. I was skinny as a kid ( got teased about that too. )

As I got older I started to gain particularly after an accident that made exercise extremely hard and painful due to having broken a lot of bones and tearing muscles and ligaments. I was shamed for years about being fat and I needed to get out and exercise despite the fact it hurt and it kept re injuring my body. I tried to eat nothing but that made me sick. I finally came to realize that it was useless and came to accept my body with no shame. I do walk and work at eating properly but weight will not come off very much but I am actually very healthy. I rarely get sick, I have the so called proper blood pressure, my heart is healthy, after my knee replacements I am able to move without so much pain, and I am not depressed. I refuse to let my obesity define who I am, what I am, and why I am. Yes, I need to go to the gym again to be in my water aerobics but that is for the reason of making my legs and body stronger, feeling exhilarated with no pain, and even though I lose very little weight and am not depressed it does make me feel better. I am not ashamed of being obese. If people do not like me being fat then that is entirely their problem.

[Goodheart]

46. OK, at the risk of sounding like a butthole, I'm not buying the title of this thread.

EVERYTHING we know about obesity is wrong?

Give me a break.

I know that obesity is dangerous. How is that wrong?

I know that much of obesity is self-inflicted. How is that wrong?

Honestly... and I say this with much genuine concern and compassion... I don't think articles and titles like this are very constructive.

I've always thought that the best anti-obesity guru I've ever witnessed is Susan Powter. Her message? Move.

I'm not particularly fat... but I've certainly noticed that if I eat more and move less I gain weight; if I eat less and move more then I lose weight. For most people it's as simple as that.

I don't mean to insult anybody.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

47. Did you read the article?

[Goodheart]

48. Yes.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

49. So why are you fixated on obesity being dangerous, when many other indicators are much more

accurate measurements of a person's health?

The problem is that obesity has become a shorthand descriptor for a person's health, when they're not necessarily correlated. Throw in the moral superiority people like to have toward fat people, and you have a disaster in the making for public health efforts.

[Goodheart]

71. Say what?

Should we cast guilt upon an obese person? Well, I never said that. Should we shame an obese person? I never said that. Can an obese person be healthy? I'm sure of it.

But obesity IS dangerous.

Many other indicators are much more accurate measurements? Yes, I'm sure that there are many after-the-fact measurements that tell you when a person is unhealthy. That does not mean that obesity is not dangerous.

Your article does a disservice to people, in my book, and is grossly mistitled.

And now I've said all I'm going to say on the matter.

[Johnny2X2X]

50. You're wrong on many accounts

Last edited Thu Sep 20, 2018, 01:33 PM - Edit history (2)

Obesity itself isn't necessarily dangerous, there are plenty of healthy obese people.

The food supply is responsible for most of obesity.

The way we treat fat people in this country is making the problem worse.

Your anecdotal evidence is great for you. I can guarantee there are fat people who are more disciplined than you and exercise more than you, who might even eat better than you and they are still fat. There are also fat people who are healthier than you are too.

[NurseJackie]

51. You're not alone in that assessment. In a way, I'm reminded of...

You're not alone in that assessment. In a way, I'm reminded of those TV ads for miracle cures that "your doctor doesn't want you to know about" (the implication, of course, is that one's doctor is profiting from their illness and won't give anyone this "miracle cure" because it will cut off his money supply.) That may not be the writer's intention, but in my opinion, this writer is trying to sensationalize things to draw curiosity and attention.

[Johnny2X2X]

53. I didn't get that at all

I got that he was pointing out that doctors really don't know what to do about obesity or they simply don't have the time to do it.

Attitudes towards fat people need to change, it's incredibly difficult.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

54. What is being "sensationalized" in the article?

[LanternWaste]

59. Grammatically incorrect to use quotations marks

Italicize for emphasis... even if its usage is puerile in intent.

(The Elements of Style, William Strunk)

[WhiskeyGrinder]

63. I was quoting the poster, but OK.

Last edited Thu Sep 20, 2018, 10:47 PM - Edit history (1)

I allowed myself, as all good editors do occasionally, the indulgence of putting "sensationalized" in quotes rather than the actual word the poster used, "sensationalize," because I thought "sensationalize[d]" was overkill.

[meadowlander]

68. I'm in my 40s

100 pounds overweight and have totally normal to better than average blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure results. I walk at least an hour every day (to work and back and at lunchtime) and then garden 2-3 hours a day both days on the weekend and do yoga most days as well. I cook all my own food, haven't touched fast food or soda for years, and when I track my eating, hit all of the nutrition targets.

I've been doing all of this for twenty years and still haven't lost the weight I gained in high school and college where I basically lived on fast food. I've been in the same 20 pound range for twenty years whether I diet or not.

So in my case, obesity by itself isn't dangerous. It's not, at the moment, particularly self-inflicted and hasn't been for years. But I still get people looking at me who assume I'm lazy, depressed, live on crap, lack willpower, "just need to move", "just need to cut out sugar", etc.

What works for one person, won't work for someone else.

And honestly being fat only affects my quality of life to the extent that people make assumptions about me based on my appearance. That's what the article is about.

[Sgent]

77. I agree

this article reads like a hit piece and provides no evidence.

Where the fuck does she get off telling people that obesity carries no risk? We know it carries significant risk of a long series of diseases -- https://fpnotebook.com/Endo/Obesity/ObstyRsk.htm.

Does that mean everyone who is obese will have a comorbitity? No, but it means the average obese person will have higher risk for a variety of problems. By the same token just because the flue shot is only x% effective does not mean we stop recommending it to everyone.

Finally, where does she get the idea that doctors think diet is the only / primary / proper way to lose weight? Individual doctors (which she quotes) also recommend against vaccines, but doctors collectively only accept one treatment as being useful -- surgery, and that is dangerous enough that they don't recommend it unless you are morbidly obese.

For the record (although it shouldn't matter) I'm obese.

[Rustynaerduwell]

52. Not mentioned in this article, but

thirty years ago America's biggest cigarette company bought America's biggest food company. And then Obesity became common.

[former9thward]

66. Thirty years ago schools starting eliminating physical education programs.

And eliminating physical education requirements and daily exercise. Technology such as the internet and enhanced video gaming, etc. started full force turning American youth into lazy slobs. But let's ignore the real problem.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

61. 80% of the adult American population is either overweight or obese.

That's a clear majority, yet the perception is that society frowns down upon overweight/obese people. It seems like that means we have overweight/obese people being judgmental of other overweight/obese people. Anyone else find that odd?

[Johnny2X2X]

62. That was talked about in the article

Overweight people don't band together, they are cruel to each other too.

And being thin is relative too, being thin in Northern Michigan can mean something entirely different than being thin in California.

One of the healthiest people I know got even healthier by gaining weight and she'd no be borderline considered obese, but is easily the healthiest she's ever been both physically and mentally.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

69. People in general are like that

Sucks. Too many people are focused on the differences. They need a hierarchy.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

64. Self-hatred is often expressed as contempt for others as well, especially when we live in a society

that fosters that contempt. We're soaking in it; it takes a lot of work to unpack it from one's brain.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

70. That's pretty damn sad

I think Americans are in desperate need of some hugs.

[Adrahil]

73. Nope....

Self-hatred is easily embedded in people.

[liberalla]

74. posting to read later...

[Tucker08087]

78. I lesson I learned...

I have Lupus and, at this stage, the treatment is chemotherapy. I was a teacher, and it was the last week of school. I didn’t want to use all my sick days (they carry over and I was getting sicker more often). I came home on the last day of school with 105 fever. I asked my mom the next morning to drive me to the ER. The pain was unbearable. The ER doctor came back with the lab work. I had no white cells and they thought I had a virus. His exact words: “I’m so sorry. Maybe if you had come a day sooner, but it’s too late. You have 24-36 hours to say goodbye and get your affairs in order.”
Obviously, I survived. They still call me their miracle patient. It turned out I had Legionella (Legionnaire’s Disease) which can be treated with antibiotics. All this background to tell you this:
Propped up in that bed, looking out the window, a lot of things went through my mind. There were some regrets. I was angry with myself. I was terrified for my 6 year old son. I thought about things I wished I had done. But I never, not once, thought about those last five pounds I had been so desperate to lose. Be healthy. Stay active. But for God’s sake, when you blow out the candles on your birthday cake, don’t ask for “just a sliver.” Eat the cake. Celebrate your life. You may have regrets on your death bed, but eating that cake won’t be one of them. I learned this lesson to share with others so you don’t have to.

[phylny]

81. Your story brought tears to my eyes.

I'm so glad you are well, and your advice is sage.