It's Gotten Harder to Lose Weight- And Not for the Reasons You Think [View all]

[TygrBright]

Last edited Thu Oct 1, 2015, 03:22 PM - Edit history (1)

The Washington Post today called out the "it's all about diet and exercise so it's your own fault" fat-shamers with the evidence of a new study indicating what a lot of us have known for a long time.

“Weight management is actually much more complex than just ‘energy in’ versus ‘energy out,’” Kuk said in the statement. “That’s similar to saying your investment account balance is simply your deposits subtracting your withdrawals and not accounting for all the other things that affect your balance like stock market fluctuations, bank fees or currency exchange rates.”

The study notes that among the many factors that appear to correlate with higher obesity levels in the adult population, the changing composition of foods themselves-- pesticides, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and other ingredients, play a role. So do the the containers foods are packaged in, stored in, and eaten from. So do non-food factors like prescription medications.

So does an area we're increasingly aware of, the human microbiome, an individual characteristic as unique as a fingerprint, and one we have no clear understanding of as yet, and certainly no quick and easy monetize-able recipes for changing or controlling.

Short version: The ways we, as a whole culture, have changed our economy, our environment, foodshed, health system, etc., are making us fatter. Blaming individuals for not being able to "control" their diet and exercise sufficiently is increasingly futile and counter-productive.

The solution to the obesity epidemic lies as much in changing our economy and our culture as in promoting changes in individual behavior.

analytically,
Bright