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Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

bbc.co.uk

11–20 of 152 posts

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#11
post #2

This is pretty astonishing research, not so much for the results, as for the methodology. Doing research on what people eat is VERY hard, it's very hard to get accurate data. Pairing people and having them eat identically is brilliant. I hope it's also scalable for longer term studies. By pairing people they are likely to give much more accurate reports about what they actually eat, and it allows direct comparisons.

It is very interesting. I wonder, however, if it's enough to isolate all relevant variables (this is peanut gallery speculation, I am not a scientist of any stripe)? The narrator explains that she is "an accident & emergency doctor [...]. Rushing around on my feet all day with strange working patterns". Never mind that the stress and adrenaline of such work must affect her body in some ways, she probably also moves quite a bit more than the average person. We're not told anything about her counterpart than her name, and that she's the same age and gender.

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#12
post #6
post #3

Michael Moseley and the BBC are doing some great work challenging the status quo recently, especially with diet. If you're able to access iPlayer where you are, the programme he did on fasting is well worth a watch if you have an hour spare.

I have a lot of time for Michael Moseley, but recently his "Trust me, I'm a Doctor" TV show has been falling into the same traps as the medical establishment, making concrete claims based on the flimsiest of evidence. In a recent show one of the presenters (admittedly not Moseley) claims "The good news is that we have shown that Olive oil really is good for us", which was a ridiculous claim based on the evidence pres…

Yes, it seems the more mainstream the program the more they feel they need to simplify it.

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#13
post #10
post #4

> For Leila, the results were very different. Whereas pasta was "bad" for me, it was fine for her. Yoghurt was good for me, but bad for her, and our responses to bread and butter were also complete opposites. (Note: "bad" and "good" above refers to "high-GI" and "low-GI", respectively.) Another interesting anecdotal observation from my acquaintances: our relationships with food differ significantly. While some people…

I guess the saying, everybody is different applies here. I still remember the days when I could eat 3 - 4 pound of beef, along side with mesh potato, or 12 inch Pizza, or whole bucket ( 10pcs ) KFC, per meal! And these meals would come with Coke as well. in Tea time i will eat Ice Cream, eat lots of yogurt etc. I dont do lots of sports, may be once a week maximum. Otherwise I just sit down playing World of Warcraft o…

As someone who cooks for a 17 year old who trains for and plays rugby quite seriously the sheer amount of food an active teenager can consume is quite staggering.

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#14
post #3

Michael Moseley and the BBC are doing some great work challenging the status quo recently, especially with diet. If you're able to access iPlayer where you are, the programme he did on fasting is well worth a watch if you have an hour spare.

Do you mean "Eat, Fast and Live Longer"(https://vimeo.com/103656060)? If so, it was great. Totally changed my view on fasting (I now-a-days do 16h fast/day).

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#15
post #7

This happens in pigs and other livestock. Animals are specifically bred for their Feed Conversion Efficiency ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed_conversion_ratio ). I don't see why something similar couldn't happen in people as well.

Well, something similar shouldn't happen in people because eugenics is considered to not be a particularly good idea.

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#16
post #7

This happens in pigs and other livestock. Animals are specifically bred for their Feed Conversion Efficiency ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed_conversion_ratio ). I don't see why something similar couldn't happen in people as well.

Well, something similar shouldn't happen in people because eugenics is considered to not be a particularly good idea.

it's actually a pretty good idea.

who wouldn't want to be born with excellent immune system, strong and tall, smart and attractive?

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#17
post #10
post #4

> For Leila, the results were very different. Whereas pasta was "bad" for me, it was fine for her. Yoghurt was good for me, but bad for her, and our responses to bread and butter were also complete opposites. (Note: "bad" and "good" above refers to "high-GI" and "low-GI", respectively.) Another interesting anecdotal observation from my acquaintances: our relationships with food differ significantly. While some people…

I guess the saying, everybody is different applies here. I still remember the days when I could eat 3 - 4 pound of beef, along side with mesh potato, or 12 inch Pizza, or whole bucket ( 10pcs ) KFC, per meal! And these meals would come with Coke as well. in Tea time i will eat Ice Cream, eat lots of yogurt etc. I dont do lots of sports, may be once a week maximum. Otherwise I just sit down playing World of Warcraft o…

> then I was definitely eating 4000+ calories per day and not getting Fat

I'm not sure about that... allegedly, research suggests that most people have the same BMR (basal metabollic rate), and that there is nothing like "fast metabolism" (i.e. people get rougly equal amounts of energy from food).

What I was referring to above, and what the article referrs to (with Glicemic Index) is purely psychological - how much food you want to eat, and how hungry/satiated you feel. I'm still pretty sure that calories-in/calories-out theory is more-or-less correct.

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#18
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, something similar shouldn't happen in people because eugenics is considered to not be a particularly good idea.

it's actually a pretty good idea. who wouldn't want to be born with excellent immune system, strong and tall, smart and attractive?

You need the ugly to actually realize beauty. If everyone is beautiful, the word "beautiful" wouldn't make any sense.

You could argue that this would be a solution to many discrimination issues today if everyone is beautiful, strong, tall, ... . Mhh. Interesting thought.

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#19
post #7

This happens in pigs and other livestock. Animals are specifically bred for their Feed Conversion Efficiency ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed_conversion_ratio ). I don't see why something similar couldn't happen in people as well.

Peasants have been bred by the nobility for thousands of years for improved feed efficiency. Modern humans have become much better at turning the terrible diet the average peasant had into human labor.

Re: Why do people put on differing amounts of weight?

#20
There is a new book out called "Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ" by Giulia Enders:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/97817716...

I can't recommend it enough as it is both entertaining and packed with comprehensive information on a taboo topic (hint: you are "the borg";)

Interview with Giulia Enders on "Gut":

http://youtu.be/weskzCKki-s

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