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Obesity: Drink till you drop

economist.com

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Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#81

Post by pbhjpbhj »

hugh3 wrote: post #66
rdtsc wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People ignorant to nutrition will begin to use this as a free pass to eating even more poorly. One danger would be that they would wash out too many useful substances out of their body by drinking to much liquid. I would also imagine so much liquid dilutes the stomach juices and the food doesn't digest properly. I don't have any scientific basis for this btw, just a hunch. > ... what they are suggesting is filling…

I would also imagine so much liquid dilutes the stomach juices and the food doesn't digest properly. I don't have any scientific basis for this btw, just a hunch. I've never heard of that happening, or anything like it. There is such a thing, supposedly, as water intoxication though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication It's not a serious concern for anyone not running marathon distances or taking part in…

>There is such a thing, supposedly, as water intoxication

Why do you doubt that water intoxication exists? Exertional Hyponatremia for example doesn't seem to have any gross reasons to doubt.

Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#83

Post by alaithea »

chipsy wrote: post #48
Maciek416 wrote: post #3

I'd like to know how much obesity is caused by a structural "finish everything on your plate" problem. By this I mean the tendency of certain folks to finish everything that is served, no matter what their hunger level is. Also, I've heard it said that people who eat from smaller plates will consume fewer calories over time. In the study, the group given water also had their food portions slashed by a substantial amo…

Recently I crossed the country with my parents to visit my grandma. She was born in the 1920s and spent a large part of her childhood in the Lower East Side, so it's quite a culture shock to visit her. In her case, it's not that you have to finish everything on the plate - it's that as soon as you finish one item, you're compelled to try three more. Or in other words, large quantities of food is the only form of hosp…

My grandparents and other elders were "food pushers," too, and I sometimes wonder whether it all stemmed from them spending their formative years in the Great Depression. It seems like those of us raised by them, unless we reject it, could still be experiencing a ripple effect from a time when there was never enough food, and the consequences of still acting like there's not enough when there's in fact way too much.

Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#84

Post by gommm »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #78
jules wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another European I agree. When we eat in a restaurant with my family its almost always the case that for some people the portions will be too big and for others too small. What we sometimes do is we just pick a dish for each person and each of us eats about 1/n'th of each dish, with the people who are more hungry eating more and the others less. I'm not sure if this would be considered bad manners (not that we'd c…

Just back from holiday in Scotland. We both asked for a doggy bag (for a slice of pizza) and asked for extra crockery+cultery on occassion (different restaurants). I wouldn't have balked if they'd said no, but as I constantly say to my lad "you don't get if you don't ask" (which may not be true universally, but certainly is with me).

The UK is a bit more of a mix between Europe and US when it comes to food and restaurants etiquette.

In France, I've seen myself denied the extra cutlery before (after leaving for some years in Asia, I was used to share food...)

Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#85

Post by Retric »

nitrogen wrote: post #44
carbocation wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The GI tract is exquisitely sensitive to stretch, which is one of the many "fullness" signals. So it's not unreasonable to guess that this is part of what occurs. The single most likely explanation behind the weight loss is that the consumption of water displaced some portion of calorie consumption, causing participants to eat fewer calories.

Is it also possible that increased water in the bloodstream resulted in less food being stored as fat and/or more fat being used as energy?

No

Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#86

Post by Retric »

rdtsc wrote: post #58
iuytrfghj wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I just do not understand restaurant portion sizings. The food is a very small part of their costs. They can double the amount of food for a cost of $1, charge an extra $2 AND have many more customers for their great value! It's like selling home PCs with a 1Tb drive, most users don't need it but it only costs them $5 more than a 500Gb drive.

Why don't European restaurants do it. Is food more expensive there or is it just considered bad form or somehow un-sophisticated to serve giant portions. I would also guess that it depends on the type of food. High quality, fresh organic produce is a lot more expensive, so perhaps for some food items it really is about the price. For example the fish in fish and chips could be some really expensive fish. Doubling the…

Culturally food quality is considered more important than quality. Also, higher quality ingredients cost significantly more. So basically it costs them more to do so, and their customers don't care.

Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#87

Post by jules »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #78
jules wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another European I agree. When we eat in a restaurant with my family its almost always the case that for some people the portions will be too big and for others too small. What we sometimes do is we just pick a dish for each person and each of us eats about 1/n'th of each dish, with the people who are more hungry eating more and the others less. I'm not sure if this would be considered bad manners (not that we'd c…

Just back from holiday in Scotland. We both asked for a doggy bag (for a slice of pizza) and asked for extra crockery+cultery on occassion (different restaurants). I wouldn't have balked if they'd said no, but as I constantly say to my lad "you don't get if you don't ask" (which may not be true universally, but certainly is with me).

That it was pizza and you were in Scotland instead of France probably helped.

Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#88

Post by StuffMaster »

Luc wrote: post #69
rdtsc wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> though I still wouldn't ever do it myself) Why do you think that is? Is it that Europeans see eating out as a signal of luxury and asking to take the rest of the food home somehow diminishes that perception ("oh look they must be poor if they are taking that left-over steak home..." kind of attitude). In other words are Europeans just afraid of looking bad, poor or stingy in front of others in a restaurant and Amer…

> In other words are Europeans just afraid of looking bad, poor or stingy in front of others in a restaurant and Americans just don't care? I don't care what people think, but restaurants that don't do takeaway simply don't have containers to take food home. I've been to 10 restaurants this month, and none did takeaway. Besides, a half-eaten reheated meal doesn't sound very appetizing. The sauce will have congealed o…

I eat fairly simply, so leftovers are usually the best tasting thing in my fridge!

Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#89

Post by jules »

patrickk wrote: post #76
wwortiz wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it uncommon for European restaurants to bring out another plate/silverware if asked, or just considered bad manners? I'm genuinely curious, but perhaps I misunderstood what you were saying. Also I'm curious if doggy bags imply the same connotations where you are from, as here they imply simply bringing leftovers home, although it has been a very long time since I've heard the term doggy bag and am more accustomed…

"Is it uncommon for European restaurants to bring out another plate/silverware if asked, or just considered bad manners?" I did this the other day in my favorite Chinese restaurant. I wasn't hungry enough to eat an entire "Chinese-style Steak" myself, so I split the meal with my brother. Anytime my family has ever asked to get an extra plate it's never been a problem. (Also, there is this tendency to treat Europe as…

In many places it is illegal for a restaurant to use the leftover food in a meaningful way (e.g. feed it to animals). Personally I think this is ridiculous, but it's supposed to prevent diseases from spreading.

Re: Obesity: Drink till you drop

#90

Post by sambe »

sambe wrote: post #79
tommizzle wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say it's pretty common knowledge in the fitness world. I think this quote explains the concept nicely: "The second rule of fat loss is that healthy fat does not make you fat. Excess calories, in particular excess from the wrong calories makes you fat. This is a very hard concept to get across. People still believe that fat makes you fat and will argue without you to the grave while they eat a gallon of low fa…

I don't think it is "common knowledge" - in fact, I think it's almost entirely untrue. Fats in general are calorifically dense, and you will "get fat" by eating a lot of them regardless of if they are "good" or "bad". Good fats may be better for heart disease etc. Some fats are also essential in the diet. Fine. Good vs bad calories is nonsense.

Umm... just downvoting today? Is there something specifically that you disagree with? Do you feel the need to downvote when you disagree with something?

- All fats are more than twice the calorific density of carbs/proteins. Disagree? - Good fats will still make you put on weight if you eat a lot of them. Disagree? - Predominate attribute used to decide "good"/"bad" is effect on heart/cardiovascular health. Disagree? - Essential fats cannot be metabolised by the body from simpler substances. Disagree? - All calories have the same energy content by definition, and apart from details will make you fat at the same rate per amount eaten. Disagree?

I think it's pretty obvious that I don't believe "fat [alone] makes you fat" as in the quote but health fat most certainly will if you eat a lot of it. I haven't read the famous popular book on the subject, but my understanding is that the thesis is based on things like satiety and a new take on heart health, not a fundamental difference in "types of calorie" re: weight gain. Regardless, downvoting seems inappropriate.

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