America’s losing battle against diabetes • Hacker News Board

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#101

Post by minikites » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:40 PM UTC

ravenstine wrote: post #74

Let's stop pretending we care about diabetes. All the time an article like this gets trotted out and life goes on the minute the world has stopped reading it. If we cared, we'd address the culture that is making us miserable. We can try to address diabetes, obesity, depression, and suicide by passing bills and popping pills, but it doesn't actually address anything. People are miserable whether they know it conscious…

>Many Americans believe they are happy and yet are spiritually devoid. They know deep down that the reward they're getting for their effort is break-even most of the time. The more aware can see this reflected as stagnant wages.

Exactly. There's also the chorus of people who sing lies about how things are better than ever and we should be so lucky to live in the USA. It all rings hollow against the lived experience of so many people. Capitalism profits from people being tired and afraid, which is why capital fights against any improvement to the lives of individuals (universal healthcare, higher wages, education, etc).

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#102

Post by lhorie » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:41 PM UTC

NonContro wrote: post #2

Easiest solution to diabetes: Sugar tax. Easiest solution to climate change: Carbon tax. If we havn't used these solutions, someone high up in the food chain is placing a greater emphasis on profits from the status quo instead of the wellbeing of the population.

I'm not opposed to the idea, but there are some counterpoints that suggest it may not be as effective as you think. Look at gasoline tax. California has the highest tax in the country, yet it's also the largest consumer.

I think other commenters have it right when they say there's a culture problem. In Niagara Falls, for example, it's a fairly common occurrence for Americans going into the Canadian side to get into arguments with Starbucks employees because they think they're being scammed/ripped off, when the reality is simply that canadian sizes are smaller than the american ones. Japanese snack sizes look minuscule in comparison with american ones. Take out food in many places is pretty much restricted to just burgers and pizza, (compare to Japan selling oden at 7-eleven). "Healthy" food like salads is often drizzled with oily, high sodium dressings, the list goes on.

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#103

Post by dehrmann » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:42 PM UTC

oxymoran wrote: post #61

“… poor and living alone – rarely left her apartment, ordering fast-food delivery instead of risking the grocery store” This poor lady was given such bad advice. Groceries can be delivered too, diabetes+fast food is a recipe for disaster.

The other part was she overestimated the risk of covid and should have invested in an N95 respirator and brave the grocery store and seen her doctor.

That said, I'm curious how reporters find these stories. A poor diabetic who lived alone and died from diabetes complications during covid because it stopped her from eating well and getting regular blood tests is a very specific story.

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#104

Post by yawaworht1978 » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:43 PM UTC

chomp wrote: post #96

yawaworht1978 wrote: post #41

The health care model in the US doesn't really help much on the matter, but this isn't a battle against diabetes, diabetes is just the result of an overweight population with bad dietary habits. There is the inherited kind, and then there is the "earned" kind. One is genetically unavoidable, the other is mostly preventable. It is not even the food, or fats, or carbs, or sugars, it's too many calories over extended ti…

> The rise of zero calorie drinks is a decent first step, some people say these can make you fat as well, but that is entirely physically impossible, they contain zero energy and they do not cause blood sugar level volatility , else diabetics drinking them could drop dead within minutes. I'd tread lightly here. Some initial research is showing that artificial sweeteners can stress your gut bacteria, which is a not we…

Sure thing, but sugar is well understood these days.So far, at least artificial sweeteners have FDA approval. I was just referring to the caloric value. Best would be to drink water and nothing else, perhaps bit milk at times.

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#105

Post by kec » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:45 PM UTC

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #83

sithlord wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Type 2 diabetes is also very much a genetic problem. Sure, being overweight may give you a more likely chance of seeing the issues arise (sooner that is)but I know plenty of people who are not overweight and have type 2 diabetes. If someone has the genetic disposition for Type 2 diabetes in younger, more fit people they are still extremely likely to start seeing the effects as they age and lose activity (even if they…

I wonder what percentage of people with T2D are normal weight, because my impression is it's not very many people at all.

I would guess approximately none of them (or at least, none of them at time of diagnosis). Modern America has a very messed up view of what is and isn't a healthy weight.

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#106

Post by tailius » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:46 PM UTC

You should see Southern endocrinological clinics are massive patient and provider factories and typically have "diabetes" before "endocrinology" in the title.

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#107

Post by anthonypasq » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:46 PM UTC

neurobashing wrote: post #80

criticaltinker wrote: post #13

I strongly believe that fasting is one of the best ways to combat obesity, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, and more. The scientific literature is certainly accumulating tremendous evidence supporting this hypothesis [1]. Here is one of my favorite videos on the subject [2], a talk by Dr Pradip Jamnadas who is one of the top cardiologists in Florida. There is no industry that profits on you being healthier thro…

I have never been more miserable than when I was doing fasting. It was truly one of the most horrible times of my life. I tried for months. My sleep as disrupted, I felt awful, and I had no energy. But more to the point, _nothing happened at all_ in terms of weight loss. Just thinking about it makes me angry! I have no idea what the hell is going on with my metabolism and why I am the pure opposite case. I'm genuinel…

fasting is only useful as a hunger management tool. it doesnt really do anything incredible to your metabolism that would result in huge weight loss irrespective of calorie intake.

all diets are just hunger management tools.

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#108

Post by nradov » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:47 PM UTC

willcipriano wrote: post #93

mumblemumble wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excise taxation is not the same thing as price setting, though. If you want a good explanation for what excise taxation's about, albeit one that uses stodgy, old-fashioned language, you need look no further than Adam Smith's writings on the subject in The Wealth of Nations.

If the intention is to implement a carbon tax, I see no way of doing so without some relatively accurate measure of carbon output. Without that you are taxing not carbon but instead something else.

Sensible carbon tax proposals are generally based on extraction, not consumption. There are only a limited number of companies mining coal and drilling oil. Those can be measured fairly easily.

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#109

Post by ensiferum » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:48 PM UTC

yawaworht1978 wrote: post #41

The health care model in the US doesn't really help much on the matter, but this isn't a battle against diabetes, diabetes is just the result of an overweight population with bad dietary habits. There is the inherited kind, and then there is the "earned" kind. One is genetically unavoidable, the other is mostly preventable. It is not even the food, or fats, or carbs, or sugars, it's too many calories over extended ti…

There really is some science coming up linking sugar to obesity and metabolic syndrome including Type 2 diabetes. For example Dr Lustig has good videos on YT.

Re: America’s losing battle against diabetes

#110

Post by criticaltinker » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 4:48 PM UTC

ravenstine wrote: post #74

Let's stop pretending we care about diabetes. All the time an article like this gets trotted out and life goes on the minute the world has stopped reading it. If we cared, we'd address the culture that is making us miserable. We can try to address diabetes, obesity, depression, and suicide by passing bills and popping pills, but it doesn't actually address anything. People are miserable whether they know it conscious…

> If we cared, we'd address the culture that is making us miserable.

Many people do care, the real question is how do we change this culture? Where do we even begin?

Obviously we must teach the youth about the relationships between diet, exercise, and mental health - which science has unveiled over the past decades.

How do you help people fill their spiritual void? Historically religion has served that function. Now science is the new religion, and the world is slowly being reduced to mechanistic and predictable processes which displace the wonder and awe humanity once held.

> Yeah, no shit they're getting fat and sick.

Just about everyone can see the problems, yet no one seems to have solutions.