Adult Obesity Facts • Hacker News Board

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#111

Post by mirker » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:52 PM UTC

yupper32 wrote: post #23

Every time I comment on one of these threads, I mention how most people don't know about the most fundamental component of weight control: Calories-in calories-out. And then I get a mass of people complaining that "it's not that simple! x y and z also impact weight!" I think so much has to do with these two points: 1. Most don't know about CICO. 2. Many who do throw it away as not useful. We should be teaching this i…

The food-pyramid is honestly creepy. First, the order of foods is determined by invested corporations. Second, it’s arranged in a convenient shape (triangle) like some poser illuminati cult. Third, it’s taught to kids when they don’t know any better. Also, it’s even less readable than a pie-chart (angles are now replaced with surface area calculations), further giving it more mystical properties than quantitative guidance. It’s an appeal to psuedo-science.

I agree we should be teaching food fundamentals in schools, but it’s pretty hard when cereal and soda are so normalized. Normal food just tastes worse in comparison (I’ve lost count of the number of people who limit their food to chicken tenders). If you have parents who don’t cook, it’s pretty hard to break the cycle and your food preferences will likely shift to what’s readily available.

I think it’d at least be enlightening to show people how the food is made, so they could see for themselves. Perhaps they could have a lab where you make soda out of cups of sugar (or fry food)?

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#112

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:53 PM UTC

yupper32 wrote: post #23

Every time I comment on one of these threads, I mention how most people don't know about the most fundamental component of weight control: Calories-in calories-out. And then I get a mass of people complaining that "it's not that simple! x y and z also impact weight!" I think so much has to do with these two points: 1. Most don't know about CICO. 2. Many who do throw it away as not useful. We should be teaching this i…

[deleted]

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#113

Post by epi789 » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:53 PM UTC

CabSauce wrote: post #25

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome What would this look like policywise?

At a minimum, make it more costly to eat unhealthy foods by taxing added sugar and subsidizing healthy foods.

Taxes won’t work. People want autonomy. If you provide healthy meats and unprocessed foods, people will choose it. It’s a problem of access and convenience not necessarily choice.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#114

Post by MattGaiser » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:53 PM UTC

patorjk wrote: post #104

yupper32 wrote: post #23

Every time I comment on one of these threads, I mention how most people don't know about the most fundamental component of weight control: Calories-in calories-out. And then I get a mass of people complaining that "it's not that simple! x y and z also impact weight!" I think so much has to do with these two points: 1. Most don't know about CICO. 2. Many who do throw it away as not useful. We should be teaching this i…

I used to believe in that, and I felt my problem was I was eating too much and not moving around enough, however, I recently started a "lazy keto" diet and am currently down 30 pounds (back to a normal BMI - and I didn't even change how much I exercise). I don't watch my calories at all, nor do I starve myself. I just watch my carbs. It's been really eye opening. There's a lot of talk online about how processed foods…

> I don't watch my calories at all, nor do I starve myself.

The key question though is not whether you are paying attention, but whether they are down or not. It is possible that you are getting full on fewer calories.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#115

Post by waiseristy » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:53 PM UTC

Jtsummers wrote: post #67

waiseristy wrote: post #26

There are plenty of people who consume highly processed foods and stay skinny. There are plenty of people who eat greasy, sugary, fattening foods who stay skinny. The problem is not car culture, sugar, and processed foods. The problem is overeating. America, and the rest of the first world has major issues with food addiction and a culture associated with "eating until the plate is clean"

The problem is that there is no the problem. Our foods are unhealthy (low nutritional value, even if they provide the calorie content necessary to live; vitamin and mineral deficiencies lead to poor health outcomes). Our foods are often too high in calories (portion sizing, sugary drinks, "coffee" that's 90% sugar). Our culture is increasingly sedentary (cars versus walking and biking, television and computers that a…

Great points, but I fundamentally disagree that overeating is not the single biggest component contributing to the first worlds dietary issues. You know what is the single defining feature of skinny people? Outside of Olympic athletes and manual laborers? They eat substantially less than everyone else.

You aren't going to "walk off" a 1500 calorie burger, unless that's the only thing you eat that day

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#116

Post by minikites » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:53 PM UTC

hncurious wrote: post #82

rjbwork wrote: post #2

We've designed our cities, suburbs, food industry, and society such that the average person is at least overweight, nearing obese. If the average person suffers from what should be an anomaly, perhaps it is less a personal failing than a societal failing and we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome.

Unpopular opinion: It's both a personal and societal failing, but personal choice is dominant. You can choose to eat rice and beans and drink water. You don't have to eat hamburgers and fries and drink sugar.

Not everyone has the time to prepare healthy meals, that's why convenience foods are so popular in our overworked society. If the average person spent less time working, they would have more time to shop for and prepare healthy meals.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#117

Post by lotsofpulp » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:54 PM UTC

maerF0x0 wrote: post #10

> Non-Hispanic Black adults (49.6%) had the highest age-adjusted prevalence of obesity, followed by Hispanic adults (44.8%), non-Hispanic White adults (42.2%) and non-Hispanic Asian adults (17.4%). This made me say "whoa!" How are asian adults so much lower probable obese? Also can we please have a COVID-19 sized response to this issue? > was $147 billion in 2008. And I've heard elsewhere the _economic_ impact is eve…

Diet. Higher proportion of Asians being first generation could be a confounding factor. I am sure Nigerians and other first generation are the same.

Then the second and third generations pick up bad eating habits, namely alcohol and eating out.

But from my trips back to my parents’ country, I see a lot of fat rich people and fat kids who have rich parents. In the US, I feel like I hardly ever see rich and fat people.

So it is probably a pendulum where you go from being poor and having to eat home cooked food and not having access to excess calories, and then you might pass on some of those good habits to your kids, but the grandkids will not have them. But then if you are in a social circle that is all relatively rich where being fit is valued, then you might start focusing on being fit rather than enjoying all the wealth you have.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#118

Post by maerF0x0 » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:54 PM UTC

armagon wrote: post #73

I wish that article talked about the geographical distribution of obesity. I saw a fascinating pre-print paper here a while ago: A Contamination Theory of the Obesity Epidemic. via: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27936016 I also read an interesting book lately called "The Dorito Effect" in which the author makes the case that we have a finely developed ability to associate the flavour of food with the nutrients…

anecdotally, fasting can help restore this sensitivity. Ever noticed "healthy" foods like say broccoli taste amazing after fasting >= 24 hrs?

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#119

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:54 PM UTC

sharkmerry wrote: post #8

Is this solely done based on BMI? Some of you may know that BMI can be wildly inaccurate. (this guy is technically obese on BMI scale - https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=153207891 ) I wonder if we would find better connections between disease and "weight" with body fat % or similar measure.

[deleted]

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#120

Post by 542458 » Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 4:54 PM UTC

kleiba wrote: post #77

I'm curious: what do people here think of the whole "body positive" idea?

It’s important to recognize *why* the body positivity movement has proponents - it’s a natural reaction to a lot of the moral judgements and prejudices that get passed on people for how their body appears. This can lead to a lot of depression and anxiety, and one way to combat that is with radical self-love. Of course, there’s been a bit of a swing too far and you see people endorsing unhealthy and harmful lifestyles.

I’ve seen people exposing “body neutrality” lately - the idea that you should detach your sense of self worth from your body entirely, and simply view it as a functional thing. For example: “I’m not a bad or failed person because I’m overweight. I appreciate that my body allows me to live my life. However, my weight is negatively affecting the functionality of my body, and so I would like to change that”. Personally I think this is a much healthier mentality.