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Adult Obesity Facts

cdc.gov

211–220 of 236 posts

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#211
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CICO is probably valid but it's easy to misinterpret. For example, in the presence of insulin, fat and muscle cells take in calories, regardless of the energy state of the rest of the body, resulting in hunger and probably more calories-in. While insulin is elevated, the calories stored wIthin fat cells is inaccessible to the rest of the body … would those calories be considered "in" or "out" according to CICO?

> fat and muscle cells take in calories, They can only do so acutely until the blood sugar drops. It will not matter in the long run if there is a calorie deficit. I like to summarize it like 24 hour calorie balance is far more important than short term acute effects.

I think that's right, but it's worth noting that "until the blood sugar drops" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. That varies a lot by person. E.g. I wear a CGM, as does a friend. We can eat the same thing, and my friend's CGM reading drops back to his baseline in less than an hour while mine stays elevated for several hours.

I eat low-carb foods and intermittently fast to compensate, but if I ate a "mainstream heatlhy" diet (3 meals a day, grain bowls, etc), my blood sugar would be moderately elevated for most of the time.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#212
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems to be a form of victim blaming. If people tried to follow normal dieting advice, and they failed, do we keep telling them to try harder? I am speaking as someone who had lost a lot of weight and achieved near normal BMI and had prioritized health. I found intermittent fasting to be much easier and less willpower taxing than counting calories, which was way too much work. People do want to be healthier and a lot…

I disagree - I think it's a matter of perspective. Many people see the task of getting in shape as some herculean effort requiring inhuman willpower, subconsciously setting themselves up for failure. Consider this - most people spend 40+ hours at work, 5+ hours in commute, only to go home and spend most of the rest of the waking hours doing house chores or attending to family needs - this is a truly epic investment o…

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Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#213
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems to be a form of victim blaming. If people tried to follow normal dieting advice, and they failed, do we keep telling them to try harder? I am speaking as someone who had lost a lot of weight and achieved near normal BMI and had prioritized health. I found intermittent fasting to be much easier and less willpower taxing than counting calories, which was way too much work. People do want to be healthier and a lot…

I disagree - I think it's a matter of perspective. Many people see the task of getting in shape as some herculean effort requiring inhuman willpower, subconsciously setting themselves up for failure. Consider this - most people spend 40+ hours at work, 5+ hours in commute, only to go home and spend most of the rest of the waking hours doing house chores or attending to family needs - this is a truly epic investment o…

[deleted]

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

we now have requirements in most places that nutrition must be on the label or accessible. this hasn’t slowed down the obesity rates. people don’t care what they’re eating and don’t try to figure it out. this is a personal responsibility and it’s cultural, not universal. from this link not every demographic has the same obesity rates

Nutrition facts don't matter if all your choices are unhealthy. If you visit any chain restaurant, nearly every meal (even the healthy looking ones) has added sugars and simple carbs.

This is so true. Here in Mexico, we've got a new law requiring large "Warning Labels" [1] warning of excess sugar, fat and calories. However, now when you go to the supermarket to buy say, cereal or tomato paste all the available options have all the same seals.

If you limited your purchases to the "healthy" options, you would basically had to buy fruit, vegetables and raw poultry, meat and fish.

[1] https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/new-warning-labels-now-requ...

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#215
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Given up" is an interesting way of putting it. Given up on what or whom? Do fat people want me to save and educate them? You're acting like I should be doing something personally about other people being fat. I think it should be treated just like any other chronic condition, you try to be as healthy as possible within the paradigm. If you want to lose weight, great, but people starting to lose weight need to unders…

> Irresponsible to whom? You are the one advocating for this exact kind of analysis, not me, I merely obliged you. It's irresponsible to say that you need to be on a 700 calorie diet for 3-4 years to lose 120 pounds. That's so far from reality that it's irresponsible. > Do you control for water and glycogen loss? I lose more in the first week or so to what I assume is water retention. After that it settles into 2lbs/…

"That's so far from reality that it's irresponsible." I think your "larger male that can still safely run every week" perspective is skewing your understanding of this problem. It is perfectly reasonable to expect weight loss of that magnitude to take that long for people that are older, sicker, or just not male. Moreover, you starting BMR often is significantly higher than it will be when you finish a crash diet, so if you tabulated 2000 a day at the start, that can be as low 1400 by the end coming out of starvation.

I'm happy you've found a method of weight loss that works for you. The way I lost weight was more extreme, but similar. However, you shouldn't universalize your personal experience as hidden wisdom. The are people who are born fat and will die fat. If they are otherwise healthy and happy for the duration, I see no reason for society to 'educate' or intervene on their lives.

And make no mistake, it is possible to be fat and healthy. Your heart, cholesterol, and diabetic markers can all be normal if you are eating healthy and exercising at (within reason) any weight.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#216

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"

If we start with the premise that the cause of obesity is overeating then we have to ask the question why is a significant portion of the population suddenly overeating? Convenience foods are older than the "obesity epidemic" and every year there's more and more obese people than the year before.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#218
post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Irresponsible to whom? You are the one advocating for this exact kind of analysis, not me, I merely obliged you. It's irresponsible to say that you need to be on a 700 calorie diet for 3-4 years to lose 120 pounds. That's so far from reality that it's irresponsible. > Do you control for water and glycogen loss? I lose more in the first week or so to what I assume is water retention. After that it settles into 2lbs/…

"That's so far from reality that it's irresponsible." I think your "larger male that can still safely run every week" perspective is skewing your understanding of this problem. It is perfectly reasonable to expect weight loss of that magnitude to take that long for people that are older, sicker, or just not male . Moreover, you starting BMR often is significantly higher than it will be when you finish a crash diet, s…

If you're calling 1500 a day a crash diet, making up numbers, and think education is a pointless endeavor, then I can't continue this conversation.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#219
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There have been many suggestions in this thread about the root cause of obesity. While I'm sure these things do contribute to the issue, they are not the main cause - the main cause is that being fat is socially acceptable. I don't believe that if the average person placed great importance on being healthy - as great as making more money, getting a better job etc., they would be unable to afford the extra cost of hea…

Seems to be a form of victim blaming. If people tried to follow normal dieting advice, and they failed, do we keep telling them to try harder? I am speaking as someone who had lost a lot of weight and achieved near normal BMI and had prioritized health. I found intermittent fasting to be much easier and less willpower taxing than counting calories, which was way too much work. People do want to be healthier and a lot…

> Seems to be a form of victim blaming.

Sorry, but no. The person you're replying to made some spot on points.

If a person wants to maintain some semblance of physical fitness then they are going to have to work for it. It's astounding that this concept gets lost on so many people, as if having a normal-sized physique should come naturally to someone who lives a sedentary yet gluttonous lifestyle.

Also, to their point about being fat having become socially acceptable. Yes, it is true, at least as far as women are concerned. So much that euphemisms are being used all the time: plus size, curvy, thicc, voluptuous, and so on. I've heard people even use the term "athletic" to describe a thicker person's physique.

> If people tried to follow normal dieting advice, and they failed, do we keep telling them to try harder?

Really depends on how hard they "tried". If a person is actually determined to maintain a good physique, then yes they have to work at it AND they need to be honest with themselves about how much food (as well as the type of foods) that they consume. If someone gives up after a week of dieting and exercise because they don't see significant results or because it's just too hard for them to maintain then that's entirely on them. If they want to then view themselves as a victim, then that just shows a lack of accountability.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There have been many suggestions in this thread about the root cause of obesity. While I'm sure these things do contribute to the issue, they are not the main cause - the main cause is that being fat is socially acceptable. I don't believe that if the average person placed great importance on being healthy - as great as making more money, getting a better job etc., they would be unable to afford the extra cost of hea…

I don't think healthy food has to be expensive. It can be if one decides to go the "superfood" route, also if one decides to eat beef / fish with every other meal. The fact is that multigrain bread, oats, beans, lentils and peanuts are all cheap, filling good sources of fiber and protein. Large animal protein portions are rarely truly needed. Combine that with some vegetables, a bit of oil, some spices, a modest port…

There's even a helpful subreddit r/EatCheapAndHealthy
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