“Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you • Hacker News Board

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#61

Post by stametseater » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:55 PM UTC

_23sd wrote: post #24

The article tries to frame it as if the U-shaped mortality curve and “healthy obesity” hypothesizing have been debunked, but there’s no suggestion that the U-shaped curve was not real. What appears to actually be debunked is BMI>30 as a definition of obesity. As far as I can tell, epidemiologists operating within the framework of “obesity is BMI>30”, still the one most commonly used at the individual and epidemiologi…

Most people should be considered obese at a BMI around 25 or so, maybe lower. Obesity being set at BMI>30 is actually too generous.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...

(And no, low-fat ripped bodybuilders aren't relevant to this discussion. They and their doctors both know that BMI doesn't work well for these rare individuals.)

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#62

Post by swatcoder » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:57 PM UTC

stametseater wrote: post #5

What interests me is how anybody could ever come to believe otherwise. The contrary belief flies in the face of all common sense, popular experience and medical science. It seems to come entirely from propaganda on social media telling fat people what they want to believe.

It’s because American society doesn’t let being unhealthy be an affirmative choice.

You either need to demonstrate some kind of shame for your unhealthiness or some kind rationale that explains how its actually healthy.

The honest facts that “I like to eat tasty good” and “I don’t really enjoy too much physical activity” are only permissible if you also say “and I can’t help myself” or “and it’s actually not unhealthy.”

It’s a social dance that makes people hide the personal truth that health isn’t the only thing that matters in life.

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#63

Post by scsilver » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:57 PM UTC

throwawaysleep wrote: post #11

lockhouse wrote: post #3

There’s really no getting around the fact that you need to live an active life of consuming things in moderation to be healthy.

The challenge is what is the closest hack to get around it, as most people, admittedly myself included, are not willing to exercise? Semaglutide seems to be the best bet right now.

I don’t know about you but exercise is one of my most enjoyable parts of my day. Yoga, walking, biking, dancing, swimming are all really enjoyable. Don’t push yourself hard, just go through the motions.

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#64

Post by vore » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:57 PM UTC

stametseater wrote: post #5

What interests me is how anybody could ever come to believe otherwise. The contrary belief flies in the face of all common sense, popular experience and medical science. It seems to come entirely from propaganda on social media telling fat people what they want to believe.

There is a line between fat acceptance and glorifying being fat that gets often muddled on social media. Social media is, of course, a funhouse mirror and you'll find that most fat acceptance activists do not actually believe being fat is healthy and really just don't want people to discriminate unfairly against fat people.

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#65

Post by max47 » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:57 PM UTC

newaccount2023 wrote: post #35

[flagged]

> this is why I will never get behind socialized healthcare...I'm not footing the bill for the increasing number of people who push these beliefs

Sadly, the US is paying as much per capita for healthcare as countries with free healthcare. A private system costs a lot more to run even when they are managed by people with good intentions.

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#66

Post by candlemas » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:58 PM UTC

throwawaysleep wrote: post #11

lockhouse wrote: post #3

There’s really no getting around the fact that you need to live an active life of consuming things in moderation to be healthy.

The challenge is what is the closest hack to get around it, as most people, admittedly myself included, are not willing to exercise? Semaglutide seems to be the best bet right now.

Get an exercise bike or elliptical trainer and watch movies or tv while you use it.

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#67

Post by infogulch » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:58 PM UTC

wanderingbort wrote: post #42

stametseater wrote: post #5

What interests me is how anybody could ever come to believe otherwise. The contrary belief flies in the face of all common sense, popular experience and medical science. It seems to come entirely from propaganda on social media telling fat people what they want to believe.

Simply put, it’s an enabling belief. Being obese isn’t a root cause. It is a symptom of something else. Particularly, when it is a symptom of depression, believing in “healthy obesity” can be enabling even if it’s not the truth. That person (not statistic) needs to see themselves as healthy and loved to have a chance at being healthy. Telling them to eat better or exercise is thinking about yourself in a generic vers…

Lying to people about an objective perspective of their current state of being is good for them?

Feeling better in the moment just enables people to ignore the root cause and thus fail to make progress. They need truth that their current state sucks, hope that it could be better, and to recognize that their own agency has an outsized effect on their future. And maybe they could use some help breaking down their problems into smaller more achievable steps.

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#68

Post by chitowneats » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:58 PM UTC

somenameforme wrote: post #52

throwawaysleep wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The challenge is what is the closest hack to get around it, as most people, admittedly myself included, are not willing to exercise? Semaglutide seems to be the best bet right now.

A general rule is that you burn about 100 calories in a mile jog. A 12oz can of Coke has about 140 calories, a quarter of a cup of nuts has about 200 calories, an apple has about 100 calories. Exercise is important for many reasons, but not for preventing obesity. Unless you're running marathons, or exercising like somebody who is, the amount of calories you will burn from exercising will in no way whatsoever compare…

The critical piece you're missing is that building and maintaining muscle mass increases your metabolism greatly. Michael Phelps eats 10,000 calories a day. This an extreme example, but the principle is true for all of us.

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#69

Post by slowmovintarget » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:59 PM UTC

somenameforme wrote: post #52

throwawaysleep wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The challenge is what is the closest hack to get around it, as most people, admittedly myself included, are not willing to exercise? Semaglutide seems to be the best bet right now.

A general rule is that you burn about 100 calories in a mile jog. A 12oz can of Coke has about 140 calories, a quarter of a cup of nuts has about 200 calories, an apple has about 100 calories. Exercise is important for many reasons, but not for preventing obesity. Unless you're running marathons, or exercising like somebody who is, the amount of calories you will burn from exercising will in no way whatsoever compare…

Exercise is the key to fighting bad inflammation, making it the key to fight off a legion of inflammatory diseases including many related cancers.

Re: “Healthy obesity” doesn’t exist. It is unequivocally bad for you

#70

Post by dudul » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:59 PM UTC

rhaway84773 wrote: post #57

stametseater wrote: post #5

What interests me is how anybody could ever come to believe otherwise. The contrary belief flies in the face of all common sense, popular experience and medical science. It seems to come entirely from propaganda on social media telling fat people what they want to believe.

I think there are several reasons: 1. Historically being fat was considered a sign of good health. Of course, this was during times of massive food scarcity and the definition of fat was probably very different from what we consider fat today. 2. Massive amounts of money involved in telling people to eat/drink more, and then spend more money in gyms and taking pills to lose that weight. As opposed to just eating less…

I'm interested in 3. Is there any research or data about that?

I do not encourage fat shaming at all, but I can also imagine that in some cases shame may be a powerful motivator for some people. Is there hard data showing that it actually makes it harder?