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Plastic might be making us obese

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#201

Post by mensetmanusman »

I am very skeptical the effect would be meaningful relative to diet/exercise.

We have never been more seditary, and sugar has never been more a part of our diet.

When my mother moved in and we started going on daily walks, she lost a pound a week for one year. When she injured her foot and stopped, with no diet change throughout the entire time, she gained it all back in a couple months.

I would be surprised if people gained weight with no diet change and introduced mostly standing or walking throughout the day into their life.

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#202

Post by bgro »

I don't know the last time I could trust an article or even scientific paper about weight / diets / food effects.

You'd think the vast amounts of scientific papers would be conclusive, but they're constantly contradicting each other or people uncover ulterior motives, like having shares in a questionable weight loss company.

In some of these cases, the source material uses inappropriate sample sizes or has other similar problems, or references other studies that had problems like this.

I bet if you type "X is the reason for obesity," you will find information for any noun.

Here's a partial list of topics off the top of my head from the best of my ability that I believe have been blasted as the definitive one-and-only "root cause" of obesity: [Sugar, Aspartame, Plastic, Butter, Margarine, Carbs, Milk, Bread, Fruit, Nuts, Phones, The Internet, TV, Video Games, Your job in general, Canned Products, Gluten, Pollution, Global Warming, Cars, Cheese, Alcohol, No Exercise, Cardio-only exercise, Blue Light (from electronics in general)]

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#203

Post by cptcobalt »

cnasc wrote: post #199
cptcobalt wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not so—significant dieting, zero soda or desserts, etc. But that's not as comparatively interesting for the argument as "can go on 10 mile hikes any weekend, yet made no progress". My point is directly intended to respond not just with anecdata, but that we have more work to do in research, diagnosis, and treatment of it. I don’t mean this to be rude, but it sounds like you jumped to a quick conclusion based on preex…

> I don’t mean this to be rude, but it sounds like you jumped to a quick conclusion based on preexisting simple expectations about obesity? I think this is unwarranted sarcasm, given that I could only comment on the information you provided in your post.

I accept that feedback at face value.

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#204

Post by kragen »

themitigating wrote: post #49
kragen wrote: post #38

My guess is that obesogens are to blame, but that they're in food, not plastics. This is because people on weirdo diets (vegans, carnivore, ultra low fat) all lose weight and keep it off, even when they are using the same amount of plastic as everyone else. The common denominator is that they stopped eating industrially manufactured food. I am no expert in the area, just wondering what the hell is going on.

"Weirdo" diets? Why make such an insulating simplistic judgment when discussing diets?

You're reading a value judgment into my wording that isn't there, probably because you need to be more of a weirdo.

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#205

Post by rockostrich »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #201

I am very skeptical the effect would be meaningful relative to diet/exercise. We have never been more seditary, and sugar has never been more a part of our diet. When my mother moved in and we started going on daily walks, she lost a pound a week for one year. When she injured her foot and stopped, with no diet change throughout the entire time, she gained it all back in a couple months. I would be surprised if peopl…

No post body was provided.

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#206

Post by kragen »

acuozzo wrote: post #78
kragen wrote: post #38

My guess is that obesogens are to blame, but that they're in food, not plastics. This is because people on weirdo diets (vegans, carnivore, ultra low fat) all lose weight and keep it off, even when they are using the same amount of plastic as everyone else. The common denominator is that they stopped eating industrially manufactured food. I am no expert in the area, just wondering what the hell is going on.

An omitted possible third factor here is that of selection bias. Perhaps those drawn to so-called "weirdo diets" are also those more likely to maintain their weight loss.

It's possible!

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#207

Post by oblio »

bgro wrote: post #202

I don't know the last time I could trust an article or even scientific paper about weight / diets / food effects. You'd think the vast amounts of scientific papers would be conclusive, but they're constantly contradicting each other or people uncover ulterior motives, like having shares in a questionable weight loss company. In some of these cases, the source material uses inappropriate sample sizes or has other simi…

It's sugar + sedentarity. It's always been sugar + sedentarity. At least for high levels of obesity, towards morbid obesity.

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#208

Post by OJFord »

sp332 wrote: post #130
davidn20 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it's bad in the US, but obesity is rising worldwide. Obesity, in general, correlates with GDP per capital.

Then why are poorer people more obese? Edit: still talking about the USA here.

Availability of cheap crap is much higher in more developed/high GDP countries I suppose.

In extremis, if you only eat what you can grow, rear, and trade for, then you're not eating breakfast ~cereal~ sugar, ready meals, crisps, etc.

It's a bit tangential, but this is similar to how such a lifestyle isn't even cheaper - it's not the only shopping those people can afford - most of my meals probably cost less, because I take an interest in cooking and eating (i.e. I'm buying vegetables not ready meals) but that doesn't mean there's always (or even that often really, especially amortised over all uses) an out-of-reach expensive ingredient.

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#209

Post by LeftHandPath »

VyseofArcadia wrote: post #92
vallassy wrote: post #52

Is it the plastic though, or is it the sugar? Over my last few years of reading, I've convinced myself that sugar is the main culprit in massive obesity in Western countries, especially the US (i.e. high fructose corn syrup). Sugar is in everything (like plastic, I suppose). Look at the ingredients of what you buy and you'll be surprised where it turns up. Peanut butter, mayonnaise, beef jerky, even bog standard brea…

> even bog standard bread Yes, we definitely have too much sugar in everything, but as an amateur baker I will defend sugar in bread. Sure, you don't need it in a baguette or a rustic boule, but it is indispensable for a nice, soft sandwich loaf. It's not there to make the bread sweeter. It makes the bread softer, it boosts the yeast for a nicer rise, and it keeps it from going stale as quickly. Granted, I don't use…

The difference between a nice brioche - made with plenty of sugar, with a soft, fluffy character - and a standard loaf of french bread is quite large. I spring for the french bread only because it's cheaper. Bread with sugar is superior.

Re: Plastic might be making us obese

#210

Post by kccqzy »

If a factor can't explain why non-Hispanic Asians have much lower prevalence of obesity than any other race, I tend not to trust it. Are Asians simply using less plastic than other races?

Look at the chart: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db288.pdf The chart is simply striking. We should all be investigating what are the Asians doing right that all of us should learn from.

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