Wow - I also scoffed at this at first … but if you actually read/dig, it is actually quite intriguing.
All of the above may be true, but then in my travels I’ve rarely ever seen really fat people in poor places. I don’t think anyone would argue the point that the highest share of obesity is in the U.S., which happens to correlate with being the nation of greatest consumption. On some level, it really IS that simple.
You make a great point, and it leads to the question that I think is less well understood: why do some people have more brown fat cells, higher setpoints, more difficulty satiating hunger, etc. I think researchers are starting to look more at this question, and clearly there are likely to be some choices that set up the conditions for obesity. But, they’re not the obvious ones, like being too lazy to control one’s impulse to eat.
My wife is reading a nutrition book right now, and the author makes an interesting case that the problem comes primarily from overeating simple carbs. Too much of this stuff, like HFCS, changes our bodies in ways that make it difficult to stay thin (and this is not just from the calories that come from these carbs). In other words, bad diet choices change us in ways that make us have trouble staying thin. Once fat, it’s no longer as simple as eating less to get thin again. (Interestingly, this guy also casts doubt on the CW that fat and cholesterol are bad for you.)
in your travels have you ever been to a ghetto or an indian reservation?
anecdotally I would argue that there is a correlation in the us between poverty and obesity
I have seen lots of very obese folks on the res and very few at the country club
To throw my two cents in to this argument. I believe a lot of the studies in this regards are too short term to be of real value. Study a group of overweight people and then have them do honest to goodness lifestyle changes to get fit and track there body composition over years/decades not months and see what changes.
Yes, I did read the article. I do read Fox News and the only dig I make on them is comparing them to a tabloid, which I would do for any news organization that would use that photo to draw you to this article. I didn’t realy intend this to be a dig on Fox News, I just was amused that there is a “fat cold” and that they used that particular photo to draw you into the article, plus the editors lead in to the text is kind of funny. Lighten up bud, you can not see even a bit of funnyness (is that a word) in the thought of some uber fit triathlon pro not being able to race do to catching a fat cold?
Sure, I would certainly concede than on an individual basis, or even a among relatively small, localized population, there may well be specific biological or environmental factors at play. But if we look more broadly at all the people across the globe, and the prevalence of obesity, it’s largely in the U.S. where collectively we have the combination of affluence, ignorance, and automobile-dependent lifestyle to afford being that fat.
In the given example, I might suggest the country-club set is more able to offset other factors by being able to afford better nutrition and exercise, or maybe just liposuction… 
On a related note, ever notice the recent explosion in advertisements for bariatric surgery procedures? I don’t think their target audience is in the 'hood or the Res. Being poor in the US may indeed limit a person to poor nutrition and lifestyle options, but I’d still say it’s likely more food overall (if low quality) and less exercise (simply the time spent getting around on foot/bicycle) compared to those in much of the rest of the world.
Is it good calories / bad calories? That was a pretty interesting read. Really hard to get through the first 5-6 chapters, but then it got a bit easier to read.
It had tons of epidemiological evidence that “showed” that it was not at all as simple as calories in vs calories out…
That’s all we need, another excuse for obesity.
I saw this article and thought I was reading The Onion.
But based on some of the responses, a lot of STers think we do need more excuses.
I don’t know any fat vegetarians and I don’t know any fat people that don’t eat fast food. When I lived in a city where almost everyone biked, almost everyone was fit.
When I lived in a city where almost everyone biked, almost everyone was fit.
That just means that the fat bug hasn't spread there yet. They're just a few sneezes away from a bent bike frame epidemic ;)
Will you guys stop attaching that photo to the thread!??!!! I’m trying to read this and have to keep resizing and moving my window around so that the girl who sits behind me doesn’t see the attached photo that looks just like her ass!
Full blown Pneumonia here.
http://i43.tinypic.com/attsx.jpg
That POOR, POOR chair! Someone save the chair!
My first thought was, after reading the caption “A passenger waits for a delayed flight at Heathrow Airport in London.”… I wonder if they made her buy 2 seats, or whether some poor schmuk got stuck “sharing” a seat with this woman…
Not only is this pretty well accepted in the medical community, it is old news. Thin people tend to think that fat people are lazy and have no willpower. The truth is that things are way more complicated than that.
Here is a short list of things we are starting to learn about weight gain and food:
-
Viruses can make you fat
-
The makeup of the bacteria in your stomach can determine whether you are thin or fat.
a. mice with no/little bacteria in their stomachs have to eat huge amount to not starve
b. mice that are fat and have their stomach bacteria killed and replaced with the stomach bacteria of thin mice become thin -
Ever since the push towards high carb low fat diets americans have gotten fatter.
-
Ever since the large adoption of HFCS americans have gotten fatter
which is the cause? 3 or 4 or something else?
- There are many genetic markers that indicate obesity
I have known plenty of fat vegetarians. I had a teacher in high school who was a strict vegetarian, never ate fast food, and was still 300+ pounds. I also know lots of people who eat fast food every day and are thin.
Don’t think of this as an excuse, it’s learning how things work. is it an excuse to find out that gravity pulled that crystal vase down to smash on the ground?
The biking thing is a weird one, since there have been lots of studies that show that there is less incentive for bikers to be low weight than runners. something that is born out by the relatively large number of fatties at my bike club and low number of fatties at my running club.
Not only is this pretty well accepted in the medical community, it is old news. Thin people tend to think that fat people are lazy and have no willpower. The truth is that things are way more complicated than that.
Here is a short list of things we are starting to learn about weight gain and food:
-
Viruses can make you fat
-
The makeup of the bacteria in your stomach can determine whether you are thin or fat.
a. mice with no/little bacteria in their stomachs have to eat huge amount to not starve
b. mice that are fat and have their stomach bacteria killed and replaced with the stomach bacteria of thin mice become thin -
Ever since the push towards high carb low fat diets americans have gotten fatter.
-
Ever since the large adoption of HFCS americans have gotten fatter
which is the cause? 3 or 4 or something else?
- There are many genetic markers that indicate obesity
While it can be complicated, you never see pictures of obese survivors from WWII German/Japanese death camps.
I’m not saying that everyone can control easily control their diet and lifestyle (and therefor their weight), but fewer calories and more exercise will make you lose weight.
LOL- “Bad windows”…
Really? concentration camp victims are your example of people being able to lose weight?
Forced starvation and genocide, the latest diet craze!
You make a great point, and it leads to the question that I think is less well understood: why do some people have more brown fat cells, higher setpoints, more difficulty satiating hunger, etc. I think researchers are starting to look more at this question, and clearly there are likely to be some choices that set up the conditions for obesity. But, they’re not the obvious ones, like being too lazy to control one’s impulse to eat.
My wife is reading a nutrition book right now, and the author makes an interesting case that the problem comes primarily from overeating simple carbs. Too much of this stuff, like HFCS, changes our bodies in ways that make it difficult to stay thin (and this is not just from the calories that come from these carbs). In other words, bad diet choices change us in ways that make us have trouble staying thin. Once fat, it’s no longer as simple as eating less to get thin again. (Interestingly, this guy also casts doubt on the CW that fat and cholesterol are bad for you.)
What’s the book? Sounds interesting.
Really? concentration camp victims are your example of people being able to lose weight?
Forced starvation and genocide, the latest diet craze!
Wait a sec - have we demonstrated Godwin’s law already? This is one of the less clear cases I’ve seen.