Weighing up the costs of being obese

regarding obesity:

1. No one really knows what causes obesity any more than they know what causes leanness. There are the outliers, of course, people who are literally starving and people who are literally eating constantly. However, we are learning more and more every day that gene expression depends on our environment and our parents' environment. So, for example, does my body try to pack on weight because my mother was constantly dieting? She was just trying to fit into the latest fashions, but to her body, it looked as if she was living in a semi-famine. Thus, my genes got the signal to make hay while the sun shines and conserve every calorie available.

If that is the case, continually being hungry is a certain way to ensure that the next generation has a continuous weight problem.

2. Does anyone really know what "healthy weight" is? What's a healthy weight for an ethnic German vs. an ethnic Vietnamese vs. and ethnic Kenyan, for example?

3. Is obesity the real health problem, or is it inactivity, or is it yo-yo dieting, or is it simple carbohydrates?

4. How much is our concern with weight due to health worries and how much is it due to trying to achieve a culturally acceptable body? The Chinese used to cripple women by binding their feet to achieve an acceptable body. Will future generations be aghast at our attempts to look like adolescents our entire lives?

but, I do find it difficult to believe that the world's genes/glands/hormones/whatever have changed that much in the last 30 years. It seems to me that we have dived into the fast food, high fat diets that are just too tasty to pass up. That, along with a more sedentary lifestyle from childhood on have all served to fatten us up. I mean, when I was a kid, we were all out playing baseball on a given summer's day. These days, kids are more likely to be huddled in front of an xbox...

I agree that the idea of a "healthy weight" varies from person to person. A 220 pound football player is probably not in the same health crisis as a 220 pound eighth grader that barely moves. However, there probably are healthy and unhealthy body fat percentages.

I don't agree that the concern with weight is primarily due to trying to "achieve a culturally acceptable body". I think that the dangers of obesity are very real and well documented.

Sure, maybe on an individual basis a person could be fat due to reasons out of their control, but has that really caused the obesity EPIDEMIC? And they use that as a legitimate excuse for addressing obesity in general.

to move some place where they might not starve. Now, allow their children access to plenty of food. Doesn't it make sense that their children's bodies, unaware that the food is likely to always be available, would hoard every calorie and furthermore, arrange to eat every calorie available? What if the people who were starving in Europe all came here?

our obesity epidemic is comprised mainly of starving, first-generation immigrants who are gorging in our supermarkets....

with his father when he was about 8 years old and probably never had a square meal until he was in his twenties. My other grandfather was on his own at age 14 working to support himself and two brothers. That's my family history. I suspect that a lot of people who went through the Depression didn't eat very well. Robert Kennedy found starving children in Mississippi back in 1968. There are a lot of Americans who are only the first or second generation to have access to a lot of calories. We're learning more and more every day about the interplay between genes and environment. Is it really coincidence that Latinos and African Americans are especially effected?

We need more research and less name calling. Make sure people have access to and time for physical activity. Make sure they have access to good, unprocessed food.

Though remember that everyone is effected, and what about the generations in between? Wouldn't there larger calorie intake balance it out? What about Europeans(then again Obesity does effect them somewhat) the great famine of Communist China? But I agree with that last statement, and those are two things hard to come by in America.

Let's give the Americans their rights back, get rid of the "Patriot Act" and hold those who have committed high crimes accountable. Simultaneously let's get health care to all Americans. I bet you will be surprised how much healthier the citizens of this country get. The fact that we are held hostage by politicians who soil the Constitution and bankrupt the citizens directly correlates to the weight gain of our citizens. Worth a try!

For that matter, I'm for the government not telling me:

- to wear safety belts in my car
- to wear a helmet when I ride my motorcycle
- not to smoke in a privately owned business
- which drugs are too dangerous for me to use

... there's others, but that's a start....

As soon as the insurance companies (and government, if you are covered by Medicare or Medicaid) don't have to raise MY rates (or taxes) when you go and crash your car or motorcycle and suffer serious injuries, we can stop mandating belts and helmets.

Deal?

the insurance companies having a clause that says that they won't pay if you're not wearing ______ (insert name of protective device here).

At least that way, I'd be able to make my own decision as to whether or not my freedom of choice is worth the potential costs - just like a big boy.

finding someone with his head smashed in because he drove his motorcycle into a road sign.

"Hold on, boys. Before you check for vitals or stabilize him or anything, find his insurance card. Yeah, just roll him around to reach his wallet. Don't worry if he's got a broken neck yet. OK, got it? Great. Let me call this 800 number to find out if they will pay. De do do do, de da da da, man I love the Police. Nice choice in hold music. You guys, just hang on, I think I'm next in queue. OK, hello ma'am, yes, we've got this guy on the road near death and wondering if his policy pays even if he wasn't wearing his helmet. Oh, it does? Lucky him! Guys, it's OK, you can start... what's that? Oh, now he's dead? Ah, never mind, ma'am. Looks like you just saved some money!"

Nope, can't think of any problems with your proposed solution. :eyes:

I've learned not to waste my breath with sarcastic assholes. They're much too impressed with their own smug, cute answers than actually a discussion of the issues.

Some people are just more kind than we are by not wearing seat belts or helmets.

When I travel to Europe I don't see obese people. I'm not talking about the UK here, just Italy and Spain where I have travelled every year for 4 years (I'll be adding Portugal to that list come October). Yet they all eat pretty well. And they eat a lot more of the animal than we do (I am still working up my courage to try tripe). I adore eating there and have tried to copy their habits here. Smaller portions mainly. Where did we get the idea that you had to have tons of food on your plate? And they walk after meals. Unfortunately, Spain is full of smokers so that probably keeps some of them thin.

I wish, I wish, I wish that Americans could learn to eat like the Italians and the Spanish. They would enjoy their food so much more AND you get to wash it down with generous amounts of wine (for some reason, there isn't much alcoholism in those countries either).

Americans eat till they feel "full." That's called gluttony. Most people only stop eating when they literally can't take another bite. Then they blame their thyroid or HFCS.

They linger over them for a long time. In Italy you don't even get the check until you ask for it at a restaurant. I noticed how fresh the food in Sicily, Italy and Spain was, also.

We really noticed that in Madrid we saw no overweight people. I suppose walking more in a city like that might make a difference. In regards to food maybe it's not just how much they eat, but what they eat.

In reply to another post about being sedentary... I agree. I'm 42, and when I was young I did not consider myself an "outdoorsy" person, but in retrospect I was outside a lot. There were only three networks and PBS so there wasn't constant programming a child my age would enjoy. No video games, either, although I never did enjoy those when they came out. I had a very safe neighborhood in which to play, too. I think that makes a difference. Also, we ate our meals at the table, either kitchen or dining room. I had my snacks in the kitchen or outside. No eating in the living room or den while watching television. I was given a small amount for a snack, too. For example, three cookies; that was it, just three. No sitting in front of the television or computer eating mindlessly. I think all of those things play into our weight problems today. I do believe genes play a part, too. I developed gestational diabetes while pregnant and have gained a lot of weight. I'm now on medication to treat the condition. So, my point is that many factors can play into why someone becomes overweight, but once they are there it is difficult to remedy depending on how overweight they are and a variety of medical problems.