On Obesity
I read this (Canadian) article today, and thought for some time about how to organize and condense my thoughts, or if maybe I should just leave it alone. In fact, at one point I had typed "I originally had a nearly-complete post regarding this article, but I have since decided to erase it, and simply share the news." To avoid a drawn-out essay, I've decided to construct my thoughts on this article and general subject in 5 succinct bullet points. In no particular order:
1. I tend to disagree with the notion that obesity is a mental disorder, especially in our country. Maybe there is underlying mental disease (compulsiveness?) contributing to some of the obesity, but I would not go as far as saying that obesity is a mental disorder in itself. Perhaps in Canada there is a larger proportion of obesity that can be explained by mental disorder, but I am inclined to think that that proportion in the U.S. is negligible.
2. Obese children really is a sad concept. Since body composition is strongly determined before adolescence (see set point theory), parents should take more responsibility to their child's eating habits and food choices. Enough said.
3. I do believe that surgery can benefit the severely overweight. That being said, I also believe that this comes with a HUGE commitment of maintaining your health and weight post-surgery. This is the part where most people fail; they think that their weight problem is solved solely by surgery and subsequently either gain the weight back or die because of not conforming to the rest of the program.
4. Weight loss = exercise and healthy eating. Period. I get a kick out of the weight-loss industry, as I'm sure it is very profitable for those involved. People will try anything, especially the "quick fixes" like pills and weight-loss drinks. On a very basic level, weight loss is based on a calories in (minus) calories out equation. It doesn't matter as much what kind of foods you are eating, as those are reflected in the calorie equation (e.g. higher fat foods will contain higher calories per gram; 9 calories per gram versus 4 for protein and carbs).
5. I don't think it is a coincidence that we "look" so different than other countries. When traveling, I have noticed that people from many other countries rely less on personal vehicles, eat smaller portions, and depend less on fast food. It is common knowledge that people from Europe take more vacations, have shorter workdays (aka less time spent sitting on one's rear end and more leisure time...5 days per week), and have an overall higher affinity for good food.
...The one story I will leave you with is from a friend of mine, who happens to be from Argentina, who attempted to demonstrate his experience at the Minnesota State Fair: "I was in the pig barn, looking at the 'biggest boar' exhibit, and began to look around me and realized that so many people standing around the pig looked just like the pig, and I immediately started dry-heaving. I was nauseas for the rest of the day."
1. I tend to disagree with the notion that obesity is a mental disorder, especially in our country. Maybe there is underlying mental disease (compulsiveness?) contributing to some of the obesity, but I would not go as far as saying that obesity is a mental disorder in itself. Perhaps in Canada there is a larger proportion of obesity that can be explained by mental disorder, but I am inclined to think that that proportion in the U.S. is negligible.
2. Obese children really is a sad concept. Since body composition is strongly determined before adolescence (see set point theory), parents should take more responsibility to their child's eating habits and food choices. Enough said.
3. I do believe that surgery can benefit the severely overweight. That being said, I also believe that this comes with a HUGE commitment of maintaining your health and weight post-surgery. This is the part where most people fail; they think that their weight problem is solved solely by surgery and subsequently either gain the weight back or die because of not conforming to the rest of the program.
4. Weight loss = exercise and healthy eating. Period. I get a kick out of the weight-loss industry, as I'm sure it is very profitable for those involved. People will try anything, especially the "quick fixes" like pills and weight-loss drinks. On a very basic level, weight loss is based on a calories in (minus) calories out equation. It doesn't matter as much what kind of foods you are eating, as those are reflected in the calorie equation (e.g. higher fat foods will contain higher calories per gram; 9 calories per gram versus 4 for protein and carbs).
5. I don't think it is a coincidence that we "look" so different than other countries. When traveling, I have noticed that people from many other countries rely less on personal vehicles, eat smaller portions, and depend less on fast food. It is common knowledge that people from Europe take more vacations, have shorter workdays (aka less time spent sitting on one's rear end and more leisure time...5 days per week), and have an overall higher affinity for good food.
...The one story I will leave you with is from a friend of mine, who happens to be from Argentina, who attempted to demonstrate his experience at the Minnesota State Fair: "I was in the pig barn, looking at the 'biggest boar' exhibit, and began to look around me and realized that so many people standing around the pig looked just like the pig, and I immediately started dry-heaving. I was nauseas for the rest of the day."
posted by nka at
22:05
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