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Archive for the ‘Obesity’ Category

Obesity and personal responsibility

Posted in Obesity, Public health on May 9, 2013 | 20 Comments »

In an apparent bit of self-serving research, an anti-nanny stater surveyed 800 Americans and shocker, found that 80% “said individuals were primarily to blame for the rise in obesity.” Next after individuals were parents at 59%:

Screen Shot 2013-05-09 at 12.09.30 PM

Stephan Guyenet, who tweeted the study had an interesting conversation with a follower that pretty much sums up my thoughts:

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Interestingly, Michael Prager just tweeted a link to a researcher who holds a very different view:

The socioeconomic dimension of the obesity epidemic becomes apparent once you start looking at maps where the obese people live … obesity rates in Seattle can vary by a factor of five depending on address.

Obesity-Zipcodes-in-Seattle

It reminds me a bit of Gibson’s quote on the future: it’s here, it’s just not very evenly distributed. Apparently there’s a lot more personal responsibility in those wealthy white neighborhoods, eh?

I’ve gone on record before as not being optimistic about nanny statism (and I don’t use that term pejoratively) as a solution. But I do think it’s ludicrous to look at the rise in obesity as a global failure in personal responsibility.

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Quote of the day

Posted in Obesity, QOTD on April 10, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Katie Couric is covering childhood obesity on her talk show today. I was struck by the answer a relatively “normal” weight 14-year-old boy (there with his heavier parents and sister) gave in response to Katie’s question “you haven’t struggled with your weight the way [your family] have, have you?”

I think more or less I have, ’cause I still think about it every day.”

He goes on to add that he wants to “try hard” and be “healthy, just like they are.”

He may not have meant it the way I took it, but it was a bit of an “a ha” for me to realize that childhood obesity is a real family issue. (Duh I suppose.) But I felt for him … and his family.

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Paleo is not a panacea 4

Posted in Food addiction, Food industry, Obesity, Public health on March 29, 2013 | 5 Comments »

In an MDA post yesterday, Mark Sisson seems to say that if you’re fat or unhealthy, you’re lacking in integrity (emphasis his):

Sure, the massive health problems in our country are in part fueled by false medical messaging that leads well-intentioned people down the wrong roads in search of health. Much of it, however, can simply be attributed to an unwillingness to buck up, take responsibility choice by choice, and live with health integrity. By health integrity, I mean an honesty to one’s self, a commitment that begins and ends with one’s self, an inner compass that has nothing to do with the outside world.

I’m not sure, but I wonder if part of the genesis of this post is the regular posts by paleo users on various forums. You know, the ones where folks are doing great to a point … until they find themselves inexplicably (?) needing to cheat or even binge.

Anyways, as I said in paleo is not a panacea 2, if you’re overweight from overeating, you’re still on the hook … it’s your hand putting the food into your mouth.

But I don’t believe that the solution is to “buck up … and live with health integrity.” I like Mark and even his products (his chocolate protein powder plus Fage yogurt == yum!), but I refuse to attribute the rise in obesity and so-called lifestyle diseases (like diabetes) as a global failure of personal responsibility.

(more…)

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The Putative 82 Causes of Obesity

Posted in Obesity, Research on March 22, 2013 | 4 Comments »

Morgan Downey, former director of the American Obesity Association (among other things) and now writer of the Downey Obesity Report recently published The Putative 82 Causes of Obesity:

I’ve been keeping track of the putative causes of obesity. I am now up to 82. I don’t allege they are all correct. But they do exist in the scientific or popular literature, usually both.

In his post, he links to an article or paper discussing that reported cause’s link to obesity. His 82 causes run the gamut from agricultural policies to endocrine disrupters to marrying later in life to virus. Check out his post for the links.

In the meantime, I think he asks some good questions. I like this one:

If a disease (condition) has 82 possible causes, can anyone say we know what THE CAUSE is?

and this one:

What possible prevention strategy could account for all these variables?

It’s been 18 months, so I figure it’s okay to repost Shift’s fab diagram from this post:

Shift's Obesity System Influence Diagram

I’ve not given up my weight loss efforts, but I do think those folks who think that the answer to obesity is “simply” a change in diet may want to consider that that may not be enough.

HT Dr. Mike Eades (via Twitter).

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Quote of the day

Posted in Obesity, QOTD, Weight stigma on March 12, 2013 | 4 Comments »

Thanks to Shari for the pointer to this thought-provoking post — Don’t tell me to love my body — by Elyse over on Skepchick:

I want to talk to you about how you talk to me about how I talk about my body, and how I talk about how I feel about my body, and what’s wrong with everything you have to say about what I have to say.

In short, fuck you.

I don’t love my body. My body is awful. I will never love my body. I never have. And I’m 35 and maybe you think that’s too old to have real hang ups about my body. But I do. And I always will. And maybe you think that because I’ve lost a bunch of weight I should feel great about my body. But I don’t. And I won’t.

At I first thought that perhaps Elyse was over-reacting. Maybe people really mean “love yourself” rather than “love your body.” But a search for the latter yielded 69 results just in my Google reader feed!

Hmmm. As someone who has lost 100+ pounds three times and is pushing retirement age, I can relate. Accept? Embrace? Cherish? These are verbs that feel a bit more practical to me. And as a matter a fact, lately I have given up things like “learn to love yourself” and “live with passion” and “find yourself.”

These days, I’m just asking if I am I being kind to myself.

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Quote of the day

Posted in Obesity, QOTD, Weight loss on February 20, 2013 | 5 Comments »

Slate’s Dan Engbar after watching a full episode of The Biggest Loser (~16:00):

I found it shocking. Shocking! And compelling. … I was shocked at how fraudulent it is just from top to bottom. And I found it compelling to see people fall off of treadmills and vomit.

Well worth a listen to Slate’s longer panel discussion. HT Yoni Freedhoff for the pointer; see Yoni’s blog Weighty Matters for lots more on The Biggest Loser.

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Quote of the day

Posted in Obesity, QOTD on January 24, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

What Dr. Sharma said:

There is no universal causal theory of obesity … except perhaps that there is no universal causal theory of obesity.

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Today’s annoying study: sugar and body weight

Posted in Obesity, Research, Weight loss on January 16, 2013 | 5 Comments »

Annoyed woman Here’s the difference between a blog and a medical journal. After publishing a free full-text meta analysis — Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and cohort studies — the journal (the BMJ) can summarize the research as:

Reducing sugar intake has a small but significant effect on body weight in adults, finds a paper published on bmj.com today.

Although the effect is relatively small (an average reduction of 0.8 kg), the findings provide some support for international guidelines to cut sugar intake to less than 10% of total energy to help reduce the global obesity epidemic.

Relatively small?! You’re killing me! Chalk it up to blog vs journal, but for me, 0.8 kg (aka ~1/3 pound 1.76 lb*) is far, far from significant no matter what the p-value.

A corresponding editorial by Walter Willett and David Ludwig notes that:

[The study's] results suggest that sugar increases body weight mainly by promoting overconsumption of energy

A ha! I guess folks just need to eat less and move more.

I’m quite sure that the literature review/analysis was extensive and thoughtful. And I’m also of the opinion that total sugars should be limited. But yee gads. This feels like it’s evidence FOR the food industry. All things in moderation, right?

* Update: Stupid math error on my part. A ~2 pound loss over the duration of the studies (tho some were as much as 8 months long) may or may not be as inconsequential as I originally got fussy about.

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The down side of being a pear?

Posted in Obesity, Research on January 15, 2013 | 5 Comments »

For a while, the narrative has been that fat in the abdomen (the so-called apple shape) is more problematic as far as health. A new study suggests that being pear-shaped may not be as benign as once thought:

Fat in the abdomen has long been considered the most detrimental to health, and gluteal fat was thought to protect against diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome. … But our research helps to dispel the myth that gluteal fat is ‘innocent.’ It also suggests that abnormal protein levels may be an early indicator to identify those at risk for developing metabolic syndrome. …

The team found that in individuals with early metabolic syndrome, gluteal fat secreted elevated levels of chemerin and low levels of omentin-1—proteins that correlate with other factors known to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes. …

High chemerin levels correlated with four of the five characteristics of metabolic syndrome and may be a promising biomarker for metabolic syndrome.

I’ve long maintained that fat (adipose tissue) is not benign. That said, this study still is only showing correlation. It may well be that the inflammation caused by other sources (bad diet, lack of sleep, stress) may be as much if not more responsible for metabolic syndrome and related diseases.

But if you’re a pear (that’d be me), this study does suggest that you may want to stop thinking that your lower body fat is somehow safe because it’s not around your waist.

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Quote of the day

Posted in Obesity, Policy, Public health, QOTD on January 8, 2013 | 1 Comment »

I *love* this post — “The Big Oversight In Our Obesity Conversation” — by Andy Bellati over on Civil Eats regarding the recent JAMA study about obesity and mortality. Here’s the oversight according to Andy:

When our discussions on health center around weight (whether by stressing or minimizing the dangers of gaining it), it is too easy to leave other important factors out of the conversation. …

My biggest concern is that solely focusing on weight (regardless of how positive or negative that focus is) impedes the health movement’s progress. Such a clinical and quantitative frame gives very little thought to – and leaves no room for a conversation about – socio-political and environmental factors that pose a threat to our health (including, but not limited to industry lobbying, Big Food predatory marketing, and misguided agricultural subsidies). Even if the message is “being overweight isn’t bad for your health,” we do know that a highly processed diet (let’s face it, the Standard American Diet) is. There is no doubt that, above all else, the way we eat has tremendous effects on our health.

My diet isn’t as “plant-centric” (aka vegan) as Andy’s, but I am completely with him on the problems with solely focusing on weight as a barometer for health. Please read the whole post … it’s a goodie!

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