Everything you know about obesity is wrong.

[Anonymous]

I thought this article was really good and wanted to share. DCUM is often pretty science-illiterate about obesity but hopefully we can have a good conversation.

https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/everything-you-know-about-obesity-is-wrong

[Anonymous]

Great article. This is something I hope everyone here reads. Thank you for posting.

I wasn’t surprised to see that it was was written by Michael Hobbs. I love listening to his podcast “Maintenance Phase” that he co-hosts with Aubrey Gordon. It is so informative and has shifted my beliefs about obesity and nutrition.

[Anonymous]

I'm a "skinny" person and probably get some very small fraction of body shaming in people telling me I'm too thin, offering me cookies, etc. I eat healthy and I eat a lot, and I also want to be left alone. But bullies will bully you for whatever they can articulate, and there are a surprisingly high number of the.

While I really like the article, I really wish we would stop talking about bullies so much (who are unlikely to change after reading the article, no matter how factual it is) and start integrating healthy food and habits into society so they are accessible. It is very hard to choose healthy foods when they are either MUCH more expensive or MUCH more time consuming to prepare. It's also harder to walk or bike to work in most of the USA. Systemically removing sugar and processed foods from the food chain and building livable cities is nowhere in the policy conversation. We are adding bike lanes, which is great, but that's about the only real initiative I've seen in major American cities. I am surprised insurance companies aren't lobbying for these changes.

[Anonymous]

The advice that I'm able to glean -- it is a good article -- is to stop eating processed foods with fructose.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, the societal pressure not to be fat does keep a good portion of the people who are not overweight or not obese from sliding up to the next level. There are many, many overweight and obese MC and UMC people who can afford heavier food, take the stairs, and probably even have exercise equipment gathering dust.

Here’s the problem…it’s inconvenient to walk or ride your bike instead of driving, if you aren’t into exercise it’s a chore. For food, products with highly processed carbs and sugar taste good. Eating is an enjoyable experience that is convenient and accessible. There are so many flavor and food options that it’s hard not to enjoy it. The only incentive people have to not get fat is societal pressure because let’s be honest the concern about distant future health issues does not push people to restrict themselves.

Short of extremely limiting food options so eating on a daily basis is boring and less appetizing, there isn’t much policy people can do. Monetary incentives might do it for some but probably not most.

[Anonymous]

Great article. Thx for posting it.

[Anonymous]

I have tears in my eyes. That article really spoke to me. The whole article captured how I feel, but especially these at the beginning and end:

"Growing up, my mother’s weight was the uncredited co-star of every family drama, the obvious, unspoken reason why she never got out of the car when she picked me up from school, why she disappeared from the family photo album for years at a time, why she spent hours making meatloaf then sat beside us eating a bowl of carrots."

"Her patients, she says, often live in the past or the future with their weight. They tell her they are waiting until they are smaller to go back to school or apply for a new job. They beg her to return them to their high school or wedding or first triathlon weight, the one that will bring back their former life."

[Anonymous]

In a nutshell: fat shaming does not help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a nutshell: fat shaming does not help.

Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
The sooner we—doctors, family members, colleagues, anyone— stop doing it, the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a "skinny" person and probably get some very small fraction of body shaming in people telling me I'm too thin, offering me cookies, etc. I eat healthy and I eat a lot, and I also want to be left alone. But bullies will bully you for whatever they can articulate, and there are a surprisingly high number of the.

While I really like the article, I really wish we would stop talking about bullies so much (who are unlikely to change after reading the article, no matter how factual it is) and start integrating healthy food and habits into society so they are accessible. It is very hard to choose healthy foods when they are either MUCH more expensive or MUCH more time consuming to prepare. It's also harder to walk or bike to work in most of the USA. Systemically removing sugar and processed foods from the food chain and building livable cities is nowhere in the policy conversation. We are adding bike lanes, which is great, but that's about the only real initiative I've seen in major American cities. I am surprised insurance companies aren't lobbying for these changes.

Your last paragraph is so on point.

I currently live in London and my default mode of getting around is on foot and bike and I have 15-20 minute walks and bikes at least 2x a day. I love it.

We are planning to move back to the US to a car centric city and my DH (who struggles to keep under the “morbidly obese” category) are already talking about how much harder it will be to manage our weights!in the US. Portion sizes, too many additives to processed foods. All of it.

Watching my DH has been extremely eye opening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a "skinny" person and probably get some very small fraction of body shaming in people telling me I'm too thin, offering me cookies, etc. I eat healthy and I eat a lot, and I also want to be left alone. But bullies will bully you for whatever they can articulate, and there are a surprisingly high number of the.

While I really like the article, I really wish we would stop talking about bullies so much (who are unlikely to change after reading the article, no matter how factual it is) and start integrating healthy food and habits into society so they are accessible. It is very hard to choose healthy foods when they are either MUCH more expensive or MUCH more time consuming to prepare. It's also harder to walk or bike to work in most of the USA. Systemically removing sugar and processed foods from the food chain and building livable cities is nowhere in the policy conversation. We are adding bike lanes, which is great, but that's about the only real initiative I've seen in major American cities. I am surprised insurance companies aren't lobbying for these changes.

Your last paragraph is so on point.

I currently live in London and my default mode of getting around is on foot and bike and I have 15-20 minute walks and bikes at least 2x a day. I love it.

We are planning to move back to the US to a car centric city and my DH (who struggles to keep under the “morbidly obese” category) are already talking about how much harder it will be to manage our weights!in the US. Portion sizes, too many additives to processed foods. All of it.

Watching my DH has been extremely eye opening.

I have stopped using my car for local trips. I ride my bike or walk now and it has changed my body and weight. I really think this is key to creating a healthy and sustainable lifestyle but sadly most Americans won't adopt these types of changes.

[Anonymous]

I really wish as a culture we could change the conversation from a discussion about losing weight to not gaining weight in the first place. There is copious evidence that losing weight is a fools errand. However, there is also copious evidence that being overweight increases your risk of disease. So what we need to do is prevent people from becoming overweight and obese in the first place.

In my family that has materialized as discussions about healthy food and bodies from toddlerhood onwards. I know many here would disagree that you should ever comment on what someone is eating but when you see your teenager hauling share size bags of candy back in her backpack every day from the 7-Eleven runs, it’s OK to say something. Not to shame them but to say hey how about you focus on some fruits and vegetables tomorrow? Too much sugar isn’t good for you and will make your body less healthy.

[Anonymous]

I would not put too much stock in Maintenance Phase. They did an episode on a topic on which I am a subject matter expert and the research was completely shoddy. They missed key publications. Their product is a product designed to generate buzz and likes, like everything else. Plus obviously she has an agenda to advance. Researchers need to be neutral.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have tears in my eyes. That article really spoke to me. The whole article captured how I feel, but especially these at the beginning and end:

"Growing up, my mother’s weight was the uncredited co-star of every family drama, the obvious, unspoken reason why she never got out of the car when she picked me up from school, why she disappeared from the family photo album for years at a time, why she spent hours making meatloaf then sat beside us eating a bowl of carrots."

"Her patients, she says, often live in the past or the future with their weight. They tell her they are waiting until they are smaller to go back to school or apply for a new job. They beg her to return them to their high school or wedding or first triathlon weight, the one that will bring back their former life."

It took her hours to make a meatloaf?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not put too much stock in Maintenance Phase. They did an episode on a topic on which I am a subject matter expert and the research was completely shoddy. They missed key publications. Their product is a product designed to generate buzz and likes, like everything else. Plus obviously she has an agenda to advance. Researchers need to be neutral.

So fat people haven’t been treated poorly by health care providers?
So fat people don’t suffer from eating disorders?
So it’s really just a matter of calories in/calories out, and if fat people just had some more self-control and will power, they could fix themselves.

Is that what you’re saying? Because those are the big agenda items of Maintenance Phase, and if they’re way off base, please enlighten us.