The Obesity Epidemic: What Can Be Done to Stop It?

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In summary, the medical system takes steps to raise awareness of the obesity epidemic by teaching nutrition and exercise, but ultimately it is up to the individual to make healthy choices. Governments should make nutrition and health education mandatory in schools, similar to reading and writing. However, interventions such as taxes on junk food and banning it from schools may not be effective. The issue of obesity is complex and cannot be solely blamed on personal choices, as some medical conditions and socioeconomic factors play a role.
  • #141
Klockan3 said:
Sugar is the biggest perpetrator, not fat. The body have a system for regulating your fat intake by stopping your hunger while we lack such a system for sugar, making the sugar you eat just become extra calories above what you actually need. Fat is good since it reduces your snack cravings etc.

Maybe that is the reason why obesity is so obscenely high over there, since people actually believes that it is mostly the fat that does it.

Sorry, but this is plain bull.
 
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  • #142
On the contrary, it is not sugar or fat that makes you gain weight. It's calories :)
 
  • #143
MissSilvy said:
On the contrary, it is not sugar or fat that makes you gain weight. It's calories :)
But our body reacts differently to different kinds of calorie intake. Sure ultimately what matters is how many calories you consume, it is just that sugar is easier to overconsume than fat.
DanP said:
Sorry, but this is plain bull.
It is not, try looking it up.
 
  • #144
Klockan3 said:
It is not, try looking it up.

It is. You misunderstood whatever you've read, or your sources are bogus. Get a course in human metabolic integration at a university.
 
  • #145
DanP said:
It is. You misunderstood whatever you've read, or your sources are bogus. Get a course in human metabolic integration at a university.
The sources are too many to just list, just google with some combination of the words "fat sugar obesity" .

But for example this one, I picked it since it seemed the most down to earth:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Added-sweeteners.shtml

By the way, I am really interested what you have studied within this topic since it goes against the current convention.

Edit: Now that I reread my statement I see that it might have come off a bit strongly. Of course it isn't all like that, but it is a fact that sugar barely stills hunger while fat does it very well.
 
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  • #146
Klockan3 said:
By the way, I am really interested what you have studied within this topic since it goes against the current convention.


Human metabolism. As I said, get a course in it, and don't point random articles on internet. After a quarter you will probably know enough to understand the control & integration of CHO fat and protein metabolism to realize that phrases like :

Klockan3 said:
The body have a system for regulating your fat intake by stopping your hunger while we lack such a system for sugar, making the sugar you eat just become extra calories above what you actually need ...

are bull.

You will also understand why some sugars as for example fructose are considered higher risk in development of obesity and in what circumstances.

If you wish to pursue the subject in your own time and you already know a bit of physiology I can recommend you

"Metabolic integration: A human perspective" by K.N Frayn, prof. Human metabolism at Oxford.

Buy the book, study.

There is no point in discussing this subject further at the time being.
 
  • #147
Klockan3 said:
Edit: Now that I reread my statement I see that it might have come off a bit strongly. Of course it isn't all like that, but it is a fact that sugar barely stills hunger while fat does it very well.

Not really. Try to eat bread. Bread contains ~51% CHO. Most humans I know will feel *very* satiated by eating bread. It's the same with many other sugar containing food.

This is only a empirical example, but yeah, should be enough for you. Eat bread. See if you feel full or not :P
 
  • #148
DanP said:
Not really. Try to eat bread. Bread contains ~51% CHO. Most humans I know will feel *very* satiated by eating bread. It's the same with many other sugar containing food.

This is only a empirical example, but yeah, should be enough for you. Eat bread. See if you feel full or not :P
Bread is not sugar, you are talking about carbohydrates. If you think that sugar is all carbohydrates then I see why you talk like you do, but usually sugar do not refer to all carbohydrates...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar
 
  • #149
Klockan3 said:
Bread is not sugar, you are talking about carbohydrates. If you think that sugar is all carbohydrates then I see why you talk like you do, but usually sugar do not refer to all carbohydrates...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar


From a biochemistry point of view, the basic CHO unit is a monosaccharide. Simplest forms of sugars in existence.

Complex carbohydrates are built from covalent bonds between sugar molecules. usually called polysaccharides. Wide used examples are starches and glycogen


Really, man , do audit a university course if you are interested in this subject.
 
  • #150
I get most of my calories from carbohydrates. I think the reason some people think eating carbohydrates doesn't stop you from feeling hungry is simply because they are not used to eating the large volumes of carbohydrates you would need to eat in order to get the same amount of calories they are used to get from fat.


Today I had 1 kg of potatoes and 400 grams of bread. Of course, I ate that with meat , vegetables etc. etc. Most people don't eat such quantitites of food. Potatoes are eaten with some high fat sauce. If you were to serve them the same potato and bread dishes they usually eat and leave out all the fat, they won't be able to eat more than they are used to. Their stomachs are simply too small. What will happen is that after dinner they'll start to feel hungry and they will then want to eat some cake or some other compact high calorie food.
 
  • #151
DanP said:
From a biochemistry point of view, the basic CHO unit is a monosaccharide. Simplest forms of sugars in existence.

Complex carbohydrates are built from covalent bonds between sugar molecules. usually called polysaccharides. Wide used examples are starches and glycogenReally, man , do audit a university course if you are interested in this subject.
I know that, sugar are carbohydrates but that doesn't mean that carbohydrates is sugar. You learn that in mid school, with daily speech you just refer to mono- and disaccharide when you mention sugar. Really, take an English class. Technically you could mean all saccharides but usually you don't. Gee studying nutrition must have made you into an idiot...
Count Iblis said:
I get most of my calories from carbohydrates. I think the reason some people think eating carbohydrates doesn't stop you from feeling hungry is simply because they are not used to eating the large volumes of carbohydrates you would need to eat in order to get the same amount of calories they are used to get from fat.Today I had 1 kg of potatoes and 400 grams of bread. Of course, I ate that with meat , vegetables etc. etc. Most people don't eat such quantitites of food. Potatoes are eaten with some high fat sauce. If you were to serve them the same potato and bread dishes they usually eat and leave out all the fat, they won't be able to eat more than they are used to. Their stomachs are simply too small. What will happen is that after dinner they'll start to feel hungry and they will then want to eat some cake or some other compact high calorie food.
Potatoes don't contain any "sugar" and bread at most got small amounts of it. They contains mostly starch which is a polysaccharide, hence not sugar. They are made by combining a lot of sugar molecules, but they are no longer sugar after that, calling them sugars is like calling sugar alcohol. It is technically correct but it is still extremely wrong. Like, if someone says "Alcohol is bad for you" they don't mean that you should stop eating potatoes.
Edit: Sorry for my harsh tone, posted this 4 o clock in the morning right before I went to bed...
 
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  • #152
notice what is meant here by "high protein". also, this differs from some recent pop media stories about exercise not helping with weight loss in that the study participants are not eating ad lib. when you exercise, control calories, and make some sensible dietary adjustments to retain muscle mass, you get better results.

Diabetes Care. 2010 Feb 11. [Epub ahead of print]
A High Protein Diet With Resistance Exercise Training Improves Weight Loss And Body Composition In Overweight And Obese Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Wycherley TP, Noakes M, Clifton PM, Cleanthous X, Keogh JB, Brinkworth GD.

Preventative Health Flagship, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - Food and Nutritional Sciences, Adelaide, Australia.

Aim: Evaluate the effects of two low fat hypocaloric diets differing in carbohydrate:protein ratio, with and without resistance training (RT), on weight loss, body composition and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk outcomes in overweight/obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: 83 men/women with T2D (age:56.1+/-7.5yrs, BMI:35.4+/-4.6kg/m(2)) were randomly assigned to an isocaloric, energy restricted diet (females:6 MJ/day, males:7 MJ/day) of either standard carbohydrate (CON; carbohydrate:protein:fat, 53:19:26) or high protein (HP; 43:33:22), with or without supervised RT (3d/wk) for 16-wks. Body weight and composition, waist circumference (WC) and cardiometabolic risk markers were assessed. Results: 59 participants completed the study. There was a significant group effect (P</=0.04) for body weight, fat mass and WC with greatest reductions in HP+RT; weight (CON:-8.6+/-4.6kg, HP:-9.0+/-4.8kg, CON+RT:-10.5+/-5.1kg, HP+RT:-13.8+/-6.0kg), fat mass (CON:-6.4+/-3.4kg, HP:-6.7+/-4.0kg, CON+RT:-7.9+/-3.7kg, HP+RT:-11.1+/-3.7kg), WC (CON:-8.2+/-4.6cm, HP:-8.9+/-3.9cm, CON+RT:-11.3+/-4.6cm, HP+RT:-13.7+/-4.6cm). There was an overall reduction (P<0.001) in fat-free mass:-2.0+/-2.3kg, blood pressure:-15/8+/-10/6mmHg, glucose:-2.1+/-2.2 mmol/L, insulin:-4.7+/-5.4mU/L, HbA1c:-1.25+/-0.94%, triglycerides:-0.47+/-0.81mmol/L, total cholesterol:-0.67+/-0.69 mmol/L and LDL-cholesterol:-0.37+/-0.53 mmol/L, with no difference between groups (P>/=0.17). Conclusion: An energy restricted HP diet combined with RT achieved greater weight loss and more favourable changes in body composition. All treatments had similar improvements in glycemic control and CVD risk markers.
 
  • #153
Klockan3 said:
. Technically you could mean all saccharides but usually you don't. Gee studying nutrition must have made you into an idiot...

Technically, you do mean that :P They are saccharides. Sorry, I can't change chemistry to accommodate your wish not to call them saccharides.

The main 3 sugars which are usable by humans for energy production are galactose, glucose and fructose. Probably what you mean as "sugar" is sucrose, which is actually a combination of fructose and glucose. The milk sugar lactose is a combination of glucose and galactose.

Starch and glycogen are glucose polymers nothing else.

No other carbohydrates can be used as a energy source in humans.

Appetite regulation works very well with CHO. (Yes, even with what you term as "sugars". )
It is false to indicate that only fats will trigger appetite regulation.
 
  • #154
If you work out you do not get fat.

Can I have my Nobel prize now?
 
  • #156
DanP said:
It is false to indicate that only fats will trigger appetite regulation.

correct. a lack of protein can also cause overeating of low-protein sources to compensate for the deficiency (protein leverage).
 
  • #158
Maybe I've been going about this all wrong. Here's a woman who has found a way to shed all those negative feelings associated with obesity. Now when she sees a donut, she just goes for it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35549378/"
 
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  • #159
Jimmy Snyder said:
Maybe I've been going about this all wrong. Here's a woman who has found a way to shed all those negative feelings associated with obesity. Now when she sees a donut, she just goes for it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35549378/"

but if she lost weight, she'd not only be a smaller target, but could run faster.
 
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  • #160
Proton Soup said:
but if she lost weight, she'd not only be a smaller target, but could run faster.
This morning I hit bmi 27. I'm still in the lead, but the competition is close behind. I don't know if I can win the prize. Still, I intend to keep on losing weight.
 
  • #161
Does vitamin D help you to lose weight? Since I'm talking 2400 IU daily dose of vitamin D 5 weeks ago, I lost about 0.5 kg weight. I used to weigh about 62 kg and that weight was very constant for two year. Since two weeks or so, I've noticed a systematic lower weight and also some improvement in stamina. After the usual 25 minutes of fast running I'm no longer thinking "end of exercise" and I can go on for ten more minutes. I have to restrain myself a bit, to prevent overtraining.
 
  • #162
Count Iblis said:
Does vitamin D help you to lose weight? Since I'm talking 2400 IU daily dose of vitamin D 5 weeks ago, I lost about 0.5 kg weight. I used to weigh about 62 kg and that weight was very constant for two year. Since two weeks or so, I've noticed a systematic lower weight and also some improvement in stamina. After the usual 25 minutes of fast running I'm no longer thinking "end of exercise" and I can go on for ten more minutes. I have to restrain myself a bit, to prevent overtraining.

news to me, but maybe so

http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/2009/UR_CONTENT_165066.html
 
  • #163
This morning I reached BMI 26. I'm still overweight, but I have only one more BMI to go to reach 25 and the normal range. However I have a slight build so even at BMI 25 I will still carry a large belly.
 
  • #164
Jimmy Snyder said:
I have only one more BMI to go to reach 25 and the normal range. However I have a slight build so even at BMI 25 I will still carry a large belly.

Congratulation man. Do strength training, you need to build significant muscle mass if you are still having a large WHR ratio at a normal BMI.

The human body is quite plastic. You can get the body you want, with determination, consistence and mild effort.
 
  • #165
DanP said:
Congratulation man. Do strength training, you need to build significant muscle mass if you are still having a large WHR ratio at a normal BMI.

The human body is quite plastic. You can get the body you want, with determination, consistence and mild effort.

seconded. the way to avoid skinny/fat syndrome is to do resistance training while cutting calories to maintain more muscle mass. also, the percentage of calories from protein should be increased as was done in that diabetic weight loss article i posted the abstract of.
 
  • #166
Today my bmi dropped to 25. According to this statistic, I am no longer overweight. I went down from a bmi of bmi 30.7, officially obese, back in December. However, I still have a considerable belly that I want to flatten. I am small boned and of slight build. I carry my extra weight in my belly and thighs. I was a skinny kid. When I graduated high school I weighed 31 lbs less than I do now, a bmi of 20. I don't intend to go that low, but I think that bmi 22.5, in the middle of the normal range is not unreasonable. I need to lose 16 more lbs. to do that.
 
  • #167
Today I hit bmi 24. The contest ends on the 27th. I am way ahead of second place and unless I gain weight (I am still losing) I will win.
 
  • #168
Jimmy Snyder said:
Today I hit bmi 24. The contest ends on the 27th. I am way ahead of second place and unless I gain weight (I am still losing) I will win.

Yay!

Just the other day, I was wondering how you were doing.
 
  • #169
Jimmy Snyder said:
Today I hit bmi 24. The contest ends on the 27th. I am way ahead of second place and unless I gain weight (I am still losing) I will win.
Congrats! What do you win besides a hot body?
 
  • #170
Was it National Geographic that recently made the moronic statement obese people are actually GOOD for the environment as their bodies hold more CO2, and that helped against global warming.

It's not rocket science realizing the amount of carbon dioxide expelled in producing all the grain, all the meat, fat and dairy products for those people to turn obese is at least a 1000 times more than an obese man can store in his "body"

Such programs should not be allowed on TV...
 
  • #171
You know folks, it might help sometimes to actually fast. Fasting has sort of gone out of fashion these days, but it was common in earlier times, and is incorporated into many of the world's religions. Fasting for even 48 hours causes growth hormones to be released, which help to control inflammation, promotes muscle over fat deposition, and speeds up healing of damaged tissues. These effects also obtain to some extent when calories are restricted.

See: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060915202236.htm
http://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=fasting+and+growth+hormone&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4L5QKsrGlY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lah7_2car6E&feature=related
 
  • #172
There is a better way - eat more fiber, eat RAW foods, at least those that can be eaten raw, do not cook veggies, that destroys vitamins, drink a lot of water, don't eat white bread but whole grain, don't eat after 8 pm and exercise regularly

Meat is important, especially red meat, as it is the only source of Acetyl-L Carnitine which cannot be synthesized by the body and is one of the few good chemicals that is able to pass the blood-brain barrier plus it is a transport protein for long chain fats, which cannot pass the cell membrane by themselves and thus are very hard to burn.
 
  • #173
Blah, blah, blah, fancy pseudo-scientific 'fitness' advice, blah.

Eat less crap. Eat more veggies. Try to move around more. That's really it. I get ridiculously angry when people start to complicate the hell out of what should be a simple process. If you're a professional body builder, that's one thing, but the chubby chump who just walked out of GNC with hundreds of dollars worth of 'muscle fuel'? Bah!
 
  • #174
dgtech said:
There is a better way - eat more fiber, eat RAW foods, at least those that can be eaten raw, do not cook veggies, that destroys vitamins, drink a lot of water, don't eat white bread but whole grain, don't eat after 8 pm and exercise regularly

Meat is important, especially red meat, as it is the only source of Acetyl-L Carnitine which cannot be synthesized by the body and is one of the few good chemicals that is able to pass the blood-brain barrier plus it is a transport protein for long chain fats, which cannot pass the cell membrane by themselves and thus are very hard to burn.

uh, yeah, everything you said is wrong. cooking can make nutrients more available and we synthesize http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylcarnitine" just fine.
 
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  • #175
Cooking concentrates fats into longer chains which are harder to burn and temperature destroys vitamins. The link you posted actually supports most of the things I said and says nothing about synthesis in the human body.

If anything, it says "INGESTION" which means you eat it, not synthesize it

Humans can synthesize L-carnitine but can't acetylate it, that's what I've been taught at school and if if you have information suggesting otherwise, I'd be happy to fix that eventual educational mistake ;)
 

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