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I have to agree with UserID. The rapid increase of obesity in this country coincides very closely to the increase in food technologies, not to mention watching obesity rates rise wherever across the seas the western diet travels. This suggest to me the proper way to treat an obese person is first correct diet and activity level and if this does not help then start looking for underlying issues. I also agree information is difficult to come by as there is a lot of misinformation on theinternet and also very few people providing information without agenda.
That being said there is a possibility eating disorders and other phenomenon outside of proper diet/exercise is at work, in this case referring to epigenetic changes where eating habits of parents and higher exposures to chemicals may be switching genes off and on in the newborn children, predisposing them to obesity. There is a lot to understand still about the science of obesity so I hesitate before pointing fingers at the food industry and the poor educational policies of the government, but I'm almost there
For me I would have absolutely no time or desire to be obese. I would not have lived to be the age I am now at 63. if I ever allowed such a thing to happen. With having Diabetes for 80% of my lifetime now. I would have been dead decades ago if I didn't take care of myself. I could be lazy and I could be depressed and eat myself into being overweight, but my outcome would have been quite different than the obese person. For me it would have been a death sentence for not being able to control glucose.
So I guess I do have some difficulty in understanding people when I see so many eat so poorly. Even when weight has taken over their life. I apologize for that but understand it is difficult for long term Diabetics especially those like me. People that have been Diabetics from a young age, understand why don't these people make some effort concerning thier eating and exercise habits. Even a little bit would help. If I didn't personally know so many that live a life of obesity then perhaps I could have more sympathy. I just know so many that don't seem to care at all. I hate to say it but I just don't enjoy their company at all, when food and mindset about it is concerned. .
Today I will walk to an from my part time job. It is an 8 hour shift today. A job that is a physical job not one where I sit at a desk. It is a little over a mile each way and it will be 111 degrees here in Metro Phoenix. So I can understand not everyone doing that, but again I just don't understand why so much leniency is put on people with obesity. If I can take such an undertaking then why can't others get out and take care of themself better. My sister says its because I just have a more of an active personality than many especially my age. That I have always been that way. I don't know but I can't imagine turning into what I see every day. Obese retirees in golf carts. Many with their children and grandchildren visiting that are just as obese. It is very sad especially the grandchildren.
Much of the problem is the person themself. If they are eating poorly and never exercising and prefer to live like that. Then obesity can be deemed a disease forever by the Medical world, but I'm sorry some of that fault is on the person themself. Take a walk, eat a healthy meal at least when you can. Which should be frequently. Join a gym if you can. Read up on controlling weight and staying fit. See a doctor about controlling this problem. Just do something. There is absolutely no excuse for the extent of obesity in this country. I still feel it is a symptom of other problems. A very depressed nation that is either overwhelmed by life here, or just gave up somewhere along the line.
If you go on eating disorder statistic sites or health sites such as Cleveland Clinic it gives those percentages.
What "eating disorder statistic sites"? Do you have a citation for the statistic you cited? According to the below, the number of people with eating disorders is approximately 24 million. But that includes all eating disorders, not just binge eating. The obesity rate in the US, for all ages, is around 30% so that is around 100 million people. So the percent of obese individuals with binge eating disorders would be fairly low.
That being said there is a possibility eating disorders and other phenomenon outside of proper diet/exercise is at work, in this case referring to epigenetic changes where eating habits of parents and higher exposures to chemicals may be switching genes off and on in the newborn children, predisposing them to obesity.
Not so sure about the chemical, but I do suspect that how the parents (especially the mother) eat effects the children in fairly deep ways. From my experience people that were lean as children and gained weight as adults have a much easier time becoming lean again than people that were overweight as children (which is usually correlated with having overweight parents).
I am not going to go back and forth. On the ANAD site for eating disorders it says 1 in 35 adults suffers
from binge eating disorder. Really to me it does not matter the amount of people what matter is I think people judge a book by its cover so to speak. When someone sees an overweight person they automatically think they just sit around and eat junk food. In some that may be true and some may have a medical problems whether it be mental or physical or both. I don't think people should blame the food industry or television though. People may not know what is healthy or not in some instances but when it gets extreme and a person is consuming large amount of fast food or bags of cookies in my opinion they know that is contributing their weight problem
When someone sees an overweight person they automatically think they just sit around and eat junk food. In some that may be true and some may have a medical problems whether it be mental or physical or both.
They often do and that is because, in the vast majority of cases, their weight is related to their overall lifestyle and not some rare genetic condition or a mental disorder.
Also, you seem to be conflating what people think about obesity as a whole (e.g., what is causing the recent surge in obesity?) with what people think about individuals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaniellaG
I don't think people should blame the food industry or television though. People may not know what is healthy or not in some instances but when it gets extreme and a person is consuming large amount of fast food or bags of cookies in my opinion they know that is contributing their weight problem
Why shouldn't you blame the food industry? The food industry spends hundreds of millions a year trying to convince people to eat their foods, almost all of which are bad for you. They target children, they manipulate nutritional guidelines, etc.....how are they not blameworthy?
Targeting "fast food" is part of the problem, I think, fast foods are really no worse than most of the foods on grocery store shelves, nor is it any worse than the food served in restaurants. Most of what people cook at home is also bad for you. The problem is that almost all the most readily available foods and the most marketed foods are bad for you. For example, eating a veggie burrito bowl (brown rice, black beans, veggies, corn, avocado, etc) at Chipotle is much better for you than what most people cook at home. Yet...its fast food. Even some of the worst fast food places have at least moderately healthy options, for example Carl's Jr has a BBQ chicken sandwich with no added mayo, etc which you can get with a side salad. But these options are after thoughts for these restaurants, their marketing is all focused on their huge fatty burgers.
They often do and that is because, in the vast majority of cases, their weight is related to their overall lifestyle and not some rare genetic condition or a mental disorder.
Also, you seem to be conflating what people think about obesity as a whole (e.g., what is causing the recent surge in obesity?) with what people think about individuals.
Why shouldn't you blame the food industry? The food industry spends hundreds of millions a year trying to convince people to eat their foods, almost all of which are bad for you. They target children, they manipulate nutritional guidelines, etc.....how are they not blameworthy?
Targeting "fast food" is part of the problem, I think, fast foods are really no worse than most of the foods on grocery store shelves, nor is it any worse than the food served in restaurants. Most of what people cook at home is also bad for you. The problem is that almost all the most readily available foods and the most marketed foods are bad for you. For example, eating a veggie burrito bowl (brown rice, black beans, veggies, corn, avocado, etc) at Chipotle is much better for you than what most people cook at home. Yet...its fast food. Even some of the worst fast food places have at least moderately healthy options, for example Carl's Jr has a BBQ chicken sandwich with no added mayo, etc which you can get with a side salad. But these options are after thoughts for these restaurants, their marketing is all focused on their huge fatty burgers.
I completely agree but in our capitalistic society it is difficult to blame someone who just wants to put out the best product that has the highest demand, and of course if that person doesn't do it someone else will! As strange as this is going to sound I think a lot of blame should be put on the economy and the horrible government policy that has led us to a time where the average American is putting in more hours at work and making less for it. The true key to being healthy is putting enough time aside to learn to cook, get exercise, learn about nutrition, etc, etc... all of which takes time. But it is free time that is declining in this country and what little free time we have is usually taken by entertainment, a needed aspect of our lives to disperse the stress built up from everything else. So there you have it, the true cause of obesity
I completely agree but in our capitalistic society it is difficult to blame someone who just wants to put out the best product that has the highest demand, and of course if that person doesn't do it someone else will! As strange as this is going to sound I think a lot of blame should be put on the economy and the horrible government policy that has led us to a time where the average American is putting in more hours at work and making less for it.
If marketing didn't exist and the demand for these products was all organic, I suppose it would make a lost less sense to blame industry. But the demand isn't organic, its been manufactured and the industry spends hundreds of millions each year on creating demand for its products. But, and this is something I don't think most people get or believe, their efforts go far beyond classic marketing efforts. The industry discovered decades ago that it could promote its products by manipulating government policy, paying for product placement in shows/movies, and even paying cook book authors (including those on tv) to use particular ingredients. People watch things like the food network not realizing that its one big commercial.....
But yeah, obviously government policy has a lot to do with. The government could ban all the covert marketing, ban the marketing of foods directly to children, etc. It could improve food labeling etc. Lots of things the government could do...if it was really "for the people".
Even if the food industry targets you with bad food doesn't mean you should put it in your mouth.
Asfar as being taught nutrition,not really buying that one either.
We were taught in school good food and bad food. I remember being showed a food chart in Kindergarden with fruit and veggies on it.
I think the problem may be too MUCH INCORRECT information circulating on the internet.
For example,one article I may read may say low carb diets cause you to lose more wt,then another one that says it can cause kidney problems.
Another article will say low calorie is the way to go.
We even have people now who tell anyone dieting to not exercise.
Gary Taubes cough cough.
Many people will listen to that guy,and I'm not sure why when he isn't even a doctor.
Asfar as being taught nutrition,not really buying that one either.
We were taught in school good food and bad food. I remember being showed a food chart in Kindergarden with fruit and veggies on it.
The information provided to kids in schools is largely determined by the food industry, its extremely poor information and doesn't teach them much about what is good vs bad. Not to mention that the schools serve kids poor quality foods, school lunches should be the primary vehicle used to educate students about healthy eating...but we serve them totter totes, greasy pizzas, chocolate milk, etc.
I mentioned an example before, milk is heavily promoted in the public school system yet its a fatty and sugary drink that will promote obesity. You may as well promote snickers bars.
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