Blaming individuals for obesity may be altogether wrong...

kevinjb1

I've enjoyed reading everyone opinions on here, and we can talk about genetics, chemicals in in our food/ the environment, and McDonalds all we want, but it doesn't change the fact that each individual is responsible for their own body. I'm not saying those things aren't factors, but the main factor will always be daily caloric intake against caloric expenditure. If these new environmental factors were main causes then everyone would be overweight. Since they aren't I have to believe they aren't the main culprits. Their existance may make it easier for some to gain weight, and it may be making it harder for any of us to lose it once we've gained it, but not impossible.

When I joined MFP I decided I would eat as I normally do for a week and see just how far off I was from losing weight. Before I joined I thought I was going "ok" and probably just needed to exercise a little more. I couldn't have been more wrong. 2200-2500 calories during the week and 3000+ a day on the weekends. At 225 pounds I should have been eating 1580 a day to lose two pounds a week. So basically what I thought was "dieting" through the week was actually eating at or a little above maintenance and any gains I may have had during the week were blown on the weekends.

So now I eat less and exercise more and the weight has come off. 30 pounds worth.

jonnythan

Here's a little blurb on this topic I just wrote to a friend I was having a similar conversation with:


You've also never been fat! It is something I've been thinking about from a public health perspective more and more, though. One of the things I've been considering lately is that the public health aspects of increasing population obesity are very counter to how an individual should think about things. People are getting fatter because it's becoming easier, cheaper, tastier, and more convenient to get loads of calories. So, from a societal perspective, we can point to fast food, sugar, etc. as the causes for obesity rates. However, from an individual perspective, fast food, sugar, etc. don't cause obesity. Overeating is what causes obesity. The answer for an individual to lose weight is to eat less (and ideally exercise more, though that's not a requirement for weight loss). Fast food and sugar and refined carbs and the other little nutrition hobgoblins make it easier to overeat, but the answer is not to eliminate all the hobgoblins. It's to eliminate the actual cause, which is overeating.

So by demonizing the things that contribute to obesity rates in society, we focus attention on the wrong things for the overweight individual and basically set them up for massive failure.

Hendrix7

Interesting read, I don't think anyone is denying there are multiple factors involved in the increased weight of the nation but to many people are going to look at that a go 'great I knew it wasn't my fault' and shift the blame,

Stress, poor sleep, exposure to fast food advertising, living in a household with poor eating habits - I have all of those things to deal with as well yet I CHOOSE to watch what it eat and work my *kitten* off at the gym 4 days per week.

I accept that they are factors but to suggest they are bigger factors than tHe lifestyle an individual has chosen for them selves is the only thing that is 'hilarious'

Please stop with the 'oh if it were that easy everyone would be thin nonsense' news flash for ya, it's not meant to be easy. Cooking an preparing food, counting macros, lifting weights every week no matter rain or shine or how tired your feel or how busy you are, it's not 'easy' but that's what separates people who actually want it and people who think they want it but would rather find excuses

Take some responsibility

And in regards to the article, there actually has been a lot of reseach done that looks at microbacteria in the intestines of obese people and "normal" sized people and there is a difference. I do think that there are some interesting ideas for environmental causes that could overall shift our likelihood of obesity.

Do these differences exist from birth or are they in fact a result of being obese?

Yes, yes. Everyone gets your point. It's been said a billion times. You can lose weight despite adversity. Hooray for you! But not everyone is like you or has the same things to overcome. You're genetically unique with your own unique environment. Saying "I can do it and so can you!" is a pretty weak argument. However, yes, the basics do work well for most people in the short term. The key really is keeping off the weight.

this is where we fundamentally disagree. I am not genetically unique and outside of medical conditions, neither are you.

I have been in the gym I would estimate 4-5 hours per week every week for last 3-4 years, that's over 1000 hours of intense exercise.

Are you really trying to tell me the reason i'm in ok shape and another person is overweight is genetics?

Hard work triumphs over genetics. every. single. time. (again outside of medical issues etc)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19615307

Again, are these differences there from birth are are they the result of being overweight/an unhealthy lifestyle? If it's the latter, then your point is really irrelevant.

anemoneprose

Here's a little blurb on this topic I just wrote to a friend I was having a similar conversation with:


You've also never been fat! It is something I've been thinking about from a public health perspective more and more, though. One of the things I've been considering lately is that the public health aspects of increasing population obesity are very counter to how an individual should think about things. People are getting fatter because it's becoming easier, cheaper, tastier, and more convenient to get loads of calories. So, from a societal perspective, we can point to fast food, sugar, etc. as the causes for obesity rates. However, from an individual perspective, fast food, sugar, etc. don't cause obesity. Overeating is what causes obesity. The answer for an individual to lose weight is to eat less (and ideally exercise more, though that's not a requirement for weight loss). Fast food and sugar and refined carbs and the other little nutrition hobgoblins make it easier to overeat, but the answer is not to eliminate all the hobgoblins. It's to eliminate the actual cause, which is overeating.

So by demonizing the things that contribute to obesity rates in society, we focus attention on the wrong things for the overweight individual and basically set them up for massive failure.

This is a very good point. People hear about larger causes (still causes, though; will argue that 'eating too much' is still both an individual & social artefact) and freak out because they sound like 'excuses', and seeing them this way can make the task of psyching yourself up for calorie monitoring, etc. more difficult. I agree with you, people need to focus on what they have to do *for themselves*.

But, sometimes, people get discouraged, if they find themselves overwhelmed by the combo of their metabolism + societal cues etc. - one vulnerable moment, & they find themselves overeating. And they blame themselves for it, rather than those other powerful forces. And maybe they give up altogether, or punish themselves with lower calorie goals than makes sense for them.

When that happens, I think, it might help to 1) remember that it's a tough battle to fight; 2) logically analyze the variables contributing to a 'binge' (vs get emotional about it, which is what people do), and 3) build up more armour (i.e., refine knowledge; seek info & support here, for example, re preventing the state of vulnerability in the first place - because collectively the hacks here for that are really a great arsenal).

e.g. "no, it's not all my fault that I ate too much - it's not because I'm 'weak' and doomed to failure. I am strong! But I need to arm myself better".

Another reason it's useful for people to stay on top of the larger contributing factors is, it might politicize them, a bit, at least to the extent that they might write a letter to a company or public representative, or spread further awareness so more people call for e.g. fair listing of nutritional content, etc etc. & in the longer term, if change happens as a result, this helps them, too.