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NYT article about obesity stating it's genetic, not lack of willpower
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If it were genetics, why do we now have more obesity than 20 years ago?
Good point. But if it was willpower, then why do we apparently have much less willpower than 20 years ago?
And why do I apparently have much less willpower than I did 20 years ago? But more than I did four years ago, when I was heavier?
I think it has to be mixture of genetics and other factors. I find it difficult to believe it's just down to a massive decrease in the population's willpower.
We never had willpower: we just didn't have as many vending machines, deliveries, and drive thrus4 -
Not so sure the fast food and drive throughs are the culprit. I gained 50 pounds over three years of eating all fresh whole home prepared foods, no junk food or deserts! Lol! and lost it by using mfp to log calories and following a deficit of 200 to 250 calories down from my tdee for 8 - 9 months.
Its not the times, its us.0 -
cmriverside wrote: »
evolution takes generations and natural selection even longer, like in the 100's if not 1000's of years to show up.
Adaptation is more like 100's and it's 1000's to 10000's of years for evolution. Our species has only been around around 200 years and we haven't really evolved much but we have adapted.1 -
A lot of things have changed in 20 years. One is cheap unhealthy food is getting cheaper, healthy food more expensive...at least by comparison. "Food deserts" are a thing--areas of poverty where access to good quality healthy food is minimal.
I think the big change is media use. In the 1970s, yeah kids watched TV but we went out to play. Kids in big cities played on the streets...and this is 1970s which had higher crime rates. Now, unless a child is enrolled in soccer after school they are likely inside playing video games. There are no neighborhood kids to play with...there are fewer stay at home parents and thus the kids are in daycare or after-school programs.
Parents are often commuting or working, both of which take time out of the day that could be spent taking a walk or something.1 -
I believe the premise to be true, but not the way it was portrayed. Yes, for the morbidly obese a big part is genetic, and no, willpower is not the best way to handle it. Let me explain.
I personally believe that I'm evolutionally gifted. When I eat, I need larger amounts of food for my satiety hormones to kick in than many naturally thin people. When I'm overfull, I'm capable of eating beyond fullness when many thin people would feel physically ill. When I do a hard workout, I unconsciously reduce my NEAT so my expenditure is nearly identical to a day where I do no deliberate exercise, and when I overeat I don't unconsciously increase my NEAT like many naturally people thin do. When I undereat, I move less as well. I could have sworn that I move just the same, but gadgets don't usually make up step counts randomly. Fats don't fill me up, so I'm capable of overeating them without an unconscious reduction in my overall calories.
Basically, I have all the mindless automatic mechanisms that favor fat storage, and few to none of the mindless mechanisms that favor equilibrium at a lower weight. I've won the genetic lottery for famine survival. You rarely cross the 300 pound line unless you're as lucky as I am. There is a reason some people's "fat" self hovers at overweight while others leap head first into super morbid obesity, living in the same world of abundance and convenience.
Do I believe I'm doomed? Not really, no. I do believe that I have more challenges to overcome because I will need to be consciously watching for my unconscious tendencies, and would need to maintain at nearly half of my previous calories. I also firmly believe that willpower and white knuckling it would not produce lasting results in most cases. Willpower and motivation are fleeting resources. I got here because I mindlessly favor weight gain, so I need to build strategies that mindlessly favor maintaining a healthy weight. The two things that come to mind that would help take some brain work out of the process are habits and environment modifications. Coupled with a sustainable system for damage control and mindful attention to food and activity without it turning into an overwhelming mess, that's basically my holy grail. Take as much brain work out of it as possible, and make the rest pleasantly sustainable.9 -
During war, obese people didn't exist. it all the convenient prepackaged and cheap food ready available, we eat too much and the wrong food too....and we don't move walk eccetera......in the 50 they were all slim.....so what happen ? Do the genetic changed ? I don't think so.......2
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During war, obese people didn't exist. it all the convenient prepackaged and cheap food ready available, we eat too much and the wrong food too....and we don't move walk eccetera......in the 50 they were all slim.....so what happen ? Do the genetic changed ? I don't think so.......
The prevalence of food and variety of food choices as well as the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of individuals has been discussed in this thread as likely being a large contributor to obesity. What are the "wrong foods" you refer to?5 -
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Carlos_421 wrote: »
Pfft, I know better. I've seen Zombieland.
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During war, obese people didn't exist. it all the convenient prepackaged and cheap food ready available, we eat too much and the wrong food too....and we don't move walk eccetera......in the 50 they were all slim.....so what happen ? Do the genetic changed ? I don't think so.......
My grandparents/great-grandparents/great-uncles/uncles/parents were/are all overweight/obese-they must have not gotten the 'no one was fat during war/the 50s' memo
And what is a 'wrong' food? Because weight loss, weight gain, and weight maintenance comes down to CICO. Do we seriously have to revisit the Twinkie guy again?3 -
WinoGelato wrote: »During war, obese people didn't exist. it all the convenient prepackaged and cheap food ready available, we eat too much and the wrong food too....and we don't move walk eccetera......in the 50 they were all slim.....so what happen ? Do the genetic changed ? I don't think so.......
The prevalence of food and variety of food choices as well as the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of individuals has been discussed in this thread as likely being a large contributor to obesity. What are the "wrong foods" you refer to?
Personally in my case "wrong foods" are Processed Carbs. With effort I can gain weight eating No processed foods but my total carbs have to be > 50 grams daily.
The energy in the carbs may not be the direct issue but for some reason eating more than 50 grams of carbs daily drives my appetite out of control.
After two years I know in my case carbs is what trips me up. LCHF gives me great lab results and stopped all high blood pressure and fasting blood glucose health concerns for two years now.
Plus this WOE manages my pain well and yields a better mental and emotional state of mind which puts a smile on my face and those who have to live and work with me.
Genetics and will power may be factors in humans we all can agree.1 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »During war, obese people didn't exist. it all the convenient prepackaged and cheap food ready available, we eat too much and the wrong food too....and we don't move walk eccetera......in the 50 they were all slim.....so what happen ? Do the genetic changed ? I don't think so.......
The prevalence of food and variety of food choices as well as the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of individuals has been discussed in this thread as likely being a large contributor to obesity. What are the "wrong foods" you refer to?
Personally in my case "wrong foods" are Processed Carbs. With effort I can gain weight eating No processed foods but my total carbs have to be > 50 grams daily.
So you believe that in many or most traditional cultures, eating traditional foods (or how we did in the US in the 1940s or 1950s) you would have been obese? Even if you had to be active in your daily life, etc.
Hmm.
Then you would have been an outlier and apparently the argument that we wouldn't have been fat in the '40s and '50s isn't accurate.1 -
Back in my college days a medium pizza and large cheesy breadsticks was not an uncommon meal for me. But I played basketball for 3-4 hours every night, lifted weights every morning, and went for a run around lunch time. I was very active. Instead of putting weight on my freshman year, I lost 10 pounds.
As I've gotten older my calorie intake has reduced, but my activity level has gone from one extreme to the other. I enjoy eating junk food; chips, candy bars, soda, etc. I am overweight because I choose Netflix over a run, potato chips over an apple, and soda over water. My being overweight is 100% due to my decisions.
This is my story, it has nothing to do with genetics and I'm certain that I am not the only one.5 -
I think the biggest factor in obesity is the GMO's in our food, honestly. Countries without GMO's don't have these large-scale obesity problems. That being said, modern humans eat way too much food and don't get enough exercise. I'm not talking about going to the gym, I'm talking about just walking more daily. When I lived in Europe or even in NYC for that matter, I walked everywhere - to the corner store, to the train, to the bus, to the grocery store. And in those kinds of neighborhoods, you don't see the same obesity rates you see elsewhere.0
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I think the biggest factor in obesity is the GMO's in our food, honestly. Countries without GMO's don't have these large-scale obesity problems. That being said, modern humans eat way too much food and don't get enough exercise. I'm not talking about going to the gym, I'm talking about just walking more daily. When I lived in Europe or even in NYC for that matter, I walked everywhere - to the corner store, to the train, to the bus, to the grocery store. And in those kinds of neighborhoods, you don't see the same obesity rates you see elsewhere.
GMO food has more calories than regular food?9 -
I think the biggest factor in obesity is the GMO's in our food, honestly. Countries without GMO's don't have these large-scale obesity problems. That being said, modern humans eat way too much food and don't get enough exercise. I'm not talking about going to the gym, I'm talking about just walking more daily. When I lived in Europe or even in NYC for that matter, I walked everywhere - to the corner store, to the train, to the bus, to the grocery store. And in those kinds of neighborhoods, you don't see the same obesity rates you see elsewhere.
Do you have any studies to back this up? I think this is the first time I've ever heard of GMOs being blamed for weight gain.6 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »
GMO food has more calories than regular food?
No, they don't contain more calories. There has been research on rats fed GMO's and rats not fed GMO's. The rats who were fed the GMO's consumed more calories than the ones not fed them. Their appetites were larger and so they ate more than their counterparts not fed any food containing GMO's. They also were not able to digest the GMO food as well as the non-GMO food, further causing weight gain than just the additional calories craved. I don't really buy ANY of the statements from the FDA that say that GMO's are perfectly safe. Countries all over the world are doing research that states otherwise. Obesity rates started rising quickly as soon as GMO's were introduced to our food. It's not a coincidence. And I believe the US wants us to be overweight, honestly. Obesity is big business and great for the economy.1 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »
GMO food has more calories than regular food?
No, they don't contain more calories. There has been research on rats fed GMO's and rats not fed GMO's. The rats who were fed the GMO's consumed more calories than the ones not fed them. Their appetites were larger and so they ate more than their counterparts not fed any food containing GMO's. They also were not able to digest the GMO food as well as the non-GMO food, further causing weight gain than just the additional calories craved. I don't really buy ANY of the statements from the FDA that say that GMO's are perfectly safe. Countries all over the world are doing research that states otherwise. Obesity rates started rising quickly as soon as GMO's were introduced to our food. It's not a coincidence. And I believe the US wants us to be overweight, honestly. Obesity is big business and great for the economy.
So how do you explain all the people who eat GMO foods and aren't overweight or obese, and are in good health?
Also, can you post links to the studies you're referring to so we can take a look at them thanks!1 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »
So how do you explain all the people who eat GMO foods and aren't overweight or obese, and are in good health?
Also, can you post links to the studies you're referring to so we can take a look at them thanks!
I don't believe it affects everyone, as I do believe genetics are involved as well. Here are some articles on the studies if you want to read up on it:
prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/gmo-foods-linked-weight-gain
naturalsociety.com/how-gmo-foods-feed-junk-food-profits-not-the-world/
sciencenordic.com/growing-fatter-gm-diet
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3133759/1
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