"Americans Exercise More....Obesity Rates Still Climbing"
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I find it incredibly amazing how little people think of the food they put in their bodies (not that I am the god of health conscious eating at all times) However, i am gluten intolerant and that caused quite the shift in lifestyle. I found that mood, weight loss, and over all health were very severely and negatively impacted by certain foods i was eating.
I have a friend who has been having a really hard time with weight gain and chronic fatigue. They will spend hundreds on going to the doctor to run tests but will not do an elimination diet because giving up wine, bread, and cheese is basically the end of the world. I think America has a really toxic love affair with food that no amount of exercise is going to fix.
**Also, not saying everyone has an allergy/intolerance, but gut health is sooo important and i do think there is a correlation.13 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't know what the comparison date was, but if we are going back significant years, I don't think Americans exercise more is true. We may go to the gym more or do things we call "working out" more, but we are likely far less active in our daily lives (on average) even so.
Re CI vs CO, it doesn't make sense to say one side is more important or 80% or whatever. The problem is that if you don't do something (it doesn't have to be counting calories) to control calories in, and if you live in an environment like ours where eating is super easy and cheap, then increasing exercise may just result in eating more. Especially since many think exercise burns more calories than it does and will see that as an excuse to eat more indulgently.
I've lost weight just by increasing exercise, but it happened when my eating was already under control, so I didn't start eating more without realizing it. And I was truly exercising quite a lot (tri training)--many of the studies showing exercise does not help do things like taking someone out of shape and having them walk on a treadmill for an hour, which is both boring (people feel like it was more work than it was, since they hated it, and think they deserve a reward, food) and doesn't burn many calories.
It looks like the report is comparing numbers from Jan-Sept 2017 back to 1997. Given that time frame, it actually doesn't surprise me that physical activity would be up. I'd be curious specifically how many more people work out at home given the rise of free or inexpensive (at least compared to gym membership) online services.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/EarlyRelease201803.pdf
ETA: The charts for "leisure-time physical activity" start on page 43 and show a distinct jump for people meeting the aerobic activity recommendation starting in 2009 with a general upward trend since then. The response for meeting aerobic plus strength recommendations is on page 46 and shows a general upward trend since 1997, although overall numbers are lower.4 -
In complete agreement with the general consensus here - weight loss primarily occurs in the kitchen, not in the gym. I lost over 130 pounds simply by eating fewer calories than I burned combined with regular light exercise; however, I regained nearly half back by failing to manage my food intake even while continuing to remain active. In order to achieve weight loss, it is imperative I utilize portion control and log what I eat.
I take all "calories burned" readings provided by MFP, exercise equipment or fitness apps I use with a grain of salt. I rarely, if ever, eat back exercise calories unless I've really pushed myself outside a typical workout.7 -
The percentages thing needs to stop because that's what leads people to think if they increase exercise, they can offset their poor diet. It's very easy to eat your way out of any deficit exercise creates if you don't know how calories work. Exercise, diet, etc. That's all important criteria for helping a person be their healthiest. But weight loss is 100% calories and if a person doesn't have an understanding of calories, no amount of exercise is going to matter. And yeah, I've had people demand to know what workout I'm doing when they see I've lost weight and I tell them right up front that I don't exercise to lose weight. I eat the appropriate amount of calories to lose weight.8
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MegaMooseEsq wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't know what the comparison date was, but if we are going back significant years, I don't think Americans exercise more is true. We may go to the gym more or do things we call "working out" more, but we are likely far less active in our daily lives (on average) even so.
Re CI vs CO, it doesn't make sense to say one side is more important or 80% or whatever. The problem is that if you don't do something (it doesn't have to be counting calories) to control calories in, and if you live in an environment like ours where eating is super easy and cheap, then increasing exercise may just result in eating more. Especially since many think exercise burns more calories than it does and will see that as an excuse to eat more indulgently.
I've lost weight just by increasing exercise, but it happened when my eating was already under control, so I didn't start eating more without realizing it. And I was truly exercising quite a lot (tri training)--many of the studies showing exercise does not help do things like taking someone out of shape and having them walk on a treadmill for an hour, which is both boring (people feel like it was more work than it was, since they hated it, and think they deserve a reward, food) and doesn't burn many calories.
It looks like the report is comparing numbers from Jan-Sept 2017 back to 1997. Given that time frame, it actually doesn't surprise me that physical activity would be up. I'd be curious specifically how many more people work out at home given the rise of free or inexpensive (at least compared to gym membership) online services.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/EarlyRelease201803.pdf
ETA: The charts for "leisure-time physical activity" start on page 43 and show a distinct jump for people meeting the aerobic activity recommendation starting in 2009 with a general upward trend since then. The response for meeting aerobic plus strength recommendations is on page 46 and shows a general upward trend since 1997, although overall numbers are lower.
Just have to take into consideration the CDC recommendation sets a pretty low bar. Without looking believe it's 30 minutes of walking 5 days a week and a couple strength training sessions.
Not enough to burn off a couple 20 oz pops a day3 -
I see this thinking every day at work. My co-workers are always on fitness challenges, counting steps, thats all they talk about. And they don’t lose weight. I don’t participate in their challenges. I count calories (I never talk about it at work). I have lost over 60 pounds. Most people just don’t seem to get it that it’s mostly about what you eat.9
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I had no idea that exercise alone would not help me lose weight. When I first started on my journey I figured I could cut out soda and hit the gym every day and that would be enough. After a couple of weeks of no change I hired a personal trainer to show me the "real" exercises that would make me lose weight. He had me track my food on here for a few days. He looked at my diary and very frankly said "you'll never get what you want if you continue to eat this way. It does not matter what we do here. You'll feel better working out but you absolutely will not get the results you're looking for. You need the calorie deficit to lose." It was the big ah ha moment for me and I felt so stupid for not understanding!24
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The first thing my trainer usually asks me when he sees me is, "how's your nutrition?"12
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Packerjohn wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't know what the comparison date was, but if we are going back significant years, I don't think Americans exercise more is true. We may go to the gym more or do things we call "working out" more, but we are likely far less active in our daily lives (on average) even so.
Re CI vs CO, it doesn't make sense to say one side is more important or 80% or whatever. The problem is that if you don't do something (it doesn't have to be counting calories) to control calories in, and if you live in an environment like ours where eating is super easy and cheap, then increasing exercise may just result in eating more. Especially since many think exercise burns more calories than it does and will see that as an excuse to eat more indulgently.
I've lost weight just by increasing exercise, but it happened when my eating was already under control, so I didn't start eating more without realizing it. And I was truly exercising quite a lot (tri training)--many of the studies showing exercise does not help do things like taking someone out of shape and having them walk on a treadmill for an hour, which is both boring (people feel like it was more work than it was, since they hated it, and think they deserve a reward, food) and doesn't burn many calories.
It looks like the report is comparing numbers from Jan-Sept 2017 back to 1997. Given that time frame, it actually doesn't surprise me that physical activity would be up. I'd be curious specifically how many more people work out at home given the rise of free or inexpensive (at least compared to gym membership) online services.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/EarlyRelease201803.pdf
ETA: The charts for "leisure-time physical activity" start on page 43 and show a distinct jump for people meeting the aerobic activity recommendation starting in 2009 with a general upward trend since then. The response for meeting aerobic plus strength recommendations is on page 46 and shows a general upward trend since 1997, although overall numbers are lower.
Just have to take into consideration the CDC recommendation sets a pretty low bar. Without looking believe it's 30 minutes of walking 5 days a week and a couple strength training sessions.
Not enough to burn off a couple 20 oz pops a day
Sure, and I am in no way surprised at the lack of connection between meeting fitness guidelines and weight management. It's still good for other health-measures to meet a minimum exercise standard. I aimed for the CDC recommendation when I was first getting into exercising and even that low bar made a huge difference in how I felt. That said, the post I was responding to wasn't talking about the weight connection but was skeptical about whether Americans were actually exercising more.2 -
I did no exercising whatsoever when I lost my 80 lbs--diet only. It's all about food.6
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By exercising more, people are getting heavier. BMI makes no distinction between muscle mass and fat, so “obesity” (and by that they nearly always mean “overweight or above”) goes up.
I think it is people that are in denial. They claim to exercise more than they do and they have no idea how much they are overeating in calories. This turns into I diet all the time and exercise all the time. The scale doesn't lie though. My observation is that people are eating fattening calorie dense crap, yes I look in their shopping carts. Yes a lot of people exercise these days but they are outpaced by the overeaters. Added muscle mass couldn't possibly account for the trend the OP was talking about.6 -
Fitnessmom82 wrote: »He looked at my diary and very frankly said "you'll never get what you want if you continue to eat this way. It does not matter what we do here. You'll feel better working out but you absolutely will not get the results you're looking for. You need the calorie deficit to lose." It was the big ah ha moment for me and I felt so stupid for not understanding!
Ironically enough, the fitness (and Big Diet) industry obfuscates this most important fact.
As is said here often: (paraphrased) "It's not easy to lose weight, but it is simple".
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quiksylver296 wrote: »
Story of my life. No kidding.10 -
By exercising more, people are getting heavier. BMI makes no distinction between muscle mass and fat, so “obesity” (and by that they nearly always mean “overweight or above”) goes up.
Nah, brosky. Not in this instance. VERY muscle heavy, athletic people are more likely to be "overweight" on BMI but definitely not obese.
You can definitely hit obese if you max out your muscle. Clinically it starts at 30 BMI I believe, which for a guy at 5'9" is like 200lbs. Max muscle potential at like a bodybuilding competition level of lean is like 170-190lbs or so, if you throw another 8-10% BF on that to bring it up into the 12-15% range then you're looking at lower 200lbs range, or clinically obese.
Then if you consider the people that are in the gym to lift and get strong, but that haven't also left themselves just get blatantly fat, those guys are often in the 15%-20% range, at which points it's almost certain they will be obese. I doubt there are many decent competitive amateur (hopefully drug free) powerlifters, bodybuilding, strongmen, or certain sports such as football or aspect of track and feel that aren't obese.
That said, that's a pretty small niche compared to everyone at large, and in that population you're spot on. For 99% of people, they aren't going to get anywhere near the obese category until their BF percentage goes above 20%, which is getting decidedly heavy anyway.6 -
People typically exercise 30 minutes then go to smoothie king and have a 500 calorie shake 'for recovery'. Or something.
Seriously though - people still believe that my 15k average steps let me eat what I want without gaining weight. Yeah... no.13 -
Tblackdogs wrote: »I am constantly amazed on this site by the amount of calories people "claim" to have burned by exercise. I'm sorry, but most people (especially older women) are not burning 1000 calories from an hour and half of exercise. I went on a 100 mile hike in New Mexico, and I didn't lose a pound, even when hiking 10 plus miles a day with a 45 pack on my back.
I have a friend (on a different account) who logs "1,063 calories doing 56 minutes of Elliptical Trainer" once or twice a week. Always the same calories, always the same minutes. I've thought so many times about saying something, for well intentioned-wanting to help reasons, but have decided most people don't like to be corrected on these things and it'd fall on deaf ears anyway...
Those elliptical calorie burns are just evil. Before I got my Apple Watch I thought I was burning 300 calories every 30 minutes because the elliptical told me I burned that much. I got the watch and put it on the elliptical workout and only get 153 for 30 minutes. My heart rate is 110-140 during the workout. I weigh 165 and am 5’8”. I did it today and felt exhausted afterwards and only burned 150 calories! That will cover eating a Fiber One Protein bar. Not much extra eating with that workout. Those extra calories will keep me from “starving”, but it won’t drop a lot of weight.9 -
In 1998, the BMI changed. https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890841/
Now, your BMI was 30 or higher, you were considered obese. My husband weighs 210 and is 5'9" and he's not obese. I'm 5'7" and 272 lbs. and I can be considered MORBIDLY obese. I have no CPAP machine, no oxygen, and I don't even snore. I have no back problems (fingers crossed) with my petsitting job I get plenty of exercise (I'll do more focused exercise at the gym) and having a pitbull lunging and having to carry him away (90 lbs. of dog).
The shopping cart has been a little healthier lately, but I have Cheetos, potato chips, and chocolate cake (for my husband's birthday!).
Getting more exercise to me, I have a healthy part in my life. Even if I didn't have very healthy habits, I exercised. I do enough exercise and I will be considering what I eat. I know that I eat about 1500-1700 calories when I am exercising. I fight away my depression and even lingering effects of my stroke with my exercise.
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You can't outrun a bad diet.4
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I do think it's diet but I also think it's about consistency. Everyone knows someone who is gung ho in the beginning. They join a gym, take zumba, begin running, etc and then life happens. Personal family problems, working late, etc.5
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candylilacs wrote: »In 1998, the BMI changed. https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890841/
Now, your BMI was 30 or higher, you were considered obese. My husband weighs 210 and is 5'9" and he's not obese. I'm 5'7" and 272 lbs. and I can be considered MORBIDLY obese. I have no CPAP machine, no oxygen, and I don't even snore. I have no back problems (fingers crossed) with my petsitting job I get plenty of exercise (I'll do more focused exercise at the gym) and having a pitbull lunging and having to carry him away (90 lbs. of dog).
The shopping cart has been a little healthier lately, but I have Cheetos, potato chips, and chocolate cake (for my husband's birthday!).
Getting more exercise to me, I have a healthy part in my life. Even if I didn't have very healthy habits, I exercised. I do enough exercise and I will be considering what I eat. I know that I eat about 1500-1700 calories when I am exercising. I fight away my depression and even lingering effects of my stroke with my exercise.
Unfortunately IMO, you're operating under the size distortion that is rampant in the US. Unless your husband is a big time weight trainer, his BMI as well as bodyfat % would put him in the obese category.
I'm 6'2", 205 so 26.1 BMI (overweight category by BMI). I've been lifting for 40+ years, somewhere in the upper teens bodyfat and I'm trying to recomp a bit to keep the weight and lower BF%.11
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