The Men Who Made Us Thin (BBC link)

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  • Seesawboomerang
    Seesawboomerang Posts: 296 Member
    It's the word 'diet' I think is the problem. The mentality of depriving yourself.

    An awareness for life of how to treat your body well - cannot be a bad thing.

    Looking always for the magic pill, the complicated regime, the lifestyle you can opt in and out of - these are the methods which doom us to failure.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    I've watched it now and it pretty much affirmed what I thought.

    The industry told us we there was a problem then sold us the 'solution'.
  • onandoff
    onandoff Posts: 122 Member
    Thanks for posting this. I watched it on youtube. Interesting to know about the history of diet industry.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Did anyone see the second episode last night on the fitness industry and diet pills? (it should be available on BBC iPlayer for anyone that missed it).

    Although I find the presenter a little annoying, it's great to see some common myths being de-bunked and it was refreshing to see the drug company representative he interviewed being honest in saying that they are not currently putting much R&D into diet drugs because it's so difficult to produce a slimming pill that works (without causing serious side effects).

    It was also good to see the history of intentional exercise and how we began being told that cardio will help us lose weight, and how the gym industry, prior to the mid-80s only really used by bodybuilders, introduced cardio machines and welcomed in women in search of weight loss.
  • emarose90
    emarose90 Posts: 52
    I've actually only seen the second episode (Thurs 15th), so I can't comment on the first one. However, I hated the presenter.. But anyway. It became one of those programs that I hated watching and yet wanted to see where it was going.

    Although kind of interesting, the biggest factor of weight loss etc just kept being missed out and ignored - that at the end of the day, you are accountable for what you eat and what you do (or don't do!) in terms of being active. No one else. E.g. yes it seems a bit counter productive to have McDonalds or whoever sponser athletics, but they are not forcing it down your throat. You buy it, you eat it. You made that conscious decision.

    I don't know... I got a bit angry, despite it being a generally interesting program :ohwell:
  • Shellz31
    Shellz31 Posts: 214 Member
    Eeek I am sorry but I simply don't agree with 100% of what you have just said. The reason people get fat is because they over eat.....fact.

    If you lose your weight, your body does not want to go back to whence it came!

    If you eat what a healthy normal person should eat....you will not get fat.

    You DO NOT need a diet for life......to lose weight, you need either a diet that works for you....but more importantly a lifestyle change that slims you down, makes you healthier, and prevents you from getting fat again.

    Please don't frighten some of the people on here that they will need to DIET for life......that simply isn't true, watch what you eat...yes......but also, if you are going to have a curry....... And I do.......then just adjust accordingly and limit the damage over the prior and post days to compensate.......

    To say that you need to diet for life is terrifying....particularly if you are one of the people that need to shed 50lbs plus.....that will scare me witless......

    What you need to do for life is educate yourself....after all, the reason we got fat was because we didn't know or understand what we were eating....once you understand the need to regulate your calorific intake......you are set up for a healthy lifestyle that does in no way mean dieting or starving or missing out for life.......

    Just my point of view!

    Have you seen the HBO documentary Weight of the Nation? It explains why, once a person loses weight, the body does fight to get the weight back. A 130lb person who was once obese will have to actually eat less than a 130lb person who never had a weight problem. I agree it's not necessarily "dieting" forever, but you will have to forever watch what you eat more than the average person.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    If you go to YouTube and search on "men who made us thin" several options will appear. Some are each of the 4 separate episodes. A couple appear to be all 4 episodes in one video.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Yes I watched it last night and had to restrain myself from throwing something at the screen!

    The underlying messages are there - especially, there's no magic pill, and exercise alone wont make you thin. But it was all couched in such a shock-horror expose type delivery. So what if McDonalds sponsored the Olympics? Does anyone REALLY believe that eating a Big Mac will make you as fast as Usain Bolt?
  • mogginsthemog
    mogginsthemog Posts: 35 Member
    This programme was only recommended to me the other day; I don't have or watch TV so can only view thru iPlayer. Seen episode 1 so will watch eps. 2 later this afternoon. Seems interesting so far tho....

    N.
  • Seesawboomerang
    Seesawboomerang Posts: 296 Member
    If you go to YouTube and search on "men who made us thin" several options will appear. Some are each of the 4 separate episodes. A couple appear to be all 4 episodes in one video.

    On YouTube it's the 1st episode broken up into 4 parts.

    On BBC iPlayer it's a 4-part series, of which only 2 have been shown so far.

    I know what people mean about the presenter. His style can be a bit aggravating.

    From episode 2, I wasn't sure what to make of the notion that exercise won't make you get thin! I suppose the idea was to stress that it doesn't inherently make you lose weight ... but, well it's going to help though right?!

    Still, there was lots more to think about again. I find this series, and The Men Who Made Us Fat, pretty interesting and I'm frustrated as hell by people (on other threads) pouncing on the title alone and ripping it to shreds without discussing some of the ideas contained in the programmes!
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
    Thanks for sharing.
  • JustMeee333
    JustMeee333 Posts: 233
    I tried watching the second episode lastnight, and the first last week (twice), everytime I can't help but literally fall asleep after about the first 10mins.. So I guess I won't be watching it!
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    Thanks for the link!
  • nwg74
    nwg74 Posts: 360 Member
    1st full episode 1

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiXicpOJRYY

    I missed episode 1 but already don't like episode 2 just a few minutes in. Basically, the guy was going on about no point in doing exercise to lose weight as the body can't burn above the resting metabolic rate. Nothing about someone Base Metabolic Rate increases.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    We have no TV so bump to watch later. Thanks for posting!
  • tomcornhole
    tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
    So, where's the results for the control group from that Minnesota study in 1945? I wonder what 100 men stuffed into a windowless compound under a football stadium and not allowed to leave for A YEAR eating 3,000 calories would end up like? Maybe they were crazy, too? As it turns out, there was no control group. What the hell kind of science is that?

    And why did they start the participants at ideal weight and then starve them down 25% below ideal weight on average? Why not start them overweight and then "starve" them down to ideal weight?

    I hate people that present an unbalanced story.

    And I love the way he craps all over the diet industry (rightfully so, BTW), but offers absolutely no alternatives. I got to the end and thought we should all stop dieting because it doesn't work. So that would lead me to conclude that we are stuck with obesity and lots of folks get the opportunity to die an early death due to said obesity. Whether you call it obese or normal, the simple fact of the matter is that at 254 lbs, I was dieing much faster than I am at 185 lbs. We'll see where I am in 5 years.
  • KathyPerry70
    KathyPerry70 Posts: 40 Member
    And why did they start the participants at ideal weight and then starve them down 25% below ideal weight on average? Why not start them overweight and then "starve" them down to ideal weight?

    That study wasn't about over-weight people losing weight but about what would happen to average Joe who may soon be starving in post-war Europe. Not sure what they planned to do about all those crazy Europeans forced to eat grass, but at least they knew what they might be dealing with!

    The first epidsode said fad diets don't work to help you lose weight in the long term. Even seemed to say that any form of calorie restriction (even down to 'normal' levels?) resulted in you ultimately weighing even more than before you cut the calories.

    The second episode said that exercise doesn't work to help you lose weight. Okay, lots of other good benefits to your health, so don't stop. But don't count on exercise to lose weight - concentrate more on what you're putting in your mouth.

    Hoping episodes 3 and 4 will have some answers on how to effectively shed health-damaging pounds. I do want to be healthy but I also want to not be a mass of wobbliness! But as the first two were about the health industries and how much they're making off our (false?) beliefs about ourselves, so I'm guessing we'll just learn more about how we're being scammed!
  • Full_Steam
    Full_Steam Posts: 5
    I watched both episodes and loved it. I love the message of exercise for health, not for weight loss. Making me rethink my workouts and doing what I enjoy and not what I think I should do...

    I never heard TDEE mentioned...:laugh:

    I joke...
  • tonynguyen75
    tonynguyen75 Posts: 418 Member
    Hey guise, I'm looking for a quick fix. I heard if I do p90x and did a tea cleanse that I can get six pack abs. The Asian guy on YouTube said so. And I always trust Asian people.

    Can't watch the video, but the diet and supplement industry is a multi billion dollar industry. They don't want you to get skinny. They want you to keep searching for the next thing that you think will work and pay mad money for it.

    Lifestyle changes, proper food and exercise choices and a better outlook in life are better solutions.
  • Full_Steam
    Full_Steam Posts: 5
    Hey guise, I'm looking for a quick fix. I heard if I do p90x and did a tea cleanse that I can get six pack abs. The Asian guy on YouTube said so. And I always trust Asian people.

    Can't watch the video, but the diet and supplement industry is a multi billion dollar industry. They don't want you to get skinny. They want you to keep searching for the next thing that you think will work and pay mad money for it.

    Lifestyle changes, proper food and exercise choices and a better outlook in life are better solutions.

    :huh:
    Who here is saying P90X and tea cleanses are the way to go? Watch the video okay "guise"?

    That is pretty much what the video is about...:noway:

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