Is promoting weight loss dangerous?

LukesGreenMilk

magnusthenerd wrote: »

robinhager3998 wrote: »

I'm no expert, but I believe some of the statements would be true if caloric intake would be drastically cut. I believe no one should ever eat less than 1500 calories even if it means weighing a little bit more. Some people tend to cut down too much, and I can see where that would do something to you mentally. I'm sure this statement won't be popular, but you can be fat and healthy. Genetics determine your weight more than anything else. This is a proven fact. That being said, I think it would be dangerous if you were extremely obese 300+ lbs or so. Just a 500 calorie a day reduction can make a big difference in your weight over time. This isn't drastic and I think anyone could live with that.

Genetics determine nothing, ever. That probably sounds excessively absolute, but it is true. All genes are dependent on environment for expression - I don't care what your genes say, if you're stepping in lava, your weight is going to 0 pretty fast, just to use the most extreme example.
Somewhat more realistic, if you somehow had some incredible kind of mitochondria with DNA that allowed them to produce 200 ATP per molecule of glucose (probably not chemically possible, but still), it wouldn't matter much if you lived in tundra with less than 1% of your calorie intake being carbohydrate.
We don't tend to see any obese and or even overweight BMI's in people living in pre-agricultural lifestyles - it seems most calories in that environment are too hard and unappetizing to be worth pursuing. In the modern environment, there's probably are a variety of genes that influence appetite and preference that trend towards various levels of weight. Such people can still be actively managed by altering the environments one spends a lot of time in. It generally takes something pretty severe like defects of leptin production or something like Prater-Willy to be what could be fairly called a genetic reason for being obese.

Very wise of you to say that genes are dependent on environment for expression. Most people will go through life never understanding what that statement means or its implications.

stevehenderson776

robinhager3998 wrote: »

you can be fat and healthy

In the same way that you can smoke and be healthy, or share needles and be healthy. They're major risk factors though which will lead to all manner of debilitating conditions and diseases. So while it's true you can be fat and (relatively) healthy, you're not very likely to remain that way. The piper always gets paid.

spyro88

snickerscharlie wrote: »

robinhager3998 wrote: »

I'm no expert, but I believe some of the statements would be true if caloric intake would be drastically cut. I believe no one should ever eat less than 1500 calories even if it means weighing a little bit more. Some people tend to cut down too much, and I can see where that would do something to you mentally. I'm sure this statement won't be popular, but you can be fat and healthy. Genetics determine your weight more than anything else. This is a proven fact. That being said, I think it would be dangerous if you were extremely obese 300+ lbs or so. Just a 500 calorie a day reduction can make a big difference in your weight over time. This isn't drastic and I think anyone could live with that.

What is your source for this?

Growing up, my entire family was slim. I was a very skinny kid and a slim adult.

So, if genetics played a big role, I would expect to have a difficult time gaining weight. Yet in my late 50's, I had no trouble whatsoever blossoming myself right into the obese category. It was ridiculously easy. Too many calories, not enough activity.

Tl;dr: Genetics aren't a factor. How many calories you shove in your pie hole daily absolutely is.

However, genetics can contribute to how many calories you shove in your pie hole.

https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/resources/diseases/obesity/index.htm

Maesneuadd

NorthCascades wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

Consider this:

-People can die from obesity related causes.

Consider this:

-The younger generation today will have shorter lives than their parents (on average) because of obesity related illness.

This has already started in teh US and UK. For the first time the life expectancy of the younger groups has fallen by 2 years or so

Fit_Chef_NE

No. Lying to yourself is not empowerment. Not being to go up the stairs is dangerous. Being unable to get up if you fall is dangerous. Having so much weight on your body that you can suffocate from lying down to sleep is dangerous. Taking control of your life and doing what you can to fix that situation is what real empowerment is about.

Suggesting that we ignore the fact that being obese is deadly is the dangerous thing.

AliciaHollywood

I know for me if I focus too much on losing weight, it can easily lead to a temporary eating disorder. BUT if I focus on health and nutrition and eating FOR health, it’s so much better. It also depends on someone’s original weight. If someone is dangerously overweight then weight loss is absolutely necessary. But losing those extra vanity pounds can lead down a slippery slope unless you’re careful and focus on nutrition. I have gone through periods of (unnecessary) extreme calorie restriction but what I did eat was so nutritious I never had a problem. I’m lucky that as soon as I get to a weight/body I’m happy with, my “eating disorder” quickly ends. But I can see how when you become obsessed with every little calorie, measuring spinach leaves, it could turn into an eating disorder especially if prone to OCD.

zamphir66

stevehenderson776 wrote: »

robinhager3998 wrote: »

you can be fat and healthy

In the same way that you can smoke and be healthy, or share needles and be healthy. They're major risk factors though which will lead to all manner of debilitating conditions and diseases. So while it's true you can be fat and (relatively) healthy, you're not very likely to remain that way. The piper always gets paid.

One of my friends has a heart attack at 42, and it was just about completely out of the blue. His numbers were fine otherwise. His cardiologist told him that bloodwork numbers are often lagging indicators of something being wrong inside.

zamphir66

Meta: I love it when people drop a hot steaming turd in the debate section, then yeet off into the sunset like they "owned" us.

IronIsMyTherapy

I'm kinda mindblown at the fact that someone could have that viewpoint. "Next up, the hidden benefits of smoking, stay tuned."

nooshi713

We should be aggressively promoting weight loss as majority of our population is obese. Obesity is a direct cause of the majority of deaths in this country including heart attacks and strokes. Diabetes is more prevalent than ever due to obesity. Most diabetics are type 2, which is typically due to poor lifestyle. I’m not referring to type 1 diabetics who are typically thin.

Due to diabetes and other factors we have more people on dialysis than ever before. That’s not a good quality of life. The amount of people suffering from anorexia is minuscule compared to the amount of people dying from obesity related illnesses. I’m not promoting being skinny and underweight. I’m promoting being a healthy weight.

7rainbow

Depends on who is doing the promoting and who they are promoting it to. Some people really need to lose weight, and some people need to gain weight. If your doctor is telling you to lose weight, then this promotion is useful. Excess weight can increase risk to cancers, diabetes, joint pain, and other health problems. If it is the fad diet industry, then this can range between dangerous to simply useless weight loss advice. Overall I'll say it is typically for the better. As someone who struggled with an eating disorder like you mentioned above, it wasn't ads telling me to lose weight that made me this way, but rather the unhealthy ideal model image I learned from the media. Promoting weight loss can hurt some, but I feel like it can help many too.