I found this article interesting...

melainemelaine

....So the Government's advice to eat a starch-rich, low-fat diet and to exercise more is based on inconclusive science, while the evidence we see all around us is that we are getting fatter following this advice...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1247216/The-Big-Fat-Lies-Britains-obesity-epidemic.html

thankyou4thevenom

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1247216/The-Big-Fat-Lies-Britains-obesity-epidemic.html

Quite honestly given the source, I'm not going to believe a word of it.

KatieTee83

Yeah, The Daily Mail isn't exactly a reputable news source. It's like, US Weekly.

Carfoodel

yeah as soon as I saw it was the Daily Mail it lost any credibility

iplayoutside19

What's important here is that the Obesity Epidemic is not unique to the US! Misery Loves Company.

A British Tabloid said so.

Mmmary212

Reputable article or not...the information is pretty spot on. Eating a high fat diet is not what causing people to be obese and heart disease...

melainemelaine

I know that the daily mail isn't the best source of information, but he's got a point, once you read the article you'd understand what I mean

melainemelaine

Reputable article or not...the information is pretty spot on. Eating a high fat diet is not what causing people to be obese and heart disease...

thanks

persian_star

You can't say that just because it was published in a particular paper that it is definitely bunkum (though I think the point about exercise is). I think the point about simple carbs, which of course break down easily into sugar, probably is valid, and we avoid fat so much that we don't get enough of the good fats, but it's all a bit vague, and obviously not eating any carbs is no good either. The whole point is to eat a balanced diet, which it seems to miss.

As for calorie counting being flawed - ok, maybe it isn't perfect, because they're right, calories break down in different ways in our gut, but again, so long as we're being balanced about what we eat, I don't think it can possibly be harmful to calorie count (unless your limit is set too low, it seems that not eating enough is just as detrimental to weight loss as eating too much!)

Mmmary212

Reputable article or not...the information is pretty spot on. Eating a high fat diet is not what causing people to be obese and heart disease...

thanks

You're welcome. I guess I should have worded that as "reputable *site* or not" ....

thankyou4thevenom

Reputable article or not...the information is pretty spot on. Eating a high fat diet is not what causing people to be obese and heart disease...

And this will be why.

• Adapted from Big Fat Lies: Is Your Government Making You Fat? by Hannah Sutter, published by Infinite Ideas tomorrow at £14.99. Copywright Hannah Sutter 2010. To order a copy at £13.50 (p&p free), call 0845 155 0720.

They've basically copied a book into short form. They occasionally get it right when they use other peoples work. There is always the exception to the rule.
I still stand by if you're reading the daily mail and not looking for the source, then whatever deity you pray to I hope they're looking after you.

And having read it. I'd like to see some of the facts checked in this story. It looks like its based on assumptions rather than actual research.

MzBug

Sounds like the US. The grain growers (wheat and corn mostly) are subsidized by the governemnt and get BILLIONS of dollars every year. As a result our food manufacturers use corn and wheat by products in everything they can stuff it into. The grain growers in return subsidize a large (if not all) the programs of the USDA...who tell us to eat a diet very heavy on the grain products.... gee, and we wonder why obesity is rampant?

persian_star

I think the big problem with this article is it seems to be trying to sneakily give us a mindset, driven by 'science', that advocates the Atkins diet. And I'm not against eating fat (especially the mono-unsaturated kind!) but I know from experience that if you lose weight with Atkins, you're more than likely to put it right back on again! A balanced diet - yes, including carsb! - is what we should be striving for

4theking

I think the big problem with this article is it seems to be trying to sneakily give us a mindset, driven by 'science', that advocates the Atkins diet. And I'm not against eating fat (especially the mono-unsaturated kind!) but I know from experience that if you lose weight with Atkins, you're more than likely to put it right back on again! A balanced diet - yes, including carsb! - is what we should be striving for

But aren't you just proving the whole point of the article? If a person lost weight from reducing carbs/eating more protein and fats, wouldn't one assume if they went back to their normal diet of high carbs they would regain the weight? Seems highly logical to me.

persian_star

I think the big problem with this article is it seems to be trying to sneakily give us a mindset, driven by 'science', that advocates the Atkins diet. And I'm not against eating fat (especially the mono-unsaturated kind!) but I know from experience that if you lose weight with Atkins, you're more than likely to put it right back on again! A balanced diet - yes, including carsb! - is what we should be striving for

But aren't you just proving the whole point of the article? If a person lost weight from reducing carbs/eating more protein and fats, wouldn't one assume if they went back to their normal diet of high carbs they would regain the weight? Seems highly logical to me.

Granted, and if you can live a low carb lifestyle, more kudos to you! ) But Atkins is designed as a short term diet, and often makes the dieter very hungry and desperate to finish *l* I know if I cut out too many carbs I not only get hungry but tired, headachey and extremely weak willed - resulting in normally a big bag of fish and chips :grumble:

neanderthin

Another idiot hat doesn't understand thermodynamics. He's says that the population is taking in 20% less calories and exercising 25% more, but everyone is getting fat. I'd like to see those stats.

LilMissFoodie

Another idiot hat doesn't understand thermodynamics. He's says that the population is taking in 20% less calories and exercising 25% more, but everyone is getting fat. I'd like to see those stats.

hahahahahahahaha! What population are they talking about? The one that drinks (well buys, who knows maybe they pour it down the sink) millions of pounds worth of fizzy drinks every year? That has more convenience foods than ever in their shopping trolleys? That struggle to meet 3 serves of fruit and veg per day (which led to the recommendation of 5)? That don't even make it to extremely basic recommendations of 3x20mins exercise per week?

Of course there are always exceptions, I'm certainly not saying this is the behavious of every person but looking at statistics for the population as a whole - this is what we see.

Laughable.

neanderthin

I think the big problem with this article is it seems to be trying to sneakily give us a mindset, driven by 'science', that advocates the Atkins diet. And I'm not against eating fat (especially the mono-unsaturated kind!) but I know from experience that if you lose weight with Atkins, you're more than likely to put it right back on again! A balanced diet - yes, including carsb! - is what we should be striving for

But aren't you just proving the whole point of the article? If a person lost weight from reducing carbs/eating more protein and fats, wouldn't one assume if they went back to their normal diet of high carbs they would regain the weight? Seems highly logical to me.

Granted, and if you can live a low carb lifestyle, more kudos to you! ) But Atkins is designed as a short term diet, and often makes the dieter very hungry and desperate to finish *l* I know if I cut out too many carbs I not only get hungry but tired, headachey and extremely weak willed - resulting in normally a big bag of fish and chips :grumble:

Any diet where a person goes back to their previous habits is going to fail, not just the Atkins diet. Most people find a diet that sounds like it will work then restrict calories to the lowest possible amounts, and when they can't maintain it call the diet a failure. Nothing is going to work long term unless it's managed properly and integrated into a total lifestyle change.

Mmmary212

I think the big problem with this article is it seems to be trying to sneakily give us a mindset, driven by 'science', that advocates the Atkins diet. And I'm not against eating fat (especially the mono-unsaturated kind!) but I know from experience that if you lose weight with Atkins, you're more than likely to put it right back on again! A balanced diet - yes, including carsb! - is what we should be striving for

But aren't you just proving the whole point of the article? If a person lost weight from reducing carbs/eating more protein and fats, wouldn't one assume if they went back to their normal diet of high carbs they would regain the weight? Seems highly logical to me.

Granted, and if you can live a low carb lifestyle, more kudos to you! ) But Atkins is designed as a short term diet, and often makes the dieter very hungry and desperate to finish *l* I know if I cut out too many carbs I not only get hungry but tired, headachey and extremely weak willed - resulting in normally a big bag of fish and chips :grumble:

Atkins is not short term, nor is any low carb way. It's meant to dramatically reduce and slowly introduce back in (with atkins) but no way close to the standard recommendation. Or some people absolutely eliminate grains because there is no benefit in eating them (or if there is, the cons outweigh any pros). This way of eating is supposed to be the way you live your life forever, not a "quick fix" because one WILL regain all the weight back, cause that's what grains do (or can do, again, not everyone blows up from eating grains)

You feel terrible when you cut out carbs is because you're going through withdrawals. Give it a few days and you actually start feeling fantastic.