Real Reasons for Obesity

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rosebette
rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This was posted in the NY Times wellness blog this week. According to Dr. Ludwig, weight loss/gain is not about CICO, but the real causes for obesity is our increasing reliance on processed carbs. Any thoughts? http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/rethinking-weight-loss-and-the-reasons-were-always-hungry/?ref=health&_r=0
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  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Here's my thought - that is wrong.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I don't know what in the heck is going on with Harvard, but I think they are backing the wrong horse with the whole weight loss thing.
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
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    I couldn't get past these two little gems right up front:

    "The basic premise is that overeating doesn’t make you fat."

    and

    "Simply cutting back on calories as we’ve been told actually makes the situation worse."

    I'd say the millions of pounds lost by the users of this site would disagree.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Here's my thought - that is wrong.
    Agreed !!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    edited January 2016
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    While I think it sounds like a good enough diet plan, the "basic premise" is ridiculous.

    "The basic premise is that overeating doesn’t make you fat. The process of getting fat makes you overeat. It may sound radical, but there’s literally a century of science to support this point."

    Seriously WTF is that supposed to mean? If overeating doesn't make us fat, what the heck is the "process of getting fat"? Riddle me that one Batman.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    edited January 2016
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    He's a genius (sarcasm):
    The quickest way to lower insulin is to cut back on processed carbohydrates and to get the right balance of protein and fat in your diet.
    Can you really make money writing books that easily?
  • PiSquared
    PiSquared Posts: 148 Member
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    Do processed foods contribute to obesity? Of course they do, because they tend to be calorie dense, for little nutrition. Processed foods also tend to be inexpensive and require little, if any, time and effort to prepare and have a long shelf life not requiring refrigeration. There are a lot of socio-economic factors in play for processed foods.

    I would say that processed foods in and of themselves will not make you fat, but they probably won't make you healthy, either.

    These days, personally, I limit my processed foods. For the most part, I find they have too many calories and far too much sodium for too little taste. Have I completely eliminated them? No, because, let's be honest about our modern lifestyle. I think processed foods, like anything, can have their place in your diet in moderation. Sometimes you need a quick meal. Also, I like chips and cookies.
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
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    "We think of obesity as a state of excess, but it’s really more akin to a state of starvation. If the fat cells are storing too many calories, the brain doesn’t have access to enough to make sure that metabolism runs properly."

    In other news, War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. For his next trick, the author will argue that black is white and get run over at the nearest zebra crossing. (With apologies to George Orwell and Douglas Adams.)
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    The dress was blue and black.
  • TheBeachgod
    TheBeachgod Posts: 825 Member
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    I thought this was why.

    acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
  • DataSeven
    DataSeven Posts: 245 Member
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    I eat processed foods every day and am losing weight. Am I breaking the laws of science here?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    DataSeven wrote: »
    I eat processed foods every day and am losing weight. Am I breaking the laws of science here?

    That's not what the article suggested. But according to the author you may be making it harder on yourself than if you didn't eat them.
  • granturismo
    granturismo Posts: 232 Member
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    This academic has a book to publicise. As with most topics researchers will differ, depending on their biases. He probably has some research to back up his hypothesis but as Twain quoted 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics'. Results can be manipulated to fit a hypothesis.

    It was accepted that the earth was flat, so maybe CICO is wrong. ;)
  • Clobern80
    Clobern80 Posts: 714 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    DataSeven wrote: »
    I eat processed foods every day and am losing weight. Am I breaking the laws of science here?

    That's not what the article suggested. But according to the author you may be making it harder on yourself than if you didn't eat them.

    I would rather make it a little tougher while still losing and enjoying foods I think are delicious than be miserable and give up eating like a rabbit.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,123 Member
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    TLDR I sounds like more woo, and the dangerous type because MD and PHD are connected to it, sort of like Dr. Oz.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    clobern80 wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    DataSeven wrote: »
    I eat processed foods every day and am losing weight. Am I breaking the laws of science here?

    That's not what the article suggested. But according to the author you may be making it harder on yourself than if you didn't eat them.

    I would rather make it a little tougher while still losing and enjoying foods I think are delicious than be miserable and give up eating like a rabbit.

    Then do that. Misery should be avoid at all costs IMO. Best of luck to you!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    I thought this was an interesting response to his new book (there will be lots of articles as he is media savvy and hawking his wares)

    http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/always-hungry-its-probably-not-your.html
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    Sounds like BS to me. :|
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    clobern80 wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    DataSeven wrote: »
    I eat processed foods every day and am losing weight. Am I breaking the laws of science here?

    That's not what the article suggested. But according to the author you may be making it harder on yourself than if you didn't eat them.

    I would rather make it a little tougher while still losing and enjoying foods I think are delicious than be miserable and give up eating like a rabbit.

    Narrows eyes

    Whaddayamean? I eat lots of delicious foods

    :bigsmile:
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    Because this is an interview (as opposed to an academic paper that's couched in more scientific language), I think there is an element of oversimplification at the beginning, but it's important to read through to the end. What he is saying is that due to our overconsumption of processed carbs and sugars, we have become fat, but our brains and even our bodies don't recognize that the calories stored in our fat cells are accessible for energy. Therefore, even though we are fat, we are constantly hungry. He also discusses this theory in conjunction with insulin and Type II diabetes. In a way, I understand it. While I've never experienced this constant hunger and was never more than moderately overweight (around a 26 BMI after an injury), my husband who is overweight and diabetic and makes jokes ("fat cells never go away, they just shrink"), says he is constantly hungry and that when I can just stop eating something because I'm full, he tells me "You don't understand how a fat person thinks/feels." For example, I wear a FItbit HR, and it kind of predicts when I'll be hungry -- if the calories burned are more than I've consumed, say after exercise, I do feel quite hungry. But if I sit around all day and I've eaten what I've burned, I'm not that hungry. However, my husband can be sedentary all day and yet feel much hungrier than I do even if I'm active, and even if he's eaten much more than I have. I think this article captures the reason for that insatiability of the overweight-obese person. Ludwig's solution is to stop eating some of those foods that fuel that craving/hunger -- processed carbs, sugars, etc.

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