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Interesting way that people excuse their overweight / obesity

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Replies

  • LaceyBirds
    LaceyBirds Posts: 451 Member
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Alternative hypothesis: You're older, and its normal for us to become a bit heavier as we age. Although I'm not sure how much older you are now than then. CT scanning has demonstrated that the pelvic girdle continues to widen as we age, and with that, weight does go up over time.

    This is interesting - thanks for sharing it. Here is a link to an article in Science Daily that references the study that determined this: https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525110453.htm:

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Alternative hypothesis: You're older, and its normal for us to become a bit heavier as we age. Although I'm not sure how much older you are now than then. CT scanning has demonstrated that the pelvic girdle continues to widen as we age, and with that, weight does go up over time.

    This is interesting - thanks for sharing it. Here is a link to an article in Science Daily that references the study that determined this: https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525110453.htm:

    So the pelvis widens a bit as people age. This is not why people get fat, eating more calories than they burn is why.

    Works for young and old.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Alternative hypothesis: You're older, and its normal for us to become a bit heavier as we age. Although I'm not sure how much older you are now than then. CT scanning has demonstrated that the pelvic girdle continues to widen as we age, and with that, weight does go up over time.

    This is interesting - thanks for sharing it. Here is a link to an article in Science Daily that references the study that determined this: https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525110453.htm:

    So the pelvis widens a bit as people age. This is not why people get fat, eating more calories than they burn is why.

    Works for young and old.

    Yes, but one's calorie requirement can decrease naturally as one ages, often without a corresponding decrease in hunger. Therefore one can eat the same as one always did and still gain weight. The reasons for the decrease in energy expenditure can vary greatly, which is why it can be hard to understand why one is suddenly gaining weight when they didn't before, especially if the reason is something 'unseen' like hormone levels.

    As far as macros affecting weight loss, I don't think there have been a ton of studies in this area, at least not in humans (more in rats/mice). I at least find the hypothesis that macro composition could impact weight loss to be plausible, through a hormone or gut bacteria mechanism that would change nutrient absorption. I'm not saying something as extreme as true nutrient malabsorption. Just different digestion efficiencies, basically.

    But like I said, while it's an intriguing hypothesis there's no comprehensive studies to back it up yet. Would like to see more research on that area to either prove or disprove it once and for all though!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,622 Member
    DrEnalg wrote: »
    I'm kind of interested in the way people explain their behavior. One example is pertinent to weight loss / diet. I was having a debate with my girlfriend about this, who was arguing what basically sounded like the set-point theory to me. The argument went something like this:

    Me: "I think anyone can lose weight, it's just a matter of CICO."

    Her: "Except that people's bodies naturally have a certain preference for a certain weight. You can force your body down to a particular weight, but then your body will want to go back to the weight it was at."

    Anyone notice anything strange about this kind of use of language? As if "you" are separate from "your body." How can a "body" want something (like, a preferred weight range) without a person controlling it? Isn't this a strange use of language, like we're somehow divorced from our bodies?

    Anyways, just a philosophical point really.

    Yeah, philosophers have been chewing on the "mind-body problem", or mind-body dualism if you prefer, for centuries if not millennia. {Shrug.}

    Like some other who've commented, I think it's best understood as figurative or metaphorical, and that trying to parse such things rationally, in extensional terms, is just another common example of being confused by abstractions.
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    lithezebra wrote: »
    I can't paraphrase it very well, but there was a thread in this forum about how long it takes for the body to stop trying to regain the weight you lose. It was a hormonal thing, if I remember correctly, and the time frame was a little less than a year. I found it very hopeful. If a person can hold out for a year, your body gets the hint.

    I don't think its hormonal but psychological. And behavioral repetition - aka creating habits.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    edited June 2016
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Alternative hypothesis: You're older, and its normal for us to become a bit heavier as we age. Although I'm not sure how much older you are now than then. CT scanning has demonstrated that the pelvic girdle continues to widen as we age, and with that, weight does go up over time.

    This is interesting - thanks for sharing it. Here is a link to an article in Science Daily that references the study that determined this: https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525110453.htm:

    So the pelvis widens a bit as people age. This is not why people get fat, eating more calories than they burn is why.

    Works for young and old.

    You do tend to lose lean muscle mass as you age though, so your "metabolism" does slow down. To be fair. So...weight training I guess but not everyone knows that.
  • LaceyBirds
    LaceyBirds Posts: 451 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Alternative hypothesis: You're older, and its normal for us to become a bit heavier as we age. Although I'm not sure how much older you are now than then. CT scanning has demonstrated that the pelvic girdle continues to widen as we age, and with that, weight does go up over time.

    This is interesting - thanks for sharing it. Here is a link to an article in Science Daily that references the study that determined this: https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525110453.htm:

    So the pelvis widens a bit as people age. This is not why people get fat, eating more calories than they burn is why.

    Works for young and old.

    I was simply responding to the fact that the pelvic girdle widens - I find that interesting. If I ever got down to my 20 year-old weight again, which I won't because I would look terrible, it would be interesting to see if there is a difference.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited June 2016
    sarahthes wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Alternative hypothesis: You're older, and its normal for us to become a bit heavier as we age. Although I'm not sure how much older you are now than then. CT scanning has demonstrated that the pelvic girdle continues to widen as we age, and with that, weight does go up over time.

    This is interesting - thanks for sharing it. Here is a link to an article in Science Daily that references the study that determined this: https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525110453.htm:

    So the pelvis widens a bit as people age. This is not why people get fat, eating more calories than they burn is why.

    Works for young and old.

    Yes, but one's calorie requirement can decrease naturally as one ages, often without a corresponding decrease in hunger. Therefore one can eat the same as one always did and still gain weight. The reasons for the decrease in energy expenditure can vary greatly, which is why it can be hard to understand why one is suddenly gaining weight when they didn't before, especially if the reason is something 'unseen' like hormone levels.

    As far as macros affecting weight loss, I don't think there have been a ton of studies in this area, at least not in humans (more in rats/mice). I at least find the hypothesis that macro composition could impact weight loss to be plausible, through a hormone or gut bacteria mechanism that would change nutrient absorption. I'm not saying something as extreme as true nutrient malabsorption. Just different digestion efficiencies, basically.

    But like I said, while it's an intriguing hypothesis there's no comprehensive studies to back it up yet. Would like to see more research on that area to either prove or disprove it once and for all though!

    Then if one doesn't want to gain weight because of less activity/muscle mass it's simply a matter of eating less, again CICO. One can adapt to eating a bit less to avoid weight gain.

    The change in caloric needs is minimal and occurs over a long period of time. For example a moderately active 20 yo male needs 2800 calories a day. When that person gets to age 66 and older they need 2200, a change in daily caloric needs of around 100 a decade. Easy to adapt to if someone wants it.

    http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/usda_food_patterns/EstimatedCalorieNeedsPerDayTable.pdf

    Refer to title of the thread.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    tomteboda wrote: »
    Alternative hypothesis: You're older, and its normal for us to become a bit heavier as we age. Although I'm not sure how much older you are now than then. CT scanning has demonstrated that the pelvic girdle continues to widen as we age, and with that, weight does go up over time.

    This is interesting - thanks for sharing it. Here is a link to an article in Science Daily that references the study that determined this: https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525110453.htm:

    So the pelvis widens a bit as people age. This is not why people get fat, eating more calories than they burn is why.

    Works for young and old.

    I didn't say that ageing was a reason for "getting fat." I said it was natural to gain some weight as a consequence of the pelvic girdle widening. The person I was replying to noted a *small* gain in weight over some course of years that wouldn't be out of line with their body having become wider due to bone growth. It's not like the pelvic girdle widens and nothing happens within the body.


    Again, even if the pelvis widens, the person can reduce calories and/or increase exercise to avoid weight gain.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    GoKelsey wrote: »
    Actually, CICO doesn't work for everyone, mostly because not all calories are created equal. Per MFP, I restricted calories to 1300/day. According to MFP I should have been losing weight, but I was gaining fat in my midsection.

    Imma gonna let you finish, but you immediately conflated losing WEIGHT with losing FAT.

    They are not the same.
  • moe0303
    moe0303 Posts: 934 Member
    DrEnalg wrote: »
    How can a "body" want something (like, a preferred weight range) without a person controlling it?

    You mean like to pee? Or the urge to breathe?

    It's a result of evolution.

    Weight gain is not an autonomic reflex.

    That's true. I answered the question of why people use figures of speech like "my body wants" versus "I want" by pointing to autonomic reflexes as a tangible example of why people might do this. :smile:

    And you are correct to do so. The body has a large number of non-conscious feedback loops that aren't autonomic reflexes. Hunger, tiredness, pain impinge on consciousness and affect our ability to decide on how we manage calories in or calories out.

    I'm surprised by a few points brought into the debate that seem misunderstood.

    Set points (if they actually exist, that's a long discussion) - it isn't that the body wants to be at a specific weight, but that the feedback loops of hunger, activity and homeostasis balance out at as certain point. Add/drop a few hundred calories and your body is going to be slightly more/less active, you're likelier to produce a bit more/less necessary metabolites, be more/less hungry and boom - balance. To gain or lose, one needs to step out of the equilibrium zones. Unfortunately, for many, the barrier to gain is quite small.

    As to CICO not working - it's a semantics problem. When someone say it doesn't work for them they aren't saying the math doesn't work (or it's a discussion of what the term actually encompasses); They mean they actually need to look at composition to manage hunger, or that certain ways of eating allows them to remain consistently under calorie needs. Macros, meal frequency, meal time, etc. may influence individual hunger, fatigue, performance... which in turn impact weight loss.

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