Obese? Stop preaching that it's 'okay'.

Probably a benefit that you can't drive. I know at times it has maybe been a hassle that you could not. And I feel sure that you have gone through your life with people assuming you can, then looking at you as if you are from Mars, when you tell them you can't.

However, it has been (for you), a blessing in disguise.

And you are right about the strain it puts on the NHS. With that said, unbeknown to most, it seems that large chunks of the NHS in England + Wales are being privatised by stealth. And the prison service. Serco Services, the 'largest company you never heard of'. Check it out.

There is no magic cure for obesity. Prevention is easy and best. All you need do is not be a glutton, and use the legs that evolution took millennia to permit us to move around.

That's all.

No need for 'Atkins Diets'.

No need for expensive gym membership (which never gets used).

No need for slimming pills full of amphetamine derivatives.

No need for this....

This is NOT the way...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/07/26/us-obesity-teenagers-surgery-idUSTRE66P2UM20100726

Special report: Targeting teens for gastric bands

"Winning regulatory approval for the gastric band in teenagers would allow the companies that make the devices -- Allergan, Johnson & Johnson and others -- to target that specific age group. Today, regulators consider performing the procedure on teens "experimental" as it has not been approved for that age group...."


Weight-loss surgery warning


"The death of a Perth woman nearly two years after a stomach banding operation was likely preventable and highlights the importance of educating doctors about identifying and managing complications from gastric banding, the Deputy State Coroner has found.

Evelyn Vicker said that given how frequently gastric banding procedures were done, there was a need to ensure patients and GPs were well informed about the risks and side effects.

Ms Vicker made the comments in findings into the 2009 death of 55-year-old Katina Levissianos.

The findings were handed down in May and were obtained by _The West Australian _.

She found Mrs Levissianos, whose dress size dropped from a size 22 to 14 after a lapascropic adjustable gastric band insertion in February 2008, died after a complication which arose from excessive vomiting."


http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/17828091/weight-loss-surgery-warning/

 

Uh, Bingo ... Most people don't realize that the three factors you listed are pretty much the cause of the bulk of health issues ... Whether or not you are obese.
Complications such as diet and exercise have lasting effects in diseases like ... Heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, auto-immune diseases (arthritis, psoriasis etc ...), cancer ... And the list goes on.

 

$$$$ made in making them ill and fat.

And then a $$$$ industry in 'curing' them.

You will likely find that there is corporate overlap between those that create a society of obese people and profit from it, and those that profit from the 'cures'.

 

There is a genetic component to it. Plus, personally I find the "health-a-holics" a tad annoying. The type that buys organic, passes a box of donuts someone brought to work "oh I really shouldn't eat that, I'll just stick with my Greek yogurt and carrot sticks." I personally find these type of people self-obsessed.

I had to stay in reasonable shape while is in the service, but have since lapsed in that area. I like to eat, I don't like to exercise; it's not rocket science. That's a recipe for gaining weight...not sure that makes me a sinful glutton destined for the 7th circle of Dante's inferno...but it is what it is. The "health-a-holic" is probably disgusted, and who gives a rat's patoot
.
Longevity is largely genetically based anyway.

Doing the right things will not extend a life much beyond what the DNA in our cells is programmed from conception through adulthood to do ...it is programmed to die. We all die.

 

Just watch this and weep.

This sort of thing should simply not be tolerated by any Gov that pertains to represent the people, and protect the nation.

But you have a Fed Gov that are tied in with corporations and people and nation don't come into it.

Let's be honest. They have turned the US from a country into a plutocracy.

[video=youtube;M3d0rGGS3OA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3d0rGGS3OA&feature=player_embedded[/video]

If it were down to me, I would ban this practice with IMMEDIATE effect.

And that would just be for starters.

 

Proof?

 

There are behavioral genetic components as well as physical components to every aspect of our lives. Addiction for example. Some people are predisposed to getting addicted to things easier than others.

I make no excuses for my own personal weight gain. I eat more than I use. However I'm aware certain medications for example, make a person more predisposed to weight gain. Stress, environment these sort of things...some people turn to food as a coping mechanism. I'm not so quick to pre-judge anyone. I don't know them, I don't know their life story. Were they abused, have they had serious setbacks in their life, maybe they are depressed and cope differently with this.

 

Is your position that the biggest % of people who are obese are obese due to this "genetic component"?

 

Government intervention is what is causing obesity in the first place. A surefire way to get fat is to follow the USDA dietary guidelines.

 

There is a genetic component to everything. In so far as giving a specific percentage of how much influence these genetic components comprise certain behavior, that I do not know. Most of weight gain is associated with caloric intake exceeding caloric expenditure. The behavioral issues can effect this, there is a genetic component to behavioral issues as well as physical.

 

And you believe that it's people following USDA guidelines that is responsible for obesity, not market incentives?

 

True, people aren't choosing to be fat, but there are plenty that are fat because they don't care or a flat out lazy and those same people pass it on to their kids. Thats about as close as you can get to choice. Thats like saying no one chooses to be homeless. But being lazy, antisocial, a highschool dropout, on drugs or a host of other reasons why you're unemployable is YOUR choice.. Anyone who says they got fat because they had NO CHOICE is a complete liar, UNLESS they have an extreme rare medical disorder. They choose not to eat properly or choose not to exercise and thats not anyone elses fault but their own or their parents if they're too young to understand.

Regarding food in Europe....first off, some of it does not taste better. That's complete opinion. Some is down right NASTY. I can eat ANYTHING they make in Europe over here and it tastes just as good. Don't compare our fast food with their bistros. Thats dishonest. Compare apples to apples. Compare equal prices. Compare prep time. I traveled Europe and there was plenty of great food and there were plenty of places I didn't trust or couldn't get near because of the smells. At the time, Greece and Italy were fantastic. The UK was almost vile. Switzerland was completely unmemorable, Germany was nothing special and French food is mostly not my thing no matter what someone says is gourmet. I went into some nice restaurants recommended by locals and some of it was flat our bland and tasteless. I didn't have the heart to send it back or be called a "stupid american"

Vegetables and Fruit, meat and fish are no less fresh here then there. Just depends where you eat. Sure, there are additives we allow over here, but it doesn't mean you have to eat it.

 

I don't know anyone that wants to be fat, I know people who undergo gastric surgery to lose weight.
It's not a choice, it's a condition that nearly every market incentive promotes.
Food is engineered to be addictive.
Bite into a Big Mac or a Wopper, chew twice and swallow, because that's all it takes, and research has shown that when people have to chew 10 or 12 times like you used to have to do if you had something called a hamburger, you don't eat as much, and you don't bond to the experience and acquire an addiction to the food like you do if you only have to chew twice.
Did you know that Coca Cola is salty, they hide the salt taste with sugar, but when you drink Coke, it's engineered to make you thirsty.
So you drink more Coke.

The fact is that people eat what's in the market, the market doesn't give people what people want, the market gives them what is most profitable.
Sugar hits your liver with the same toxicity as alcohol, you wouldn't give your 8 year old a Bud, would you let them have a Coke?

The "Free Market" is a myth, used to justify the exploitation of the masses, in the name of bigger profits.
The people should push back.
Sugar is toxic, OK, make it a choice, but don't allow it to be sold to children or marketed to children.
And treat it like we treat alcohol, tax it heavily, and restrict the sales.

You wonder why medical care and health insurance cost so much?
We have an epidemic of diabetes in this country, there are parts of the country where 20% of the adult population is diabetic, and the trend is up, it looks like it might plateau around 40%.
No health care system in the world could bear the cost of treating that many diabetics.
So what do we do? Euthanize them?
Or do we take steps to reduce the prevalence of diabetes, which involves changing what people eat, and everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are what they should be eating, yet we have this problem and it's getting worse.
The sooner we take action, the sooner it turns around.

What do you suggest we do?

 

Do you think it is more likely that people are fat because they eat too much and don't move?

 

Do you have brown eyes, blue, green?

Genetics play a role in this.

One of the more visible identifiers of who you are. More hidden variables are behavioral...meaning not that we are automatons incapable of free will, but we inherent tendencies, as mentioned, some are prone to addictive behaviors or compulsive behaviors. We can still choose to over-ride these tendencies, but for some it is more difficult than others. Is an obese person over eating and under exercising, yes. What we don't necessarily see, is that this person may have behavioral issues, and a component of this is genetic. What percentage is environmental and what is inherited?

I don't know. It could be 1% genetic, I don't know....I'm only saying there's a genetic component to the issue of obesity. Some people have a tendency to gain weight, to put on weight, easier than others. They are still over eating, and the problem has a solution. Caloric expenditures need to exceed caloric intake. I'm not saying otherwise, but for some it is easier to control than in others. Personally, I don't like to exercise for the sake of exercise. I prefer to exercise as part of a sport or an actual point. Say walking to the store...however I find it odd someone chooses to run...say 5 miles a day and expend all that energy. I find it a boring activity, I don't like to exercise unless it's in the context of a sport or a practicality.

 

It's not the same. If you knew anything about genetics at all, you would not even open with such a thing.

One can gain AND lose weight. One cannot naturally change their eye colour.

This is a nonsense of a comparison.

 

Well excuse me, I didn't realize I was talking to an expert...of course sources from Harvard, National Institutes of Healh and the American Medical Association won't matter to such a bonafide expert on the subject.

You ask for proof?

A two second internet search is all you need to get enlightened on the topic and save yourself from further embarrasment.

"Genetics and Obesity"

Source:http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/genetics/genetics-of-obesity.pdf

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1642700/

Source: http://sciencenordic.com/seven-new-genetic-causes-obesity-identified

Source: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/genes-and-obesity/

 

Right. So if it is 'genes', how does that account for such a massive growth in obesity, and how come the people with the fat genes also happen to be the same one's that sit on their arse eating burgers all day, while drinking a diet coke?

Sounds like a cop out.

 

I don't know people who want to be fat, but I know plenty who obviously think its much easier to be....until they're having a double bypass that is. Plenty of people eat McDonalds or any junk food in moderation and are completely fine. Should we close down Dunkin Donuts or force them to redo their recipes until the simply don't taste very good any more, because some people are stupid? Euthanize them? How about force them to take some personal responsibility? I'm not against Darwin playing favorites=) McDonlads offers a salad now instead of French fries by the way.

Tax everything YOU don't like or what can potentially harm a person, because that's what you're getting at?

 

Genetic component.

think of it as a jigsaw puzzle.

Your genes, what you inherit are pieces of the puzzle, so is eating a 1/2 gallon of ice cream.
We're not robots of course, but as I've said, for some people they gain weight easier, have a tougher time saying no to certain foods. it's not just inherited traits, and it's not just lack of discipline and weak will power.

That's all I'm arguing, that there is a genetic aspect to obesity, I'm not arguing it is the cause, it is a cause.

 

Possibly the most dangerous aspect of obesity is the loss of self-respect.

 

Nonsense. Thin people are more likely to lose so much respect for themselves they kill themselves at higher rates:

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/dec/12/health.lifeandhealth

 

Dealing with it myself, I can only agree 100%. Get control of your diet and lifestyle. You'll feel much better for it anyway.

 

It creates a viscious circle of more consumption and more self-loathing, I suppose, so if you mean it's dangerous to health this way, I'll agree.

Otherwise, I think johnmayo is on to something - fat people cope by comfort-eating while the thinner depressed people will more likely turn to more... acute measures.

 

Well it certainly demonstrates a lack of self respect. And low self esteem.