6 ms·

Junk Food Isn't to Blame for America's Obesity Epidemic

7 points by ourmandave 11y ago

wyldfire 11y ago
Actual article (PDF): http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=684088071004064014111102100087004109026012051033042091108126099074073026068072105121101122062000122051045127006109022074064070005049095084082025095125112022123118077007007121076004014009012118127064094103113094126029122085085069121074122081121085123&EXT=pdf http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=68408807100406401...
- scholia 11y ago
  Original press release with big infographic https://medium.com/@cornell/candy-soda-and-fast-food-are-not-driving-the-rising-obesity-trend-in-the-us-3545844f87b3 https://medium.com/@cornell/candy-soda-and-fast-food-are-not...
J_Darnley 11y ago
Of course it isn't. Too much food is the cause of America's obesity epidemic.
- Gibbon1 11y ago
  And 95% of the 'food' people eat is junk food. It might be out right junk food, or junk food masquerading as healthy food. One you start digging and try to find stuff that isn't chock full of over processed carbs and added sugar one finds the pickings to be slim indeed. I read the study as saying, the outliers on bottom end scrupulously avoid junk and they are not fat (full stop) The ones the seek the stuff out are fat indeed and then everyone else is essentially eating all the same stuff and there is no way to suss out the various reasons why peoples BMI varies. The problem is BMI is a worthless metric. Because weight in humans is comprised for four things. 1. Bone, more is better. 2. Muscle, more is better. 3. Subcutaneous fat, more is better 4. Organ fat, more is bad. Number 4 is the big problem. BMI tells us nothing about that.
  - jonnathanson 11y ago
    "3. Subcutaneous fat, more is better" Why, and to what extent?
    - Gibbon1 11y ago
      You can start with this, start 11:00 go to 20:00. Or actually watch the whole thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceFyF9px20Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceFyF9px20Y
  - PhantomGremlin 11y ago
    BMI is a worthless metric The canonical example of exactly how worthless is this: Take for example, basketball player Michael Jordan: ''When he was in his prime, his BMI was 27-29, classifying him as overweight, yet his waist size was less than 30,'' You need a better formula if your current one is classifying NBA superstars as "overweight". http://www.webmd.com/diet/how-accurate-body-mass-index-bmi?page=2 http://www.webmd.com/diet/how-accurate-body-mass-index-bmi?p...
    - J_Darnley 11y ago
      Sure. Most people with a BMI over 25 are world class athletes. Don't bother using it for us few that aren't.
      - Gibbon1 11y ago
        The trouble is for metabolic disease BMI as a test has a false positive rate of 20% and a false negative rate of 40%.
jackvalentine 11y ago
I guess this makes sense. Does the article tackle the idea that high-sugar and caffeinated foods are in a way addictive? Sure portion control is the key here, but if your body is just simply craving a Big Mac and huge coke... what good is telling people that?

7 points by ourmandave 11y ago

Actual article (PDF): http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=684088071004064014111102100087004109026012051033042091108126099074073026068072105121101122062000122051045127006109022074064070005049095084082025095125112022123118077007007121076004014009012118127064094103113094126029122085085069121074122081121085123&EXT=pdf http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=68408807100406401...

scholia 11y ago
Original press release with big infographic https://medium.com/@cornell/candy-soda-and-fast-food-are-not-driving-the-rising-obesity-trend-in-the-us-3545844f87b3 https://medium.com/@cornell/candy-soda-and-fast-food-are-not...

J_Darnley 11y ago

Of course it isn't. Too much food is the cause of America's obesity epidemic.

Gibbon1 11y ago
And 95% of the 'food' people eat is junk food. It might be out right junk food, or junk food masquerading as healthy food. One you start digging and try to find stuff that isn't chock full of over processed carbs and added sugar one finds the pickings to be slim indeed. I read the study as saying, the outliers on bottom end scrupulously avoid junk and they are not fat (full stop) The ones the seek the stuff out are fat indeed and then everyone else is essentially eating all the same stuff and there is no way to suss out the various reasons why peoples BMI varies. The problem is BMI is a worthless metric. Because weight in humans is comprised for four things. 1. Bone, more is better. 2. Muscle, more is better. 3. Subcutaneous fat, more is better 4. Organ fat, more is bad. Number 4 is the big problem. BMI tells us nothing about that.
- jonnathanson 11y ago
  "3. Subcutaneous fat, more is better" Why, and to what extent?
  - Gibbon1 11y ago
    You can start with this, start 11:00 go to 20:00. Or actually watch the whole thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceFyF9px20Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceFyF9px20Y
- PhantomGremlin 11y ago
  BMI is a worthless metric The canonical example of exactly how worthless is this: Take for example, basketball player Michael Jordan: ''When he was in his prime, his BMI was 27-29, classifying him as overweight, yet his waist size was less than 30,'' You need a better formula if your current one is classifying NBA superstars as "overweight". http://www.webmd.com/diet/how-accurate-body-mass-index-bmi?page=2 http://www.webmd.com/diet/how-accurate-body-mass-index-bmi?p...
  - J_Darnley 11y ago
    Sure. Most people with a BMI over 25 are world class athletes. Don't bother using it for us few that aren't.
    - Gibbon1 11y ago
      The trouble is for metabolic disease BMI as a test has a false positive rate of 20% and a false negative rate of 40%.

jackvalentine 11y ago

I guess this makes sense. Does the article tackle the idea that high-sugar and caffeinated foods are in a way addictive? Sure portion control is the key here, but if your body is just simply craving a Big Mac and huge coke... what good is telling people that?