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People don't acknowledge this enough, one size doesn't fit all. It bothers me most when people discuss diet and obesity. "Just don't eat so much!" is often gi

• Evgeny 10y ago
  Different people have different metabolisms too, turning food into energy to be spent, or locking it away instantly as fat -- makes a huge difference This is not true - at least the "huge" part. https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people/ https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-t... "Metabolic rate does vary, and technically there could be large variance. However, statistically speaking it is unlikely the variance would apply to you. The majority of the population exists in a range of 200-300kcal from each other and do not possess hugely different metabolic rates." Calories-In-Calories-Out is a rather limited view of the situation. https://examine.com/nutrition/what-should-i-eat-for-weight-loss/ https://examine.com/nutrition/what-should-i-eat-for-weight-l... "In conclusion, losing weight requires a negative energy balance, which can be obtained by eating less, as we have seen, but also by exercising more."
  • tux1968 10y ago
    It's like saying, driving a car requires a neutral energy balance, you need to put in just as much gas as you burn. While 100% true. It's not helpful information. It doesn't mention the fact that different cars burn fuel at a different rate. That some drivers can afford a higher octane fuel. And that a poorly tuned vehicle with incorrect tire pressure will require more fuel. The point is, that there are many factors that go into weight gain and loss. And while in terms of basic physics it does indeed boil down to energy balance, that ignores a great many factors that affect both ones internal demand for more energy and ones ability to make use of ingested energy rather than turning it into fat.
    • JoeAltmaier 10y ago
      And yet for each of us, where we're at right now, we lose weight by eating less and exercising more that we are right now. Its a wonderfully self-calibrating system.
      • irishcoffee 10y ago
        Nobody likes that answer. Personal accountability sucks.
        • tux1968 10y ago
          It doesn't matter what people like, what matters are the facts of the situation. I'm arguing that answers like yours are self serving reinforcement of your own ideas about morality which blind you to the possibility that you're just wrong in thinking that everyone is on the same playing field. That does NOT mean we aren't all personally responsible. It means that you should consider having compassion and less contempt for people who fail where you succeed. Are there cases of pure gluttony and laziness leading to obesity? Damn straight there are, and I'm not arguing otherwise. But whether you believe me or not there are real challenges that _some_ fat people face that you (presumably) and I just don't have to deal with. Think of it this way, if someone is born with only one leg. They still have all the same personal responsibility you and I have to live their life as an adult. But both of us will understand if they struggle with certain things we're able to accomplish with ease. You wouldn't dream of saying that person lacks personal accountability because he struggles with walking. So why do you presume to know FOR SURE that everyone who is fat got that way because of a failing of personal accountability? Perhaps they were just born without a leg... so to speak... I hope you'll reconsider your position. At least to admit there is a possibility that other people have unseen handicaps that you just don't have to deal with.
          • JoeAltmaier 10y ago
            Sure there are corner cases. But almost everybody can lose weight almost always by simply eating less and exercising more. The rest of the billion-dollar industry preys upon our low self-control by promising some magic cure. That requires no effort.