3 ms·

> I don't know why I haven't seen more studies where extremely obese individuals just stop eating. Primarily because it's not considered medically safe, and a

> I don't know why I haven't seen more studies where extremely obese individuals just stop eating. Primarily because it's not considered medically safe, and a study along those lines would be too dangerous to the patients to be permitted. In this particular case, the 27yo male patient informed the doctors of his plan and said, "This is what I'm doing, you can monitor me or not." They didn't propose the study themselves.

bko 8y ago
It may be dangerous. But I imagine being 400+ pounds is even more dangerous, especially at an advanced age. Experimental treatments that may be more risky should be encouraged. Otherwise being that size is a death sentence.
- _jal 8y ago
  One can imagine what one likes, of course. I personally prefer to base medical decisions on, well, medical advice than on mental meanderings. And the medical advice leans the other direction[1]. > Otherwise being that size is a death sentence. Being any size is a death sentence. Balancing tradeoffs more or less well determines the appeals process length. [1] People quibble with for all sorts of reasons, some of them even somewhat reasonable. But > Experimental treatments that may be more risky should be encouraged. Eh? Do whatever you like with your body, and more power to you. But this is the same flavor of ignorant social pressure game the anti-vaxxers get up to, and is deeply irresponsible.
  - aldoushuxley001 8y ago
    It's quite ironic that your citation for medical advice is just a mental meandering that you were so dismissive of... maybe don't be so arrogant if you're also unwilling to cite the literature.
  - bko 8y ago
    Body mass index (BMI) is associated with a reduce lifespan. Compared to a normal-weight BMI, a BMI of: 40-44.9 leads to a loss of life of 6.5 years 45-49.9 leads to a loss of life of 8.9 years 50-54.9 leads to a loss of life of 9.8 years 55-59.9 leads to a loss of life of 13.7 years Assuming a 445 pounds at 6 feet tall is a BMI of about 60, at about the top of the highest range. I think extreme obesity is a big enough health risk that it should be studied with more experimental treatments [0] https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001673 https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/jo...
vanderZwan 8y ago
Couldn't that work as a sort of citizen science project then?

bko 8y ago

It may be dangerous. But I imagine being 400+ pounds is even more dangerous, especially at an advanced age. Experimental treatments that may be more risky should be encouraged. Otherwise being that size is a death sentence.

_jal 8y ago
One can imagine what one likes, of course. I personally prefer to base medical decisions on, well, medical advice than on mental meanderings. And the medical advice leans the other direction[1]. > Otherwise being that size is a death sentence. Being any size is a death sentence. Balancing tradeoffs more or less well determines the appeals process length. [1] People quibble with for all sorts of reasons, some of them even somewhat reasonable. But > Experimental treatments that may be more risky should be encouraged. Eh? Do whatever you like with your body, and more power to you. But this is the same flavor of ignorant social pressure game the anti-vaxxers get up to, and is deeply irresponsible.
- aldoushuxley001 8y ago
  It's quite ironic that your citation for medical advice is just a mental meandering that you were so dismissive of... maybe don't be so arrogant if you're also unwilling to cite the literature.
- bko 8y ago
  Body mass index (BMI) is associated with a reduce lifespan. Compared to a normal-weight BMI, a BMI of: 40-44.9 leads to a loss of life of 6.5 years 45-49.9 leads to a loss of life of 8.9 years 50-54.9 leads to a loss of life of 9.8 years 55-59.9 leads to a loss of life of 13.7 years Assuming a 445 pounds at 6 feet tall is a BMI of about 60, at about the top of the highest range. I think extreme obesity is a big enough health risk that it should be studied with more experimental treatments [0] https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001673 https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/jo...

vanderZwan 8y ago

Couldn't that work as a sort of citizen science project then?