4 ms·

Amazing how there's no room for self-control or accountability in these discussions. There's a reason most of the world isn't addicted to heroin...

HDThoreaun 4y ago
People don’t suddenly have less self control. Of course you could lose weight by eating less than your body urges you too. That has nothing to do with why more people are obese now though.
- lm28469 4y ago
  > People don’t suddenly have less self control. That's what we get after decades and decades of marketing targeting kids... large scale behaviour changes. Look at how tobacco was advertised, it was the same thing, now most of us know smoking is very detrimental to your health and addictive. I wonder when people will realise they're pulling the same shit for food
  - Retric 4y ago
    Again, most people who gained weight were adults. Someone who was 18 in 1975 is only 66 today. Young kids are more likely to be obese but it’s only 22.2% for 12 - 19 year olds vs 44.3% among adults aged 40 to 59.
    - lm28469 4y ago
      Kids burn much more calories than adults, once their metabolism starts slowing down they'll take the hit "only" is quite an understatement, having a quarter of your youth being physically disabled is quite alarming
      - Retric 4y ago
        I agree ”only” isn’t the best descriptor. Still it’s clear it isn’t simply people eating a constant amount rather calorie consumption is significantly increasing with age. Weight gain doesn’t seem to be a metabolic issue, rather on average people eat just a little more and gain just a little more weight every single year and metrics like obesity and morbid obesity smooth over this underlying trend as even the morbidly obese still tend to gain weight.
  - 0xcde4c3db 4y ago
    Obesity started rising across all age groups at about the same time (ca. 1980).
- dokem 4y ago
  > People don’t suddenly have less self control How do you know this? As the adage goes: ...good times make weak men... We've had good times in the late part of the 20th century. We now have weak lazy people in addition to abundance of shit food. We absolutely live in a time of over acceptance. In the old days it would be: "Hey man, you're getting fat. That's not ok". Not it's all about sitting down and listening to excuses with our legs folded.
  - Retric 4y ago
    The WWII generation was also getting more obese just like every other age group during the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Retric 4y ago
Self control is a statistically significant factor representing around a 4% difference in body weight on average. But it doesn’t explain why things have changed.
cameronh90 4y ago
We banned heroin because it being readily available leads to loads of people getting addicted to it. Even with it being illegal, lots of people still end up addicted to it. No matter your views on prohibition, it's pretty obviously not a good idea to encourage heroin use due to the risk of addiction. Yet we do precisely that with salty sugary foods, with many of them advertised specifically towards children.
harimau777 4y ago
Other countries have better public policies for treating addiction? Other countries outlaw advertising drugs to consumers? Other countries have lower rates of industrial injuries leading to lower rates of painkiller dependence? Other countries have functioning social safety nets leading to less deaths of despair?

HDThoreaun 4y ago

People don’t suddenly have less self control. Of course you could lose weight by eating less than your body urges you too. That has nothing to do with why more people are obese now though.

lm28469 4y ago
> People don’t suddenly have less self control. That's what we get after decades and decades of marketing targeting kids... large scale behaviour changes. Look at how tobacco was advertised, it was the same thing, now most of us know smoking is very detrimental to your health and addictive. I wonder when people will realise they're pulling the same shit for food
- Retric 4y ago
  Again, most people who gained weight were adults. Someone who was 18 in 1975 is only 66 today. Young kids are more likely to be obese but it’s only 22.2% for 12 - 19 year olds vs 44.3% among adults aged 40 to 59.
  - lm28469 4y ago
    Kids burn much more calories than adults, once their metabolism starts slowing down they'll take the hit "only" is quite an understatement, having a quarter of your youth being physically disabled is quite alarming
    - Retric 4y ago
      I agree ”only” isn’t the best descriptor. Still it’s clear it isn’t simply people eating a constant amount rather calorie consumption is significantly increasing with age. Weight gain doesn’t seem to be a metabolic issue, rather on average people eat just a little more and gain just a little more weight every single year and metrics like obesity and morbid obesity smooth over this underlying trend as even the morbidly obese still tend to gain weight.
- 0xcde4c3db 4y ago
  Obesity started rising across all age groups at about the same time (ca. 1980).
dokem 4y ago
> People don’t suddenly have less self control How do you know this? As the adage goes: ...good times make weak men... We've had good times in the late part of the 20th century. We now have weak lazy people in addition to abundance of shit food. We absolutely live in a time of over acceptance. In the old days it would be: "Hey man, you're getting fat. That's not ok". Not it's all about sitting down and listening to excuses with our legs folded.
- Retric 4y ago
  The WWII generation was also getting more obese just like every other age group during the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Retric 4y ago

Self control is a statistically significant factor representing around a 4% difference in body weight on average. But it doesn’t explain why things have changed.

cameronh90 4y ago

We banned heroin because it being readily available leads to loads of people getting addicted to it. Even with it being illegal, lots of people still end up addicted to it. No matter your views on prohibition, it's pretty obviously not a good idea to encourage heroin use due to the risk of addiction. Yet we do precisely that with salty sugary foods, with many of them advertised specifically towards children.

harimau777 4y ago

Other countries have better public policies for treating addiction? Other countries outlaw advertising drugs to consumers? Other countries have lower rates of industrial injuries leading to lower rates of painkiller dependence? Other countries have functioning social safety nets leading to less deaths of despair?