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> The new projection marks a sharp jump from current 2023 numbers. Right now, about 3.12 billion people (39% of the global population) have obesity. I am surpr

> The new projection marks a sharp jump from current 2023 numbers. Right now, about 3.12 billion people (39% of the global population) have obesity. I am surprised to learn that it is that high already. > No country has reported a decline in obesity prevalence across their entire population. > While preventing and treating obesity requires financial investment Has there been a discovered way of treating obesity at a population level? As far as I can tell, only Ozempic and stomach surgery has succeeded in leading to any meaningful long term weight loss for an entire cohort.

3pm 3y ago
An effort by Dr Robert Lustig and Kuwaiti Danish Dairy Company may be an example. Not targeted at obesity specifically but more general metabolic health: https://agfundernews.com/dr-robert-lustig-unveils-strategy-to-re-engineer-ultra-processed-food https://agfundernews.com/dr-robert-lustig-unveils-strategy-t... Edit: Kuwait because it is small enough and has higher obesity rate than US (8th and 9th place as of 2016) https://web.archive.org/web/20071016062334/http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/07/worlds-fattest-countries-forbeslife-cx_ls_0208worldfat_2.html https://web.archive.org/web/20071016062334/http://www.forbes...
paulpauper 3y ago
Has there been a discovered way of treating obesity at a population level? As far as I can tell, only Ozempic and stomach surgery has succeeded in leading to any meaningful long term weight loss for an entire cohort. There is tons of hype and investment regarding Ai, but little for food engineering, such as making food that is less calorie dense but still filling, or other solutions to obesity, save for these drugs. I wish there was as much enthusiasm for solving obesity as there is for making smarter language models.
- philipkglass 3y ago
  Satiating food with a low glycemic load is available in any supermarket [0]. People need to cook plain meat, fish, pulses, and vegetables instead of microwaveable cheese stuffed things if they want to feel full without excess calorie intake [1]. Keeping ready-to-eat foods out of the home also introduces some useful friction; a person has to decide if they're hungry enough to cook instead of eating due to boredom and having the Hot Pockets right there. The problem as I see it is that more people want to lose weight than want to change habits in a way that will lead to lasting weight loss, so "dieting" is usually a temporary intervention and has a low success rate in the long term. It's like someone who wants to smell freshly showered every day without bathing regularly. They can't actually get the good outcome without the good habitual behavior. [0] It's admittedly not available in food deserts, but obesity has exploded among middle-income Americans too, not just among those too poor to shop at supermarkets. [1] This won't work for everyone, but it seems to be the biggest difference between food habits (and obesity rates) of Americans in the early 1960s vs. now: https://usafacts.org/articles/obesity-rate-nearly-triples-united-states-over-last-50-years/ https://usafacts.org/articles/obesity-rate-nearly-triples-un...

3pm 3y ago

An effort by Dr Robert Lustig and Kuwaiti Danish Dairy Company may be an example. Not targeted at obesity specifically but more general metabolic health: https://agfundernews.com/dr-robert-lustig-unveils-strategy-to-re-engineer-ultra-processed-food https://agfundernews.com/dr-robert-lustig-unveils-strategy-t... Edit: Kuwait because it is small enough and has higher obesity rate than US (8th and 9th place as of 2016) https://web.archive.org/web/20071016062334/http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/07/worlds-fattest-countries-forbeslife-cx_ls_0208worldfat_2.html https://web.archive.org/web/20071016062334/http://www.forbes...

paulpauper 3y ago

Has there been a discovered way of treating obesity at a population level? As far as I can tell, only Ozempic and stomach surgery has succeeded in leading to any meaningful long term weight loss for an entire cohort. There is tons of hype and investment regarding Ai, but little for food engineering, such as making food that is less calorie dense but still filling, or other solutions to obesity, save for these drugs. I wish there was as much enthusiasm for solving obesity as there is for making smarter language models.

philipkglass 3y ago
Satiating food with a low glycemic load is available in any supermarket [0]. People need to cook plain meat, fish, pulses, and vegetables instead of microwaveable cheese stuffed things if they want to feel full without excess calorie intake [1]. Keeping ready-to-eat foods out of the home also introduces some useful friction; a person has to decide if they're hungry enough to cook instead of eating due to boredom and having the Hot Pockets right there. The problem as I see it is that more people want to lose weight than want to change habits in a way that will lead to lasting weight loss, so "dieting" is usually a temporary intervention and has a low success rate in the long term. It's like someone who wants to smell freshly showered every day without bathing regularly. They can't actually get the good outcome without the good habitual behavior. [0] It's admittedly not available in food deserts, but obesity has exploded among middle-income Americans too, not just among those too poor to shop at supermarkets. [1] This won't work for everyone, but it seems to be the biggest difference between food habits (and obesity rates) of Americans in the early 1960s vs. now: https://usafacts.org/articles/obesity-rate-nearly-triples-united-states-over-last-50-years/ https://usafacts.org/articles/obesity-rate-nearly-triples-un...