5 ms·

Is it not clearly obesity? Why everyone is obese is perhaps unclear (although portion sizes, ultra processed foods, screen time and sedentary lives, etc, all se

Is it not clearly obesity? Why everyone is obese is perhaps unclear (although portion sizes, ultra processed foods, screen time and sedentary lives, etc, all seem to likely play a clear role), but I’d be surprised if the level of obesity that exists didn’t cause more heart disease and diabetes.

safety1st 2y ago
Yes. Why is everyone tiptoeing around this? The obesity rate has increased by something like 50% since the turn of the century. It is a major risk factor for all the causes of death being discussed here. Sure there are probably many factors but this is clearly a big one.
- hu3 2y ago
  Yeah if I try to handwave obesity impact on diabetes and cardiovascular diseases to the average cardiologist, they are going to tear me a new one within minutes. I don't know why is this even a question. Do people really think being overweight is a net positive?
  - pessimizer 2y ago
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23280227/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23280227/ Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories: a systematic review and meta-analysis > Conclusions and Relevance: [...]overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality.
  - watwut 2y ago
    You gotta go higher in BMI for those to kick in. Basically, where you are within normal and slightly overweight bounds is mostly an aesthetic concern with slight lifespan advantage for slightly overweight people. When you move toward obese or into underweight category, health problems kick in.
- lovethevoid 2y ago
  Go here https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/adult-calculator/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/adult-calculator/index.html and enter your height and weight. If you fall above the healthy category, you are part of the obesity rate and are what most research points to when it comes to increased cardiovascular risk. Also for asians the numbers are slightly lower. I find that when I point this out, people often get mad. They feel they aren't obese. But the research doesn't support them, if you are anywhere outside of the "healthy" categorization you are at the same risk (that we know of so far) as "clinically obese" people.
  - hu3 2y ago
    My result: 18.5 to 24.9. "Healthy Weight". I tried adding 10kgs and it said "Overweight". Seems ok to me. They even warn that BMI should be used along with other indicators.
    - pessimizer 2y ago
      Mechanick, J. (2013). “What If” Being Overweight was Good For You? Endocrine Practice, 19(1), 166–168. https://doi.org/10.4158/endp.19.1.50042678317gx698 https://doi.org/10.4158/endp.19.1.50042678317gx698 The evidence that being overweight is healthier is a bit dubious, but the evidence that having a "normal" BMI is healthier than "overweight" is nonexistent.
  - orionsbelt 2y ago
    Is it not the case that as BMI increases the risk increases? My BMI is not healthy - and I don’t deny that makes me subject to increased risk - but I would still think morbidly obese is far worse than obese which is worse than overweight, in terms of risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.
    - throwway120385 2y ago
      That's essentially what "morbidly" means.
    - Izkata 2y ago
lovethevoid 2y ago
Kind of. The tricky thing here is that most people have a rigid view of "obesity" in their minds as it's easier to shift blame to, but the only thing research has shown is that abnormal BMI leads to increased cardiovascular issues. Which includes slightly overweight people.
- derektank 2y ago
  Higher levels of body fat (which is almost always the cause of a high BMI unless you are an active athlete) is pretty directly tied to inflammation and pre-diabetic insulin resistance. This subsequently results in the liver producing more triglycerides and lipoproteins that clog the circulatory system and the inflammation itself promotes hypertension. All of this together results in more heart attacks and strokes. There's a pretty clear mechanistic link between obesity and cardiovascular disease. That doesn't mean obese people are "to blame" for any medical complications they might suffer from obesity. It also doesn't mean that obesity is a death sentence; people's bodies function differently and we've all heard stories of pack a day smokers that lived into their 90s. But there is absolutely a connection between the two.
shadowmanifold 2y ago
I am on track to lose about 40lbs in 2024 and I suspect the main variable is really as simple as we have mastered the art of making really incredible tasting food. It is so pervasive though it is hard to tell until you go on a really boring and restrictive diet. It is just hard to not gain weight on average when the food tastes this good with such incredible variety. That is even if you buy something at the store. With our "foodie" culture, restaurants are an entire other level of choice and taste on top of that.
- throwaway2037 2y ago
  I hope this isn't a throwaway account(!). This is a good post. Can you share what/why it is working for you? The best stories always share small experiments that people tried where they learned what didn't work.
- zeroonetwothree 2y ago
  I don’t think the taste itself is an issue, it’s the availability. If I have to cook a delicious steak every time I want to eat I’m not going to randomly snack all day since it’s quite a process. My food consumption will remain at a reasonable amount. Whereas if I just pull out a bag of $chips from the pantry I could eat the whole bag without feeling sated.
- bluedino 2y ago
  >> we have mastered the art of making really incredible tasting food. Corporations have intentionally created incredibly addicting food.
- cocothem 2y ago
  1) Taste is very overrated, IMO. Too much gratification in our society. 2) SALTY is a taste. Once you remove salt and give it a few weeks, you will start finding about tastes you didn't know existed. 3) Once you cook your own food from scratch using quality and healthy ingredients , what you find tasty can change. It has in my case.
llamaimperative 2y ago
All those things you mention are almost certainly contributors. Another one for you to investigate if you'd like to get pissed off: endocrine-disrupting chemicals. They are everywhere and many of them are strongly tied to metabolic disorders including obesity.

safety1st 2y ago

Yes. Why is everyone tiptoeing around this? The obesity rate has increased by something like 50% since the turn of the century. It is a major risk factor for all the causes of death being discussed here. Sure there are probably many factors but this is clearly a big one.

hu3 2y ago
Yeah if I try to handwave obesity impact on diabetes and cardiovascular diseases to the average cardiologist, they are going to tear me a new one within minutes. I don't know why is this even a question. Do people really think being overweight is a net positive?
- pessimizer 2y ago
  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23280227/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23280227/ Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories: a systematic review and meta-analysis > Conclusions and Relevance: [...]overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality.
- watwut 2y ago
  You gotta go higher in BMI for those to kick in. Basically, where you are within normal and slightly overweight bounds is mostly an aesthetic concern with slight lifespan advantage for slightly overweight people. When you move toward obese or into underweight category, health problems kick in.
lovethevoid 2y ago
Go here https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/adult-calculator/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/adult-calculator/index.html and enter your height and weight. If you fall above the healthy category, you are part of the obesity rate and are what most research points to when it comes to increased cardiovascular risk. Also for asians the numbers are slightly lower. I find that when I point this out, people often get mad. They feel they aren't obese. But the research doesn't support them, if you are anywhere outside of the "healthy" categorization you are at the same risk (that we know of so far) as "clinically obese" people.
- hu3 2y ago
  My result: 18.5 to 24.9. "Healthy Weight". I tried adding 10kgs and it said "Overweight". Seems ok to me. They even warn that BMI should be used along with other indicators.
  - pessimizer 2y ago
    Mechanick, J. (2013). “What If” Being Overweight was Good For You? Endocrine Practice, 19(1), 166–168. https://doi.org/10.4158/endp.19.1.50042678317gx698 https://doi.org/10.4158/endp.19.1.50042678317gx698 The evidence that being overweight is healthier is a bit dubious, but the evidence that having a "normal" BMI is healthier than "overweight" is nonexistent.
- orionsbelt 2y ago
  Is it not the case that as BMI increases the risk increases? My BMI is not healthy - and I don’t deny that makes me subject to increased risk - but I would still think morbidly obese is far worse than obese which is worse than overweight, in terms of risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.
  - throwway120385 2y ago
    That's essentially what "morbidly" means.
  - Izkata 2y ago

lovethevoid 2y ago

Kind of. The tricky thing here is that most people have a rigid view of "obesity" in their minds as it's easier to shift blame to, but the only thing research has shown is that abnormal BMI leads to increased cardiovascular issues. Which includes slightly overweight people.

derektank 2y ago
Higher levels of body fat (which is almost always the cause of a high BMI unless you are an active athlete) is pretty directly tied to inflammation and pre-diabetic insulin resistance. This subsequently results in the liver producing more triglycerides and lipoproteins that clog the circulatory system and the inflammation itself promotes hypertension. All of this together results in more heart attacks and strokes. There's a pretty clear mechanistic link between obesity and cardiovascular disease. That doesn't mean obese people are "to blame" for any medical complications they might suffer from obesity. It also doesn't mean that obesity is a death sentence; people's bodies function differently and we've all heard stories of pack a day smokers that lived into their 90s. But there is absolutely a connection between the two.

shadowmanifold 2y ago

I am on track to lose about 40lbs in 2024 and I suspect the main variable is really as simple as we have mastered the art of making really incredible tasting food. It is so pervasive though it is hard to tell until you go on a really boring and restrictive diet. It is just hard to not gain weight on average when the food tastes this good with such incredible variety. That is even if you buy something at the store. With our "foodie" culture, restaurants are an entire other level of choice and taste on top of that.

throwaway2037 2y ago
I hope this isn't a throwaway account(!). This is a good post. Can you share what/why it is working for you? The best stories always share small experiments that people tried where they learned what didn't work.
zeroonetwothree 2y ago
I don’t think the taste itself is an issue, it’s the availability. If I have to cook a delicious steak every time I want to eat I’m not going to randomly snack all day since it’s quite a process. My food consumption will remain at a reasonable amount. Whereas if I just pull out a bag of $chips from the pantry I could eat the whole bag without feeling sated.
bluedino 2y ago
>> we have mastered the art of making really incredible tasting food. Corporations have intentionally created incredibly addicting food.
cocothem 2y ago
1) Taste is very overrated, IMO. Too much gratification in our society. 2) SALTY is a taste. Once you remove salt and give it a few weeks, you will start finding about tastes you didn't know existed. 3) Once you cook your own food from scratch using quality and healthy ingredients , what you find tasty can change. It has in my case.

llamaimperative 2y ago

All those things you mention are almost certainly contributors. Another one for you to investigate if you'd like to get pissed off: endocrine-disrupting chemicals. They are everywhere and many of them are strongly tied to metabolic disorders including obesity.