4 ms·

Discrepancy Between Self-Reported and Actual Caloric Intake in Obese Subjects

7 points by paulpauper 2y ago

taeric 2y ago
It is predictable that this was a big driver. It is still sobering to see how big of a driver it is. Holy cow.
nickburns 2y ago
"In contrast, the subjects in group 1 underreported their actual food intake by an average (±SD) of 47±16 percent and overreported their physical activity by 51±75 percent." I'm a dummy. Can someone explain in lay terms what that "(±SD)"/"47±16"/"51±75" stuff means? Title of this post should probably have "(1992)" appended, too.
- paulpauper 2y ago
  SD=standard deviation
- CobaltFire 2y ago
  The first number is the percentage, with the second being the size of the Standard Deviation from that.
- Kirby64 2y ago
  On average, group 1 underreported their intake by 47% (with one standard deviation being the range of 31-66%). They also overreported their physical intake by an average of 51% (with one standard deviation being a range of -24% to 126% overreporting).
  - nickburns 2y ago
    Thank you! I think it was the just one standard deviation part that you've now clarified for me.
paulpauper 2y ago
however, the study is old and not many subjects and afik not replicated. there are other studies that show obese children have lower than predicted metabolism for weight and body composition
bradlys 2y ago
From 1992. It’s almost always when someone says that “I’m barely eating and can’t lose weight” that they’re not counting calories accurately. Many people try to count calories using rough estimates but unless you’re putting every single thing through a scale before eating - you won’t be accurate. Even for packaged foods, calorie content can vary significantly and some articles report they can be off by up to 20%. When I do all my bulking and cutting - I do rigorous calorie counting by never eating anything that doesn’t go through a scale. It does mean I basically never get to eat out but I’m fine with that. I’ve got goals I want to achieve. Dr. Mike had a good discussion with a controversial figure (Jason Fung) related to all this. I would recommend watching all the way through because by the end they end up agreeing a lot more than disagreeing. There were some contentious points which I think shows a strong difference in how people think of food and weight loss. I’m very much a calorie in, calorie out guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSwppRQ0dDQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSwppRQ0dDQ
- nickburns 2y ago
  One of my siblings is obese and another overweight. I've been the 'skinny one' (at healthy BW/BMI/whatever) all my life. I've long suspected that if they could watch every single thing I consume in a day's time—or alternatively, allowed me to portion every single thing of theirs—they'd be shocked by the sheer difference in volume from what they've come to expect as normal. Calorie counting aside, many, many people become strongly adapted to excessive daily consumption, and they're completely unaware that it's their root issue. It's not so much that weighing can show people how much they should be eating, but rather how much they should not be eating.
  - paulpauper 2y ago
    I think genes or other biological factors play a role in this though, whether it's a preference for calorie dense foods, failure to achieve satiety, slow metabolism (such as not enough NEAT), low willpower, or other factors. There are cases where the stomach empties its contents too fast, leading to hunger soon after eating, which Ozempic and related drugs help treat.

7 points by paulpauper 2y ago

It is predictable that this was a big driver. It is still sobering to see how big of a driver it is. Holy cow.

"In contrast, the subjects in group 1 underreported their actual food intake by an average (±SD) of 47±16 percent and overreported their physical activity by 51±75 percent." I'm a dummy. Can someone explain in lay terms what that "(±SD)"/"47±16"/"51±75" stuff means? Title of this post should probably have "(1992)" appended, too.

paulpauper 2y ago
SD=standard deviation
CobaltFire 2y ago
The first number is the percentage, with the second being the size of the Standard Deviation from that.
Kirby64 2y ago
On average, group 1 underreported their intake by 47% (with one standard deviation being the range of 31-66%). They also overreported their physical intake by an average of 51% (with one standard deviation being a range of -24% to 126% overreporting).
- nickburns 2y ago
  Thank you! I think it was the just one standard deviation part that you've now clarified for me.

paulpauper 2y ago

however, the study is old and not many subjects and afik not replicated. there are other studies that show obese children have lower than predicted metabolism for weight and body composition

bradlys 2y ago

From 1992. It’s almost always when someone says that “I’m barely eating and can’t lose weight” that they’re not counting calories accurately. Many people try to count calories using rough estimates but unless you’re putting every single thing through a scale before eating - you won’t be accurate. Even for packaged foods, calorie content can vary significantly and some articles report they can be off by up to 20%. When I do all my bulking and cutting - I do rigorous calorie counting by never eating anything that doesn’t go through a scale. It does mean I basically never get to eat out but I’m fine with that. I’ve got goals I want to achieve. Dr. Mike had a good discussion with a controversial figure (Jason Fung) related to all this. I would recommend watching all the way through because by the end they end up agreeing a lot more than disagreeing. There were some contentious points which I think shows a strong difference in how people think of food and weight loss. I’m very much a calorie in, calorie out guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSwppRQ0dDQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSwppRQ0dDQ

nickburns 2y ago
One of my siblings is obese and another overweight. I've been the 'skinny one' (at healthy BW/BMI/whatever) all my life. I've long suspected that if they could watch every single thing I consume in a day's time—or alternatively, allowed me to portion every single thing of theirs—they'd be shocked by the sheer difference in volume from what they've come to expect as normal. Calorie counting aside, many, many people become strongly adapted to excessive daily consumption, and they're completely unaware that it's their root issue. It's not so much that weighing can show people how much they should be eating, but rather how much they should not be eating.
- paulpauper 2y ago
  I think genes or other biological factors play a role in this though, whether it's a preference for calorie dense foods, failure to achieve satiety, slow metabolism (such as not enough NEAT), low willpower, or other factors. There are cases where the stomach empties its contents too fast, leading to hunger soon after eating, which Ozempic and related drugs help treat.