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Couldn't disagree more. Motivation implies some sort of personal failing or personal weakness, which leads me to believe that you buy into the"eat less, exercis

Couldn't disagree more. Motivation implies some sort of personal failing or personal weakness, which leads me to believe that you buy into the"eat less, exercise more" mantra. I would just like to point out a few things. You state that "most people know what they need to do in order to lose weight" as if there is some cut and dry method to getting thin. Well, I suppose starvation diets ARE that easy, but nobody sticks to them, so they are useless in the long term. This brings me to my first point. If losing weight were as simple as following a specific regimen and the pounds fell off there would be no obesity problem. Nobody chooses to be fat. In fact fat people generally hate it and try incessantly to lose weight. I think the advice that these people get from their doctors, the government, the fitness gurus etc. is almost universally wrong. I could write much more on this subject, but consider that most people that want to lose weight try a variety of methods, and conspicuously none of them work. If this were isolated to just a few people I would say it is a personal defect, but since it is such a widespread phenomena (and growing) I must say I don't think it can simply be explained away as bad habits. People need good information on what to do, and by and large they aren't getting good info. The other thing that I would like to point out is that the focus on exercise is a relatively recent development, and even though more people are exercising than ever before, there has been absolutely no slow down in obesity rates. Go to any gym and you will see an abundance of fat people trying to get fit. It simply doesn't work. They stay fat.

beloch 14y ago
Yes, I buy into the "eat less, move more" idea. But then, I'm a physicist and I believe in the laws of thermodynamics. I am in complete agreement with you that starvation diets, fad diets, and other cook-book regimens are likely to result in failure. The point I was trying to convey was that this failure comes from the fact that it takes willpower to follow these, while you're much more likely to succeed if you try to form habits that don't require willpower to follow. I was borderline obese once myself, but I never followed any specific diets or regimens. I just learned healthy habits. Exercise is absolutely crucial for good health. Just being skinny doesn't necessarily make you healthy. Perhaps there was less focus on exercise in the past because people were, on average, much more active in their daily jobs. Today, paper-pushers really need to exercise to be healthy.
- mberning 14y ago
  Nobody is disputing the first law of thermodynamics. I do question your interpretation though. Firstly because the human body is not a closed system, and secondly, because there are different ways to interpret the laws as they relate to nutrition. Consider that x is the calories required to run your body at a given weight, and y is a surplus amount of calories. Traditional view: If you eat x + y calories your body will store y as fat. Non-traditional view: If your body needs x calories to function, but it's trying to store y calories as fat you need to eat x + y calories. The non-traditional view is becoming more favorable amongst obesity researchers. If you have an obligate weight gain caused by a biochemical defect, then you better eat the calories to satisfy the needs of the body.

beloch 14y ago

Yes, I buy into the "eat less, move more" idea. But then, I'm a physicist and I believe in the laws of thermodynamics. I am in complete agreement with you that starvation diets, fad diets, and other cook-book regimens are likely to result in failure. The point I was trying to convey was that this failure comes from the fact that it takes willpower to follow these, while you're much more likely to succeed if you try to form habits that don't require willpower to follow. I was borderline obese once myself, but I never followed any specific diets or regimens. I just learned healthy habits. Exercise is absolutely crucial for good health. Just being skinny doesn't necessarily make you healthy. Perhaps there was less focus on exercise in the past because people were, on average, much more active in their daily jobs. Today, paper-pushers really need to exercise to be healthy.

mberning 14y ago
Nobody is disputing the first law of thermodynamics. I do question your interpretation though. Firstly because the human body is not a closed system, and secondly, because there are different ways to interpret the laws as they relate to nutrition. Consider that x is the calories required to run your body at a given weight, and y is a surplus amount of calories. Traditional view: If you eat x + y calories your body will store y as fat. Non-traditional view: If your body needs x calories to function, but it's trying to store y calories as fat you need to eat x + y calories. The non-traditional view is becoming more favorable amongst obesity researchers. If you have an obligate weight gain caused by a biochemical defect, then you better eat the calories to satisfy the needs of the body.