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"If a different gut flora makes a substantial difference in obesity levels, is it then not reasonable to consider obesity at least partially a treatable medical
by alan_cx 13y ago
"If a different gut flora makes a substantial difference in obesity levels, is it then not reasonable to consider obesity at least partially a treatable medical condition?"
Because it can very easily be treated by simple life style changes. Buy people simply chose not to citing ever excuse under the sun.
"It is also not very helpful to anyone who struggles with obesity to be told the "proper solution is in the psyche of the afflicted" unless you also have a way of fixing that (if you you do have a way of fixing that, market a diet and you'll become a billionaire). Absent a way of giving everyone willpower to stick to strict enough diets, we should welcome other alternatives too."
Really? So, don't tell depressed people it is psychological? Pop a pill?
Market a diet? Psychology is not a diet.
I really don't care if obese people want to be obese, and give ti the I am what I am thing, but please, quit these absurd excuses. All the vast majority have to do is eat well and exercise. Just minor adjustment will gradually help. They don't have to become health food freaks and Olympic athletes, just make gradual adjustments. But no, they prefer sit an watch TV, while stuffing their faces with crap food and drink.
Sorry, but this drives me nuts. I know many obese people, and its the fault of every single one. And, its no shock to them. They know. They make their excuses, and know they are excuses. They all know the solution is simple life style changes, but the chose to remain following their current life style. In that, I support their choice.
- DipDrop 13y agoYou are right to say obesity is a matter of lifestyle choice, but it does not exclude what he said about 'partial treatability'. Elaboration from my personal life: I never get fat. I eat well, I don't do any regular excercising and I can eat as much junk food as I desire while still being the skinniest person around. I don't think I have any excess fat to show in my body. I don't know if it's some sort of condition or if I simply have a very efficient metabolism (and I can't even read the article right now, maybe it would contain an answer), but I also know a few other people with similar "gift". So if I am basically immune to obesity, I'd say it's definitely "at least partially a treatable medical condition" as he said above.
- deletes 13y agoDo you log your calorie intake?
- DipDrop 13y agoSorry to say but I don't. Never actually even thought about it, but on a gut feeling I could say it's often a lot more than the daily recommendations. Maybe I should?
- gnaffle 13y agoMaybe you don't have to today, but you should be prepared that you might in the future as you get older and your metabolism changes. So it's a good idea to at least establish a routine of weighing and exercising when you're young.
- jaggederest 13y agoUnless you're well over 30 now, and just one of those lucky bastards, be prepared for your metabolism to drop off a cliff at some point. Getting an idea of what your calorie intake is like is a great way to understand your body better.
- jtheory 13y agoMy body seems to work the same. > or if I simply have a very efficient metabolism It seems more like an INefficient metabolism, though. If we eat more calories and don't expend more with serious exercise OR store fat, that means we're wasting more energy than most people, not less.
- flumbaps 13y agoThis isn't an obese person making excuses, this is medical research. Rather than discuss the science, you just seem to be against any medical treatment of obesity on the grounds that you are personally emotionally invested in making obese people feel bad about themselves. Frankly, I'd keep that quiet if I were you, it makes you look very bad.
- gnaffle 13y agoDo you also go around and say that anorexia can be treated by the "simple" life style change of just eating more? What we are discovering now, is that it's NOT purely psychological. There are even discoveries that hints at depression being affected by the bacterial culture in the gut. That doesn't mean that obese or depressed people don't have to do a job themselves to get better, but it pokes hole in the theory that fat people are fat because they just decided to be, and don't care.
- DanBC 13y agoAnorexia is a serious psychiatric illness. When adjusted for other factors it's the psychiatric illness with the highest mortality rate. I accept that obesity has a number of causes, some of them complex, some of them involving deep long term psychological distress. But please do not conflate anorexia with obesity. Most obese people do not have the same strength or depth of broken thinking that people with anorexia do. PS: Interesting language note: I always say "People with X", 'people with anorexia'. 'people with visual impairment', etc. Except in this post, where I say "obese people". I think this might point to some of my cognitive biases.
- gnaffle 13y agoIt wasn't my intention to conflate them, just to say that it's meaningless to claim that it's a simple problem caused by a lack of willpower, given the current epidemic that we have.