6 ms·

No, the amount we're eating is making us fat.

odonnellryan 13y ago
I think it's more lifestyle, which includes consumption, than it is just eating.
guruz 13y ago
And you're eating more because something tricks your body into not feeling full earlier. Be it sugar, your gut bacteria, drinking liquid calories, hormons, [...] Many reasons I'm sure.
- bluedino 13y ago
  Small soft drinks are now 20oz, restaurants give you triple what a serving size should be for most meals, buffets reign supreme, and snacks and high-calorie drinks are part of our daily routines and culture.
  - vilhelm_s 13y ago
    But that could be an effect of people being hungrier, rather than the cause. I think the most convincing clue that there is something nonobvious going on is that lab animals are also getting fatter, despite being on a standardized and controlled diet (http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101124/full/news.2010.628.html http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101124/full/news.2010.628.ht...).
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
jimrandomh 13y ago
Alas, I have but one downvote to give for this empty dismissal.
DanBC 13y ago
There is a remarkable variety of gut flora. Some is known to help people put on weight. Some is known to help people stay at a normal weight. It's an interesting extra method to tackle obesity, because what society is trying so far doesn't seem to be working.
- pizza234 13y ago
  "Society" has not been really trying anything; when we'll see it educating people in having a healthier lifestyle, that is, eating less junk food and doing sports, then it's possible to state that something is being tried. The problem is that in a culture where junk food is cheap and pushed 24/7, there is no tradition of healthy nutrition, and there is much unbalance work/life, such education is clearly impossible.
  - DanBC 13y ago
    Do you have any research to show that exercise is effective in helping people lose weight?
    - pizza234 13y ago
      First of all, I've talked about healthier lifestyle; exercise is only half of it. Second, and most important, I think you never lived in countries having different lifestyles, so that your idea on the subject is purely theoretical. Nutrition research itself is not "wrong", but it's much more important to have a broader view and experience. Nutritional "discoveries" have been coming and going for decades, and yet the situation didn't improve at all. If you'll have a very simple walk around a city, and possibly in a supermarket, in a country where obesity is not epidemic, you will see immediately why the situation is such.
    - zxcdw 13y ago
      Building and maintaining muscle consumes lots of calories in the long run. But then again, it takes lots of time and hard work too, so there's that. And of course, to actually gain any considerable muscle you need to eat relatively clean, so there's that too. But of course, 90 % is diet. 10 % is hard work. And these numbers come from my hat. Effort and discipline -- everybody knows those can get us anything, but the question is, how can we minimize effort and discipline and still get what we want?
rosser 13y ago
Did you miss the bit where they used mice fed a calorie-rich diet as the control, and calorie-rich plus antibiotics as the experiment group? The latter got fatter. Yes, yes, animal models != human results. But what about the experiments that were done on humans? The kids in Guatemala, or in Florida? The Navy sailors? I'm willing to bet they controlled for amount of food in those cases, and yet they all saw increased weight gain on antibiotics. Net, that seems pretty indicative that it may not just be how much we're eating, and I think that's worth exploring further.
Tohhou 13y ago
~ nope ~ An overweight person can be eating caloric diet equal to a skinny person and not only not lose any fat, but also be painfully constantly hungry, and be technically starving themselves as their body leeches what it needs to run from their vital organs. Meanwhile a fit person can be eating excess amounts of calories, but because they eat minimal carbs/sugars their body doesn't hold onto the extra calories they are eating (mostly eating fats, veg, meat) and they more easily lose body fat, and not only that but be constantly feeling full and never have hunger on their mind. Obesity is an inflammatory disease. It's not as simple as the amount of food you eat irregardless of what you eat. What you eat is extremely important, and when you eat right portion size is less important because your body won't allow you to eat more than what you need.
- dublinben 13y ago
  Eating at 75-80% of your TDEE will cause a person to lose weight. It's as simple as that. Only in an extreme case (very small, sedentary person) would that amount be lower than the 1200 Calorie starvation level.
  - nightski 13y ago
    The problem is determining TDEE which is impacted by quite a few factors. You can go and get "averages" or guesses from web sites but the truth is it seems to be quite variable.
  - Tohhou 13y ago
    And quite possibly starving themselves of nutrients which they need like I said. They might lose weight - muscle mass, but not body fat. Calories in calories out is incorrect. A person who accepts this as truth is setting themselves up for painful failure.
philliphaydon 13y ago
We should go back to cooking with lard. Animal fat is far better than Sugar.

I think it's more lifestyle, which includes consumption, than it is just eating.

guruz 13y ago

And you're eating more because something tricks your body into not feeling full earlier. Be it sugar, your gut bacteria, drinking liquid calories, hormons, [...] Many reasons I'm sure.

bluedino 13y ago
Small soft drinks are now 20oz, restaurants give you triple what a serving size should be for most meals, buffets reign supreme, and snacks and high-calorie drinks are part of our daily routines and culture.
- vilhelm_s 13y ago
  But that could be an effect of people being hungrier, rather than the cause. I think the most convincing clue that there is something nonobvious going on is that lab animals are also getting fatter, despite being on a standardized and controlled diet (http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101124/full/news.2010.628.html http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101124/full/news.2010.628.ht...).
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

jimrandomh 13y ago

Alas, I have but one downvote to give for this empty dismissal.

DanBC 13y ago

There is a remarkable variety of gut flora. Some is known to help people put on weight. Some is known to help people stay at a normal weight. It's an interesting extra method to tackle obesity, because what society is trying so far doesn't seem to be working.

pizza234 13y ago
"Society" has not been really trying anything; when we'll see it educating people in having a healthier lifestyle, that is, eating less junk food and doing sports, then it's possible to state that something is being tried. The problem is that in a culture where junk food is cheap and pushed 24/7, there is no tradition of healthy nutrition, and there is much unbalance work/life, such education is clearly impossible.
- DanBC 13y ago
  Do you have any research to show that exercise is effective in helping people lose weight?
  - pizza234 13y ago
    First of all, I've talked about healthier lifestyle; exercise is only half of it. Second, and most important, I think you never lived in countries having different lifestyles, so that your idea on the subject is purely theoretical. Nutrition research itself is not "wrong", but it's much more important to have a broader view and experience. Nutritional "discoveries" have been coming and going for decades, and yet the situation didn't improve at all. If you'll have a very simple walk around a city, and possibly in a supermarket, in a country where obesity is not epidemic, you will see immediately why the situation is such.
  - zxcdw 13y ago
    Building and maintaining muscle consumes lots of calories in the long run. But then again, it takes lots of time and hard work too, so there's that. And of course, to actually gain any considerable muscle you need to eat relatively clean, so there's that too. But of course, 90 % is diet. 10 % is hard work. And these numbers come from my hat. Effort and discipline -- everybody knows those can get us anything, but the question is, how can we minimize effort and discipline and still get what we want?

rosser 13y ago

Did you miss the bit where they used mice fed a calorie-rich diet as the control, and calorie-rich plus antibiotics as the experiment group? The latter got fatter. Yes, yes, animal models != human results. But what about the experiments that were done on humans? The kids in Guatemala, or in Florida? The Navy sailors? I'm willing to bet they controlled for amount of food in those cases, and yet they all saw increased weight gain on antibiotics. Net, that seems pretty indicative that it may not just be how much we're eating, and I think that's worth exploring further.

Tohhou 13y ago

~ nope ~ An overweight person can be eating caloric diet equal to a skinny person and not only not lose any fat, but also be painfully constantly hungry, and be technically starving themselves as their body leeches what it needs to run from their vital organs. Meanwhile a fit person can be eating excess amounts of calories, but because they eat minimal carbs/sugars their body doesn't hold onto the extra calories they are eating (mostly eating fats, veg, meat) and they more easily lose body fat, and not only that but be constantly feeling full and never have hunger on their mind. Obesity is an inflammatory disease. It's not as simple as the amount of food you eat irregardless of what you eat. What you eat is extremely important, and when you eat right portion size is less important because your body won't allow you to eat more than what you need.

dublinben 13y ago
Eating at 75-80% of your TDEE will cause a person to lose weight. It's as simple as that. Only in an extreme case (very small, sedentary person) would that amount be lower than the 1200 Calorie starvation level.
- nightski 13y ago
  The problem is determining TDEE which is impacted by quite a few factors. You can go and get "averages" or guesses from web sites but the truth is it seems to be quite variable.
- Tohhou 13y ago
  And quite possibly starving themselves of nutrients which they need like I said. They might lose weight - muscle mass, but not body fat. Calories in calories out is incorrect. A person who accepts this as truth is setting themselves up for painful failure.

philliphaydon 13y ago

We should go back to cooking with lard. Animal fat is far better than Sugar.