4 ms·

Obesity is a great example of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Having been overweight and borderline obese I have a certain mindset that my

Obesity is a great example of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Having been overweight and borderline obese I have a certain mindset that my level of fitness is achievable by anyone who puts in the effort. I firmly believe this. There is a load of research supporting this, that a calorie is a calorie, and I suspect it will stay that way...

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
ericb 12y ago
Yes, and anyone should be able to hold their breath for 3 minutes. Oh wait, that's hard? Is it possible there is a strong biological drive that makes it difficult? So does that mean these drives affect our behavior? Imagine there was a similar drive for food. Let's call it "hunger." If such a drive existed, it is conceivable it would vary from person to person, and things would be more complicated than "a calorie is a calorie" because there's this whole strong drive drive influencing things. What if other factors could mess with the strength of this drive? Thank goodness this is all hypothetical, otherwise "a calorie is a calorie" might be just a meaningless platitude.
- judk 12y ago
  Your analogy and message would be more pleasant if you didn't wrap it in the confusing and unfriendly sarcasm.
  - ericb 12y ago
    A fair point. I have tried putting this in friendlier terms at times, but my perception is that most people who hold the reductionist view want fatness to be a morality tale where bad things happen to people who deserved it. That notion offends me, and it seems far-fetched since this is happening in animals, too. That or someone is generalizing from their n of one anecdote to all people. Even worse, I feel like this platitude is used as an excuse to stop thinking. The least interesting part of this whole thing is the thermodynamics--to the point of being so uninteresting that I can't believe it gets talked about. How about why are people eating more? Do some foods satiate hunger better? Why is the problem accelerating over time? What is causing animals to weigh more--has their willpower diminished? A calorie is a calorie misses the point so thoroughly it infuriates me. Apologies for the tone.
kazagistar 12y ago
Capacity to "put in effort" varies, for person to person and task to task. And trying to do the same thing and expecting a different result is obviously crazy. For most (myself included) it is sufficient to be educated in diet and exercise and have access to simple healthy foods. But not everyone's brains are wired the same way. You won't fix that minority of people no matter how often you shame them or say it is their fault. You need a different tool, be that professional counseling, restricted environments where they cannot access their drugs in the doses they desire, gastric bypass surgery, or, in many cases, simply accepting that they will lead uncomfortable lives and die early.
- silencio 12y ago
  Might I add my "effort" to this conversation - I've lost almost 30lbs this year. I know a couple people that have also lost a similar amount of weight with me. We all _look_ like we do the same things - eat less, eat better, walk/jog/gym more. But they're healthy with no chronic problems like me, and their worst problems just don't even compare. I'm the only one completely hopped up on asthma meds and painkillers for nerve damage in my legs while burning through what limited effort I can put in every day (yay ADHD) because I feel my health is more important than working. (Might I add I've had all these issues before I was overweight/obese, or they were caused by something out of my control... so while losing weight is good, it doesn't make anything better.) This is before I even get started on the horror that is telling people to eat healthy while earning a low income - one of the people above is someone I hired for my restaurant, and the drastically increased wage she's been earning under me with a better job in general enables her to eat well and lose weight. You're right. I hate people who fat shame. Everything is conveniently just swept under the rug of "just put in effort" like it doesn't matter, but it really does. I have already come to terms with what it's taking me to lose weight (on a better day when my leg isn't on fire, I'd call my diet/lifestyle change "pretty easy") but to act like that's trivial is beyond insulting.
idlewords 12y ago
Mmm... pound of cure.
mendort 12y ago
I have found it to be MUCH easier to get regular exercise when I live in a reasonably pedestrian safe neighborhood. I have found that the perceived level of effort to maintain fitness varies wildly with my external conditions (stress, neighborhood, prosperity, relationships, etc.). Saying that everyone can do it if they just give it the old college try may be a result of your circumstances.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

ericb 12y ago

Yes, and anyone should be able to hold their breath for 3 minutes. Oh wait, that's hard? Is it possible there is a strong biological drive that makes it difficult? So does that mean these drives affect our behavior? Imagine there was a similar drive for food. Let's call it "hunger." If such a drive existed, it is conceivable it would vary from person to person, and things would be more complicated than "a calorie is a calorie" because there's this whole strong drive drive influencing things. What if other factors could mess with the strength of this drive? Thank goodness this is all hypothetical, otherwise "a calorie is a calorie" might be just a meaningless platitude.

judk 12y ago
Your analogy and message would be more pleasant if you didn't wrap it in the confusing and unfriendly sarcasm.
- ericb 12y ago
  A fair point. I have tried putting this in friendlier terms at times, but my perception is that most people who hold the reductionist view want fatness to be a morality tale where bad things happen to people who deserved it. That notion offends me, and it seems far-fetched since this is happening in animals, too. That or someone is generalizing from their n of one anecdote to all people. Even worse, I feel like this platitude is used as an excuse to stop thinking. The least interesting part of this whole thing is the thermodynamics--to the point of being so uninteresting that I can't believe it gets talked about. How about why are people eating more? Do some foods satiate hunger better? Why is the problem accelerating over time? What is causing animals to weigh more--has their willpower diminished? A calorie is a calorie misses the point so thoroughly it infuriates me. Apologies for the tone.

kazagistar 12y ago

Capacity to "put in effort" varies, for person to person and task to task. And trying to do the same thing and expecting a different result is obviously crazy. For most (myself included) it is sufficient to be educated in diet and exercise and have access to simple healthy foods. But not everyone's brains are wired the same way. You won't fix that minority of people no matter how often you shame them or say it is their fault. You need a different tool, be that professional counseling, restricted environments where they cannot access their drugs in the doses they desire, gastric bypass surgery, or, in many cases, simply accepting that they will lead uncomfortable lives and die early.

silencio 12y ago
Might I add my "effort" to this conversation - I've lost almost 30lbs this year. I know a couple people that have also lost a similar amount of weight with me. We all _look_ like we do the same things - eat less, eat better, walk/jog/gym more. But they're healthy with no chronic problems like me, and their worst problems just don't even compare. I'm the only one completely hopped up on asthma meds and painkillers for nerve damage in my legs while burning through what limited effort I can put in every day (yay ADHD) because I feel my health is more important than working. (Might I add I've had all these issues before I was overweight/obese, or they were caused by something out of my control... so while losing weight is good, it doesn't make anything better.) This is before I even get started on the horror that is telling people to eat healthy while earning a low income - one of the people above is someone I hired for my restaurant, and the drastically increased wage she's been earning under me with a better job in general enables her to eat well and lose weight. You're right. I hate people who fat shame. Everything is conveniently just swept under the rug of "just put in effort" like it doesn't matter, but it really does. I have already come to terms with what it's taking me to lose weight (on a better day when my leg isn't on fire, I'd call my diet/lifestyle change "pretty easy") but to act like that's trivial is beyond insulting.

idlewords 12y ago

Mmm... pound of cure.

mendort 12y ago

I have found it to be MUCH easier to get regular exercise when I live in a reasonably pedestrian safe neighborhood. I have found that the perceived level of effort to maintain fitness varies wildly with my external conditions (stress, neighborhood, prosperity, relationships, etc.). Saying that everyone can do it if they just give it the old college try may be a result of your circumstances.