Gluttony - not laziness - to blame for obesity

[Scum_of_the_Earth]

I absolutely think that you can't claim gluttony and omit laziness or vice versa in the obesity epidemic. When I was a kid the culprit was television that kept me inside. Nowadays I'd say it's probably moreso video games. But kids are eating more and moving less (we all are).

Americans are consumers. We consume more of everything (beyond just food) on average than any other country. We need to wake up to that and remember to appreciate simplicity in life.

And we move far less here than other countries. I was in Korea for a month where I ate rice (yes, carbs) 3 times a day and I LOST 19 pounds in those 28 days. I walked EVERYWHERE yet was probably consuming the same amount of calories that I had been in America, including even eating KFC and Mcdonalds a couple times a week.

Teach your children to move. Do exercise as a family. Make it fun, make it a lifestyle not a workout.

And have fun making healthy meals. Cooking is typically less expensive than going out to eat. And you know what's going into your food.

Also, a person can eat unhealthy and not be overweight, but heart disease and such will catch up to them. So just because you're thin, don't assume you're healthy.

[ayin jade]

Dont assume a fat person is lazy or a glutton. There are many reasons a person can be fat without being one of those 2 negative things. Yet there is that assumption, usually from healthy young active people who look down their noses at someone like me, who does not eat much, but because of a bad hip cant exercise well either. And also has a medical condition that encourages the body to store fat. And another medical condition that restricts my diet. Not a whole lot I can do about it.

[Guest man]

Dont assume a fat person is lazy or a glutton.

just because you're thin, don't assume you're healthy.

[Iryssa]

Dont assume a fat person is lazy or a glutton. There are many reasons a person can be fat without being one of those 2 negative things. Yet there is that assumption, usually from healthy young active people who look down their noses at someone like me, who does not eat much, but because of a bad hip cant exercise well either. And also has a medical condition that encourages the body to store fat. And another medical condition that restricts my diet. Not a whole lot I can do about it.

While this is true in may instances (my FIL has many of the same problems, by the way...except for him it's a knee rather than a hip), there are also many instances where diet and exercise (or lack thereof) ARE the problem. I don't think anyone here is assuming that poor diet and no exercise is the ONLY reason a person would be overweight or obese. HOWEVER, those things ARE a real, very widespread problem in North America today.

Our society is so geared towards convenience and excess. That example of the fast food restaurant I worked at is one, and I should mention that we had many regulars, who were there every single day for lunch and sometimes for breakfast as well, for example. You just can't tell me that that lifestyle didn't contribute to the weight problems many of them had. Another thing about North American cities (as opposed to European cities, for example) is that most of them simply aren't set up well for pedestrians, so many many people are forced to drive distances that Europeans would walk. We never hired a cab in Paris once! We took a shuttle from the airport to the hotel and back again, but no matter where we went--even out of the city--we simply walked or took the train. I don't think that's even possible in most North American cities!

Perfectly mobile young people drive across parking lots from the grocery store to the Starbucks (where they're also likely to go through drive through rather than get out) instead of walking. The same people take elevators rather than stairs up one or two levels (even when the elevator is so slow it's hardly worth waiting for...I've seen that a lot). People who start out perfectly healthy and mobile set themselves up for weight problems (and heart problems, and diabetes, and a host of other problems) by neglecting simple lifestyle changes (such as the stairs) that could improve their quality of life not only in the short term (because you're right, just because they're slender, doesn't mean they're healthy), but the long term as well.

[nebula]

Didn't mean to cause anyone grief.

I posted this to encourage people who wanted to lose weight to focus on quantity of overall food consumption.

I believe diets fail because they do two things:

1. Make you eat bland food - for your tastes anyway.

2. Starve you

So, when the diet is over, the person goes back to eating as normal . . . and re-bloat.

So, if you can learn to eat-to-satisfaction (rather than eat-to-stuffed) - and you can feel satisfied without feeling full - just that alone will decrease your caloric intake and help you lose weight.

I don't mean to diminish proper eating and exercise, but I know just this one effort will make a difference.

And honestly, I found it more bearable to discipline the volume of food I ate rather than deprive myself of foods I enjoy all the time.

[ayin jade]

I tried a diet once that worked well. It wasnt any sort of fad diet, just one I did on my own. I limited all fats, changing from ground beef to ground turkey. (As an aside, I think the hormones they add to cattle diets ends up causing us to gain weight too.) I didnt really limit portions of food though. When I got a craving, I would resist it at first, then end up giving in only for a bite or two, then resisting the craving again. During holidays, I had no limits on what I ate, figuring one day of feasting wouldnt hurt me, and resisting (at Thanksgiving and Christmas? come on, thats hard) would only crush my resolve to diet. I not only lost weight, I kept it off for a long while even after being off the diet .... until my fall down stairs and the resultant injury that limited my mobility.

[Guest]

<snip>

Another thing about North American cities (as opposed to European cities, for example) is that most of them simply aren't set up well for pedestrians, so many many people are forced to drive distances that Europeans would walk. We never hired a cab in Paris once! We took a shuttle from the airport to the hotel and back again, but no matter where we went--even out of the city--we simply walked or took the train. I don't think that's even possible in most North American cities!

Perfectly mobile young people drive across parking lots from the grocery store to the Starbucks (where they're also likely to go through drive through rather than get out) instead of walking. The same people take elevators rather than stairs up one or two levels (even when the elevator is so slow it's hardly worth waiting for...I've seen that a lot). People who start out perfectly healthy and mobile set themselves up for weight problems (and heart problems, and diabetes, and a host of other problems) by neglecting simple lifestyle changes (such as the stairs) that could improve their quality of life not only in the short term (because you're right, just because they're slender, doesn't mean they're healthy), but the long term as well.

You're right about the difference in European and N. American cities. I still miss being able to walk to where I needed to go like I did while living and working in Germany. Riding a bike for exercise was a pleasure there because by law the drivers had to give you space on the roads. That means we never had people yelling, screaming and throwing things at us while on a long ride. Sometimes pedestrians even started clapping when we went by in our jerseys in a pace line. It was great.

I live in Phoenix which is not set up for walking or biking very well. To be fair, things have improved a bit over the years, but it can still be a challenge. My not having a car severely limits where I can work because for anything over about 10 miles I have to take the bus, and they don't run 24 hours. I've seen the very behavior you describe at the malls where people will drive to a drive thru across the parking lot too. The ironic thing is I can't get served at a drive through on my mountain bike -- they prefer I leave the bike outside where it can get stolen and come inside to order. (Yes, I've tried this several times just to see what I could get away with.

I love the stupid looks I get from people paying $4 a gallon at a gas station in the afternoon as I ride by. They look at me like I'm the one that's crazy. Riding in 111 degrees isn't that bad as long as you're moving -- you roast slowly at a stop light, but then cool down again once you're on the move. I've lost a weight doing this, and my doctor is quite happy with my blood pressure and all that.

Anytime I see some young punk looking down their nose at me because of my size, I just smile and tell 'em "wait 'til you get older, kid. You won't be skinny forever. Almost everyone gains weight as they get older." Then walk or ride away.

[Larry 2]

Gluttony - not laziness - to blame for obesity

* 11:15 19 August 2008

* NewScientist.com news service

* Tamsin Osborne

Greed - not sloth - might be responsible for the obesity epidemic, according to research showing that we're doing just as much physical activity as we were in the early 1980s.

<snip>

The obesity epidemic had already started by 1982, but Speakman argues that people have always been fairly inactive during the evenings, and that although activities such as watching TV and playing computer games might be relatively new, they have not affected overall energy expenditure.

<snip>

If we are not less active, then we must be eating more food, suggesting that trying to increase our energy expenditure through physical activity may not be the best way of tackling obesity.

"If we want to reverse the obesity epidemic it would be much better to focus on trying to decrease caloric intake," says Speakman.

Read the full article here

I have always exercised, spent many an hour in the gym, believe in having a body that shows a perfect six-pack and consider those who don't not as good as they could be. Are you that studious? What is your problem? Those that cannot attain this must all be gluttonous or lazy huh? Is it possible some have metabolisms different than you and me? Others have medical problems that require medicines that cause weight to pile on. Lately I have heard that they have discovered certain ones have fat genes that make them susceptible to gaining weight while eating far less than normal human consumption. I may be wrong on the actual weight gain of one I heard about, but they ate 600 calories per day and gained 40 lbs in one month I think it was. No, I don't believe there is a one size fits all category explained by science or those special diet peddlers selling their ideas. I've heard of studies showing the type of food we eat in a fast paced society being a cause due to its fat content and being of a low energy source requiring quicker refills.

Nah, I'm just pulling your chain a little though I have so little regard for dietary or medical sciences; they sort of remind me of weather reports, you can't believe any of them. They change their minds daily seemingly as the wind blows on what's good and not good. As far as believing having a perfect six-pack stomach is as good as I could be physically, I have not attained unto that either. Many find themselves gaining weight after retirement with decreased activity, and sustaining the same intake of food they were used to, and others take new employment with less activity. Our job activity has decreased in our day with so much automation and we must learn to adjust as we go. But again, just having fun wit ya.

[tah]

Gluttony

I thought this was a pretty interesting link and kind of fun too..

[nebula]

0 - 10 . . . Spiritually, you might be a bit too thin.

There wasn't a spiritual-related activity on that quiz! How can I be spiritually slim?