[philodox]

I thought that some of you may find this interesting. I myself had always tied diabetes and heart problems with obesity, but it seems that this may be another myth perpetuated by the comercial sector.

http://www.bigfatfacts.com/

 

[Genetic]

Hummm....I have this last chocolate cake premium piece left in the fridge.....

Amicalement

 

[JahJahBinks]

Main problem thesedays is obesity among younger people.

 

[hongda]

The issue is just mislabeled as Obesity Epidemic. It's more like an issue with inactivity. Combine this with unhealthy eating habits (high calorie, poor nutrition) and this GENERALLY leads to obesity. It doesn't mean all obese people are unhealthy or non-obese people are healthy.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

They compare fat active people to skinny inactive people. Where is the comparison to skinny active people. 50 bucks says that site is run by a fat person.

Biggie.

 

[Thaddy]

I've read that by 2010, 1 out of every 5 children will be obese.

 

[YamiTenshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ They compare fat active people to skinny inactive people. Where is the comparison to skinny active people.

Here you go:

Quote:

Studies have shown that people who are heavy and fit are far healthier than people who are thin and never exercise. Fat, active people have half the mortality rate of thin sedentary people, and the same mortality rate as thin active people.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

This website is sponsored by Burger King; "Have it your way."

I'm suprised they didn't say "100% of skinny people die". (which of course, the must do at somepoint)

 

[Wodgy]

You're going to get a biased reaction from Head-Fi

Seriously though, it's a complicated question. In some ways the obesity epidemic is overplayed, but it's also true that obesity multiplies your risk of heart disease and diabetes. This graph is from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Study, which studied 10,000+ nurses and health professionals over 18 years... in other words, serious long term research with a very large cohort, not flash-in-the-pan science sensationalism with a half dozen participants:

Note that a BMI of 30 is not even that high for present day Americans. It is currently just the threshold of obesity. You can see that very obese individuals are extremely likely to get diabetes. Obese individuals over age 60 are basically guaranteed to be diabetic or pre-diabetic. If you go over to the NAAFA website (National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance), they have a lot of articles on "Managing Your Diabetes" as if it is a fait accompli, because it is.

Another way to strip out the politics on this issue is to look at insurance actuarial life expectancy tables. People who are obese and under age 60 do have a shorter life expectancy. Strangely, after about age 60, this effect drops off quite a bit, at least for men. However, complications due to illness stay higher (eyesight loss/blindness due to diabetes, risk of heart attack, etc.).

 

[harkamus]

You know IMO obesity can be alleviated by *GETTING OFF YOUR FAT ARSE*!

Seriously, it seems like Americans have a disease for everything. No offense to Americans. I live here too, you know. Hehe. As a kinesiologist major, I don't *believe* in obesity. It doesn't exist to me. What does exist to me are inactive, sedentary individuals.

 

[Wodgy]

By the way, as a counterpoint to the link in the original post, the Harvard School of Public Health has a great website discussing this issue in a much more neutral perspective, with proper citations:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritio...hy_weight.html

Most of the info in the link in the original post is from Paul Campos' book, which is a very biased and selective source. Campos is a pretty sensationalist author, and being a lawyer, not a scientist (or even a journalist), he has little incentive to present a balanced analysis of the facts or of the scientific research.

 

[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harkamus You know IMO obesity can be alleviated by *GETTING OFF YOUR FAT ARSE*! Seriously, it seems like Americans have a disease for everything. No offense to Americans. I live here too, you know. Hehe. As a kinesiologist major, I don't *believe* in obesity. It doesn't exist to me. What does exist to me are inactive, sedentary individuals.

I'm curious though, since you seemed to have voiced a popular opinion in such black and white terms, in your mind, is there any such thing as a fat active person, or does fat always equal lazyness and sedentary lifestyle?

 

[philodox]

Wodgy, those graphs are interesting... but they are based on BMI, which is pretty much useless. According to Body Mass Index, most professional athletes are grossly overweight. I will take a look at that website you linked when I have some more time to give it a serious read. I must say though, that from a quick glance it does not look neutral at all, but skewed in completely the opposite direction. Quote:

Originally Posted by JahJahBinks Main problem thesedays is obesity among younger people.

Main problem thesedays is that young people think they need to take diet pills or stick their fingers down their throats to look like the sickly models they see in the magazines... Quote:

Originally Posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ They compare fat active people to skinny inactive people. Where is the comparison to skinny active people.

Right after the comparison you just quoted. Read the whole article.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harkamus You know IMO obesity can be alleviated by *GETTING OFF YOUR FAT ARSE*! Seriously, it seems like Americans have a disease for everything. No offense to Americans. I live here too, you know. Hehe. As a kinesiologist major, I don't *believe* in obesity. It doesn't exist to me. What does exist to me are inactive, sedentary individuals.

The last sentence I agree with... the rest of it I don't.

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Wodgy, those graphs are interesting... but they are based on BMI, which is pretty much useless. According to Body Mass Index, most professional athletes are grossly overweight.

Yeah, BMI has problems at the extreme ends of height/mass and with physiological racial differences. It's also not great at predicting the health of any given individual. But it's a pretty good approximation when looking at white guys/gals as a group.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Wodgy, those graphs are interesting... but they are based on BMI, which is pretty much useless. According to Body Mass Index, most professional athletes are grossly overweight.

BMI is not useless as a statistical measure. Where it makes less sense is in labeling people as "obese" or "overweight." I agree with you there. (And indeed, the switch in the specific number used to classify people was probably a mistake and a perennial source of argument for the "obesity-is-bad-is-a-conspiracy" crowd.)

But as an aggregate statistical measure, it is very effective. When you study more than 10,000+ people, the statistical outliers (professional athletes, ballerinas, midgets, etc.) get buried by the overall trend. Make no mistake, this size of epidemiological study is about as good as epidemiology gets.

BMI is also useful as a personal and predictive measure for average people. Most people are not pro athletes. For those people within two standard deviations of the mean in terms of body height, composition, etc. (i.e. most people), the statistical analysis is valid. For example, an average woman (again, defined as within two standard deviations of the mean) with a BMI of 25 (labeled as "overweight" not "obese" currently), has a five fold higher lifetime risk of diabetes. That's just statistical reality.