It’s no secret that in the developed world there is a widespread problem with . . . being widespread.
I have to struggle with weight issues myself, and it’s certainly something I’m familiar with.
The question is what is causing this, and there are several obvious factors that undoubtedly play a role, such as the fact there is just a lot more food available today than there was in the past and the fact that the American diet is loaded with insulin-provoking carbohydrates, and particularly lots of refined, "Give me Type-II diabetes, please!" carbohydrates like those in flour and table sugar.
Dietary conditions are not the only reason that people struggle with weight issues. There are also hormonal and even genetic influences that incline certain individuals toward obesity.
And then there may be something else.
The obesity "epidemic" may be part epidemic in an unexpected sense.
It turns out that there is at least one virus that may be related to weight gain in humans.
EXCERPT:
Unpublished studies in humans show that 20 to 30 percent of overweight people are infected with adenovirus-36, compared to about 5 percent of the lean population.
interesting but i think a lot of the “epidemic” is nonsense. Australia is suppose to have 60% rate of people obese/overweight but when i go shopping i don’t feel like I’m on Nal Hutta.
You put your finger on the inappropriate carbohyrate intake. Viruses do not cause obesity, unused calories do.
High societies of the 16th century suffered from gout. High societies of the 21st century are suffering from obesity. Could there be a connection between these? Such connection might help identify some of the over riding issues.
High societies of the 16th century suffered from gout. High societies of the 21st century are suffering from obesity. Could there be a connection between these? Such connection might help identify some of the over riding issues.
anonymous one,
Read the article. The mice with the virus weren’t eating any more food, but were fatter anyway. A lot of us fat people don’t eat more food than our thinner siblings/compatriots do, but gain weight (or fail to lose it) anyway.
Viruses do not cause obesity, unused calories do.
Sure, unused calories turn to fat, but calorie usage itself can be disordered, with the cause of that being something else besides diet and exercise. There are people with thyroid conditions so bad that they can’t lose weight on 900 calories a day with exercise. They eat better than healthy people but they’re still fat. To tell someone like that, that they are not using enough calories will earn you a big fat, “Duh!” Just how far can you go in telling them that lowering calories is the answer? 600 calories per day? 500? 400? How much exercise must they do per day before you tell them it’s not their fault? 2 hours? 3 hours? Yikes. “Unused calories cause obesity” is correct but the line of causation does not halt there as the bottom line, for everyone. Not where there is an underlying disorder which, itself, is a cause of not using calories normally.
i’m not slamming anyone here, I’m struggling with weight myself (though in my case, i think it is inactivity). But, simply saying their bodies don’t use calories correctly and leaving at that doesn’t work. A fish’s body doesn’t “use” air the way we do, they also tend to stay out of the air. It’s not a coincidence. If your body isn’t using calories correctly, and you want to lose weight you either have to help your body use them correctly, through whatever means (I have chemicals in mind). or find a way to get more nutrition with a calorie level that will work for *you*.
A short person can reach the top shell just as well as a tall person, they just need a big enough ladder.
“High societies, etc”
The real problem isn’t that the wealthy are obese- that’s their problem, healthy, nutritious food is available to them, and if they don’t eat it, too bad.
The sad thing is the urban and rural poor, those who are uneducated about food choices, and those for whom the most affordable thing is ho-hos and pop, not organic carrots and real juice. Obesity among the poor is as big a problem as hunger, and its something we can all help change.
“The sad thing is the urban and rural poor, those who are uneducated about food choices…”
How can anybody be uneducated about food choices in this day and age? It’s blasted from every television, every day. It’s constantly and repeatedly taught in schools.
I understand that certain people may be enculturated to make bad food choices (influence of family and peers, etc…), but this is in spite of repeated exposure to warnings from the wider culture through the media.
It’s exactly like smoking… I can not imagine that there is anyone left in the country who does not know that smoking is a bad idea and will kill you. Yet, people smoke.
I don’t there is a lack of education in either area.
The point of my above post is that wealthy obese people and poor obese people have exactly the same problem, and that it is not caused by a lack of education on the topic of healthy vs. unhealthy food.
Actually, Tim, there is a lot of misleading information that could cause the uneducated to make wrong food choices, when they think they are making correct ones.
Look at “low fat” “fat free” food options. These foods are often loaded with sugar and refined carbs (which are essentially sugar). People are just now learning about “trans-fat” in products like margerine, which (in 80’s conventional wisdom) was often considered healthier than butter.
If you compare the produce section in a supermarket in a poor neighborhood to that of one in a rich neighborhood, you’ll see that the quantity and quality is often inferior.
I will agree with you that it’s not just educations that is needed. I was obese in college, close to 300 lbs. I thought I was simply in that category of people with obese genes. Most of my family is overweight, after all. Another interesting thing to note however, was that none of these overweight family members worked out with any regularity and all had healthy appetites.
After learning about diet and exercise, working with a trainer for a short time, and working out 6 days a week for about 2 years, I lost 100 pounds and reached a normal weight for my height.
There may be some truth to obesity genes and viruses for some people, but I think that for 95% of obese people (especially those under 40), good health and a normal weight are within their grasp, if they put forth the effort.
“Actually, Tim, there is a lot of misleading information that could cause the uneducated to make wrong food choices…”
That’s true, but I think wealthy people make the same kind of mistakes… falling for ad pitches rather than deciding on the basis of the actual contents of the food.
As for what is available in poor neighborhoods, that might be a genuine problem for those without transportation. If all you eat is what you can get at the local mini-mart, you might find it hard to eat well. For the most part, though, I don’t think that would be the main cause. Even McDonald’s has some pretty healthy stuff, now.
You hit on the real problem with your last sentence. Most people who are obese probably just don’t put forth the effort to make the change. For some, it will take only moderate effort, for others, the effort might be enormous. That’s not fair, but there it is.
I speak as someone who is overweight, and who has loitered at the edge of obesity for the last several years. I am taking off weight now, but the trick is to stay with it. I do not lack education, I have only lacked the will to make good diet and exercise a big priority in my lifestyle, so I am not putting down anybody.
To be truthful, any exercise I get right now is accidental.
Yeah.
Gluttony is a mortal sin. So is obesity. Cardinal sin. Deadly sin. And it’s just gross.
The products marketed at certain American demographics are those which are sugary, fatty, salty, and cheap. Interestingly, those same demographics have the highest incidencies of type2diabetes and heart disease. Them’s just the facts.
The commnets above show that that there is no “one cause fits all” approach to obesity. I would like to add one more factor on to the list: that the obesity charts are wrong.
About 20 years ago when I was 30, my wife and I joined the “Y” to get/keep in shape. This particular Y had fitness evaluations available twice a year. So I went. One of the tests was for %body fat/ideal weight. At the time I weighed 212 pounds. After the body fat test (the pinch test, not the weighing in water) my ideal weight was… 211 pounds. (I think my body fat content was 17%).
According to the Y, I was at an ideal body weight, but according to the standard medical charts I was very overweight, bordering on obese.
Now, I’m not saying that this applies to everyone, but it is one more factor to think about when discussing this issue.
BTW, I’ve gained a few pounds since then, so I do try to exercise more and watch what I eat to shed off those pounds.
Today we set aside time for exercise. Not so long ago, the average person’s whole day was exercise.
There’s other social factors we well, such as the ‘life is short, sieze the moment’ mentality. My grandma had massive Sunday dinners, with all the Southern favorites, every week, and she was very thin. But the rest of the week she had small or regular size meals and didn’t have too many snacks, except for the occasional slice of lemon pound cake or a small bowl of pudding or ice milk after dinner. Treating ourselves, whether with food or shopping or whatever, is now a national past-time.
When I was growing up, it was a sign of health and wealth to eat a lot and have a couple extra pounds, in the poorer neighborhoods I lived in. A lot of the wealthier kids, however, had the opposite pressure- to be model thin, so they’d freqently end up with eating disorders like bulimia. It didn’t hold across the board, of course, for every poor person to have a coupla extra pounds or every wealthy person to try to imitate… whoever the top model was in the late 80s. But those were patterns I noticed, back then.
Speaking of nutrition… has anyone read the Sonoma Diet?
the American diet is loaded with insulin-provoking carbohydrates, and particularly lots of refined, “Give me Type-II diabetes, please!” carbohydrates like those in flour and table sugar.
And don’t forget the biggest monster of them all, high fructose corn syrup.
“I have to struggle with weight issues myself …”
Why can’t people be honest, instead of using the above kind of euphemisms?
Just say it: “Because of my lack of self-control, I’ve been a fat slob most of my life …”.
“Issues,” my eye.
I take exception to the annonymous commenter who said,
“Gluttony is a mortal sin. So is obesity. Cardinal sin. Deadly sin. And it’s just gross.”
Yes, gluttony is a sin. Obesity — being fat — is not a sin in and of itself. Being fat can have other causes than simple overeating or lack of willpower.
I think there really is something to this body chemistry thing. There are people who eat bacon and ice cream every day whose cholesterol is normal. And people like my mom who has been thin all her life and follows a strict low fat, low cholesterol diet and yet still has very, very high cholesterol.
And, thin people are not immune to gluttony just by virtue of being thin! I’m a naturally slim person and I struggle with trying to figure out when I’m committing gluttony and how to practice the virtue of temperance. (No, I’m not anorexic or bulimic.) I do tend to turn to food when I’m stressed, but other times I just seem to have this compulsion to repeat a pleasant sensation. (Chocolate … must …. have….chocolate.) I wish Jimmy would write on this topic.
Veering into another, though somewhat related topic, based on Jimmy’s recommendation I’ve been watching “The 4400.” I just finished the episode where one of the 4400 appears to have an ingredient in his saliva which, when ingested by other people, causes them to miraculously loose weight — but with an unexpected side effect! It was so creepy! It’s on Season 2, Disc 1.
I worry that obesity is overemphasized because it’s a sign of poverty. Rich folk and movie stars can hire personal trainers and nutritionists, and middle-class folk can get gym club memberships. These things are, if not culturally expected, at least culturally encouraged. Sometimes ultra-healthy thin people are prone to vanity or pride, but these vices get downplayed in favor of “obvious” bodily signs of over-indulgence.
Lots of fat folk have outsourced food preparation to the food industry, fast and otherwise. Perhaps produce sections in poorer areas are of lower quality because poorer folk have forgotten how to cook. Let’s call it microwave-induced amnesia.
It’s good to learn to read the labels. I have my suspicions about unnecessary sweeteners finding their way into just about everything. The main culprit to watch for is “high fructose corn syrup.” It’s especially common in foods marketed to children. As an elementary teacher I look around and figure that something has to be going on – these kids are fat!
I know the cure for obesity. High intensity weight training and sensible eating habits. Here are some excellent websites.
http://www.mikementzer.com
http://www.drdarden.com(forum)
http://www.baye.com
http://www.clutchfitness.com(forum)
Here are some good books:
High Intensity Weight Training: The Mike Mentzer Way by Mike Mentzer and Jogn Little
The New High Intensity Training by Dr. Ellington Darden
They don’t discuss the relevant research as much as an exersice scientist would like, but they are writing popular books rather than research journals.
http://www.i-a-r-t.com has more “scientifical” stuff.
Anyone who thinks obesity in and of itself is a sin is seriously judging St. Thomas Aquinas and G.K. Chesterton. I wouldn’t go there.
Eowyn,
Lol 😉
I have to struggle with weight issues myself …”
Why can’t people be honest, instead of using the above kind of euphemisms?
Just say it: “Because of my lack of self-control, I’ve been a fat slob most of my life …”.
“Issues,” my eye.
You are just so wrong. I limit my caloric intake to 1550 per day, which is at the bottom end of the caloric intake recommended for men (1500-2000 per day). I walk 2 miles a day (some days run) and various other exercises and I have been stuck at 265 lbs for almost 15 years. It isn’t lack of self control. I have some friends who are heavier that are basically starving themselves because they severely limit their caloric intake, one friend is down to 800 calories and can’t drop below 300 lbs. Another had his stomach stapled, and he cannot lose weight either. Yes there may be some overweight people who are thus because of gluttony and a lack of self control, but from my experience, it’s not the fat people going back for the second helping of food, it’s the skinny people.
Perhaps, instead of the race card, we can play the fat card, and call you a fattist.
Oh, and notice I have enough guts to put my name with my post.
I will say that gluttony as a mortal sin is the best kept secret of modern times.
We do need to see more action on addressing gluttony as a moral problem, WITHOUT passing judgement on obese people. Anyone can be a glutton.
I also agree with the poster who suggested that the whole “epidemic” is a product of statistical mumbo-jumbo.
Heh… Jumbo.
“…statistical mumbo-jumbo. Heh…Jumbo.” Tim, you’ve been reading too much Scott Hahn.
“Anyone can be a glutton.” C.S. Lewis, in “The Screwtape Letters” has Screwtape point out a woman who was a slave to her stomach in the opposite direction: the sight of more than a little food set before her caused a revulsion in her that elicited a response that drove others nuts. Because the amount of food she wanted was so small, she didn’t recognize the sin of gluttony in herself.
This means they’ll start injecting our food animals with these viruses to make plumper butterballs… great.
A quote from the story:
“They have also discovered that the same virus is more prevalent among overweight people, a strong indication that it may also cause obesity in humans.”
This is an example of a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy…or, put another way, “correlation is not an indicator of causation.”
Following the logic of that statement, we can also assume that large-size clothes cause obesity, since we can easily show that wearing large-size clothes is “more prevalent among overweight people.”
I am not dismissing this correlation outright, but I think that science, or rather the media, should dig a little deeper before putting out a headline that panders to victim-class mentality.
How about this for a theory:
Perhaps this virus causes fatigue, and this fatigue leads to less exercise. Maybe the virus causes the person to feel poorly and there is some “comfort eating” going on. Either way, the direct cause of the weight gain is unburned calories.
I’m no bean-pole, myself. Too many donuts and french fries combined with too much tv and computer time has started to put a bit of a belly on me.
As for the person who wrote about a bare minimum calorie intake combined with exercise and no resulting weight loss – and I don’t mean to sound rude – isn’t, in my opinion, being completely accurate. I am a firefighter, and there is a simple truth that we deal with: no fuel, no fire. This person is saying that there is energy available that seemingly came from nowhere.
As for gluttony being a sin, let us not forget that pride is also a sin. We should examine whether we are really concerned about health, or if we just want to have “abs” because they look good.
Bill912, I believe the lady in Screwtape was a “glutton” because her little piece of toast had to be done just so. In other words, the gluttony was not because she wanted a small piece, but because it had to be perfect or she wouldn’t be able to eat it. There is a word for this type of gluttony – I believe it is called “delicacy.”
Jimmy, this really would make a great post. I remember being taught as a Catholic child that gluttony was eating so much that you got sick. If that is correct, then eating more than you need does not seem to rise to the level of gluttony.
Or, alternatively, is gluttony eating more than your body needs – in which case most overweight people are gluttons (unless they have a chemical problem).
The Catechism is not very helpful on this.
I have been to a priest about what exactly constitutes gluttony, because I love food and am overweight, but so was he, and so I’m not 100% sure I got good advice. (He was what I would call on the lenient side.)
Robin, It’s time to re-read “The Screwtape Letters”. (I might do that myself, possibly starting tonight.)
IMHO there are two basic answers, maybe three.
1. Portion sizes – go to a restaurant in Europe and your first thought is “is that all???” Portion size and self-control.
2. Under exercised.
3. High fructose corn syrup. Ever since the mid-1980’s when the use of sugar in processed food was replaced with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), this obesity epidemic has ballooned (no pun intended.) LOOK at anything you eat or drink… it probably contains high fructose corn syrup. I saw a doc. on PBS(?) which showed that the human body has absolutely no way to assimilate HFCS. So, it just sits and accumulates in human fat cells. Sugar can be broken down and assimilated, HFCS can not.
try and get the agro-lobby to stop putting HFCS in ALL of our food.
yup… once again… it’s the bottom line.
to all of you, hang in there and do the best you can do and God bless.
and when was the last time anyone of you heard a homily on gluttony?
Bill912, how about The Screwtape Letters and a bag of Doritos? 🙂
(Just kidding. But not really.)
There is indeed a gluttony-related sin in which you insist upon the very best food – quality rather than quantity. I may have gotten the name wrong, but I’m not dreaming the sin.
Tim, I agree that portion sizes are a problem, and lack of exercise, I think, is the biggest problem. I know nothing about HFCS.
Unsigned person, I assume the reason there hasn’t been a homily about gluttony is that no one – including priests – knows what it really is.
All this talk about food. I’m getting hungry.
Bad joke aside. I think the discussion above on social class and food choices was interesting. I think it has other parallels as well, such as study habits, etc. DISCLAIMER, there are many poor people with incredible eating and study habits, while there is at the same time wealthy people with horrendous eating and study habits.
Although, I think the breakdown of the family unit has played a role in both the rich and the poor with respect to impulse control and the desire to set goals and to feel good about one’s self.
(this rambling post does not take into consideration people with medical disorders, such as a thyroid problem,etc.
“Just say it: “Because of my lack of self-control, I’ve been a fat slob most of my life …”.
“Issues,” my eye.”
Translation: I don’t have a weight problem and I think fat people are *soooooo* gross. Thanks, Bub.
Robin, I know what you mean: Screwtape’s patient’s mother was guilty of “daintiness” I believe. She may not be swilling like a hog but she’s still making a god of her appetites.
BTW has anyone read the updated “Inferno”? It’s by Jerry Pournelle (or is it Larry Niven? I forget which) and features a dead science-fiction writer who’s given the tour of Hell by Benito Mussolini. Along the way the writer meets a friend in the Circle of the Gluttons – Jan, who was a fastidious foodie and workout freak. ALL Jan’s attention was given to diet, exercise and how good he looked – but in the end it was the same old sin.
Interestingly, on 20/20 last night they cited a study that said that, on average, obese people spent an average of 2.5 more hours seated than thin people. Thin people have generally have slower metabolisms than fat people, but through activity burn 350 extra calories a day.
Then they spoke with that kinda creepy (but probably right) doctor who spends all his time standing and even walks on a treadmill while working on a computer. I think it’s time we took a serious look at how we can adjust our lifestyles so we can burn the calories. For the longest time I’ve been thinking of putting one of those seated exercize bikes in front of my TV, rather than sitting on the couch.
I note that once you have become overweight, even conscientiously swearing off gluttony may not get your weight back down. Even if the sin was the source of the problem, a person may not being committing it and still have the problem.
First off, we’re conditioned to eat sweets and fats as a reward for good behavior. How many times have we been given cookies, cakes and ice cream for doing something good. Years of conditioning is hard to beat.
Many of us are under way too much stress and sleep way too little. Stress creates cortisol and cortisol helps us store more fat.
Most people are stuffing themselves with cheap, nutritionless junk because it’s inexpensive. If it’s not whole grained or contains high furctose corn syrup don’t eat or drink it. If people would actually drink more water and eat more vegetables then we’d all be a little less fat.
And more fresh fruit, too!
One thing for sure: I will resist every effort by Big Nanny to regulate my children’s nutrition and weight. That’s the parents’ job, and the doctor’s. If I lived in Arkansas or any other place which required my child to be weighted and measured, I’d be breaking the law into itty bitty pieces, and encouraging massive civil disobedience.
The very poor can only afford the starchy foods. They can’t -afford- to eat healthfully. I know this for a fact.
But those who have the money to eat healthfully and join a health club can wallow in the sin of pride by having someone to look down on, now that we are relatively classless and not racist (compared to the rest of the world, anyway).
The virii in question, and there are at least six, affect metabolism on the cellular level. It isn’t merely corelation, it is causality.
Puzzled –
It’s true that starchy foods are cheaper, but food in general is pretty cheap, now.
We have a family, we shop. It just isn’t THAT much more expensive to eat healthy foods.
I don’t know, but I suspect that social factors play a greater role than straight matters of money. The causes of obesity are very complex, though. It’s like asking what causes headaches.
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