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Science

We May Have Passed Peak Obesity (ft.com) 170

An anonymous reader shares a report: The year 1963 was surely one of the most significant of the 20th century. President John F Kennedy was assassinated, Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech, and the Beatles recorded and released their debut album. But for all the huge political and cultural events, it was arguably an even more momentous year for public health: 1963 was the year cigarette sales peaked and began to fall in the US.

A generation from now, we may look back on 2020 in a similar way. Yes, there was the small matter of a global pandemic, but this may also have been the year obesity levels ceased their inexorable rise and began to descend. Around the world, obesity rates have been stubbornly climbing for decades, if anything accelerating in recent years. But now newly released data finds that the US adult obesity rate fell by around two percentage points between 2020 and 2023.

We have known for several years from clinical trials that Ozempic, Wegovy and the new generation of diabetes and weight loss drugs produce large and sustained reductions in body weight. Now with mass public usage taking off -- one in eight US adults have used the drugs, with 6 per cent current users -- the results may be showing up at the population level. While we can't be certain that the new generation of drugs are behind this reversal, it is highly likely. For one, the decline is steepest among college graduates, the group most likely to be using them.

Crucially, the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which reported the unprecedented decline in obesity levels, uses weight and height measurements taken by medical examiners, not self-reported values. This makes it far more reliable than other surveys. American waistlines really do seem to be shrinking. What makes this all the more remarkable is the contrast in mechanisms behind the respective declines in smoking and obesity.

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We May Have Passed Peak Obesity

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  • Americans aren't eating as much anymore? I knew that last batch of Cheez-Its wasn't as good as I remember!
    • I know that a lot of junk food doesn't taste the same for me either. This was, I'd say, a couple years ago at least?

      In other news, I was also put on Ozempic two weeks ago. Diabetes in my case, we'll see if I get weight loss - I'm still on the introduction "probably not effective" dose to get my body used to it.

      My mom's been on it for a while, and while still obese, she's a lot lighter than she used to be.

    • Americans aren't eating as much anymore?

      So, if Americans are losing weight in mass numbers due to drugs that inhibit eating, doesn't that necessarily imply that less total food is being eaten? If so, I wonder if the national estimates for food production and sales will eventually reflect this decrease. Otherwise, does that mean that more food is being wasted and thrown away, i.e., produced and bought but not eaten?

      • It's also not solving the problem, it's just hiding it. Americans are eating just as much highly unhealthy crap as before, they're just paying big pharma a fortune to mask the most obvious symptom. It's sort of like dealing with rotten teeth by sucking a peppermint before you go out to hide the smell from others, all it's doing is delaying the inevitable crash that'll come later.
  • There was a lot of smoking in it. I can't believe people thought that was cool. "I'm so fucking macho and badass. I'm inhaling lung cancer!".

    • by Travco ( 1872216 )
      People (or guys anyway) thought it was Macho and badass before they started, because that's how it was sold. Once you've started what you think is "I got to have my fix" maybe not those words.
    • It really could be that smoking has masked bad dietary changes by reducing appetite and increasing metabolism. A terrible trade-off with other conditions of its own. When smoking rates went down, obesity went up. It doesn't explain the reduction of obesity recently, but I would have expected obesity to hit much more quickly based on the foods being sold.

    • There was a lot of smoking in it. I can't believe people thought that was cool. "I'm so fucking macho and badass. I'm inhaling lung cancer!".

      Lung cancer is the least of a smoker's worries. Most people who smoke don't ever get lung cancer but smoking causes all kinds respiratory issues in addition to a host of other health problems. Smoking can fuck with your cholesterol levels, liver, heart, veins, bones, bladder, stomach, eyes, and kidneys. Smoking can cause erectile dysfunction as well as increasing your likelihood of having a stroke.

    • There was a lot of smoking in it. I can't believe people thought that was cool. "I'm so fucking macho and badass. I'm inhaling lung cancer!".

      If you think that’s crazy go back a few more years. You’ll find the medical doctors who were promoting it as “healthy”, which is why Hollywood thought it was perfectly fine.

  • Which axis? (Score:5, Funny)

    by YuppieScum ( 1096 ) on Friday October 04, 2024 @01:52PM (#64840087) Journal

    ...uses weight and height measurements...

    So, Americans are eating the same amount, but getting taller?

    • Both, because obesity can be roughly calculated as a ratio of weight to height.

    • So, Americans are eating the same amount, but getting taller?

      No. The average American's height peaked in the 1960s and has since plateaued.

      Part of this is due to immigration. Immigrants from Asia and Latin America tend to be shorter than average Americans.

    • by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Friday October 04, 2024 @03:10PM (#64840327)

      So, Americans are eating the same amount, but getting taller?

      No, this is far more American than that. Americans are eating the same amount but using prescription medication to prevent getting fat. The only thing which would be more American is if they got the medication prescribed at a McDonalds drive-through.

      • And it's adult rates of obesity, but I'd like to see the child rates go down. Used to be that child obesity was very rare because children tend to burn off excess energy by running around, walking, playing, and just generally being far more active than adults. It's hard to be hyperactive and fat at the same time.

        Two big causes I see:
        - food quality. Ignore processed vs unprocessed food, a huge difference is very often price. Cheap food is usually more fattening, has more added sugars, etc. Expensive food

      • Re:Which axis? (Score:5, Informative)

        by swillden ( 191260 ) <shawn-ds@willden.org> on Friday October 04, 2024 @06:41PM (#64840815) Journal

        Americans are eating the same amount but using prescription medication to prevent getting fat.

        No, the prescription medication is making Americans eat less. Semaglutide (the drug name; Ozempic and Wegovy are brand names) doesn't cause you to burn more calories somehow, it just massively reduces your appetite. Less calories in, weight comes off.

  • by cowdung ( 702933 ) on Friday October 04, 2024 @01:53PM (#64840097)

    Shrinking with drugs is not something to be proud of.

    Sure, it's great we have this in our toolbox for extreme cases, but the average person should just live a more active lifestyle, not indulge in weight loss drugs. Obesity is not the only measure of health.

    • by jhoegl ( 638955 )
      You a smoker?
    • There's evidence that the big weight gains we have seen are due in part to environmental effects, to say nothing of what has happened to our food supply. There are a number of other possibly related odd trends happening alongside this--like the reverse Flynn Effect and declining sperm counts and male hormone levels.

      "Just eat more kale", you say? Yeah, if you're rich you can do that but going completely organic is expensive as hell and nearly impossible in any event.
      • "Just eat more kale", you say? Yeah, if you're rich you can do that but going completely organic is expensive as hell and nearly impossible in any event.

        Organic is pointless. What you eat has a lot more to do with your health than organic or not. I promise you the most GMO mass farming grown lentils in the world are going to be better for you than organic free range sustainable bacon.

        The issue is that in a market dynamic I've noticed that you basically have 3 criteria: healthy, tasty, economic. Food can meet any 2 of those criteria but the market will adjust to make sure you don't have all three. Sushi (the non elaborate kind like just salmon or tuna ni

      • by skam240 ( 789197 )

        "Just eat more kale", you say? Yeah, if you're rich you can do that but going completely organic is expensive as hell and nearly impossible in any event.

        Haha, what? How is eating kale and eating all organic the same thing?

        Eating healthy is cheap if you cook for yourself and don't go for trendy / expensive items like expensive smoothies. Plenty of fresh produce is cheap and frozen and canned veggies are definitely cheap. Meat is more expensive but if that's expensive beans and rice isn't.

        The large size of a bag of chips sells for over 5 bucks a bag nowadays. I can easily make a tasty and healthy meal for the same price.

    • by javaman235 ( 461502 ) on Friday October 04, 2024 @02:21PM (#64840179)

      The weird thing about this society is the active lifestyle costs too much money. It used to be only the kings ladies were fair, (stayed out of sun) and the king had gout and obesity. Now its only the rich who are tanned and thin. It has nothing to do with laziness. So many jobs where you can be working 60 hour weeks and get little sun or excercise, because your operating some equipment nonstop.

      • There's truth in that. I gained nearly 15 pounds when I last worked in an office, partly because it was a 75 minute drive each way to the office, and by the time I got home - assuming that the office didn't call with a customer "service level agreement" issue in the meantime - I had little time to get out and exercise, and still be an active participant in a relationship. I was able to lose most of my pot belly once I semi-retired.
      • The weird thing about this society is the active lifestyle costs too much money.

        No it doesn't. That's an excuse people make for being sedentary fat slobs, and a lie told to them by people who want to make money solving that problem for them. In fact I would wager the opposite.

        When I cycle to the shops to buy food for the day it is cheaper than burning petrol to do so.
        Choosing to use the stairs instead of the escalator or lift costs me nothing. Heck even on the escalator I have the ability to walk.
        Saying "no I'll have the small" when someone is trying to supersize your already Large cok

    • Activity is good for general fitness, but common levels of exercise aren't particularly effective for weight loss.

      People have to eat less, more slowly, and drastically reduce their sugar intake (sugar affects appetite and encouraged gorging).

      Pigging out and then taking pills to compensate is just so... Weak. Adults appear to require reminders that they are responsible for their actions when mommy and daddy are no longer controlling their lives.

      • It really does not help though that kids are not encouraged to eat healthier either.

        I remember back in grade school how our teachers treated us to pizza parties and those sugar cookie abominations from Costco or Safeway. On top of sugary beverages like sodas and juices and the rather abysmal state of the average school lunch, we are basically screwing up their metabolism from the get-go.

        • I was raised on Coke. And milk, my parents weren't monsters. But way too much Coke. S'OK, they paid twice for fillings; baby teeth and adult teeth.

    • We're basically made of drugs. Hormones and neurotransmitters and steroids all that stuff is how our body is controlled, including where willpower comes from, you can't have willpower without neurotransmitters. Now I suspect taking drugs to control weight is going to have some bad side-effects, since our body has some billion years of fine-tuning in regards to the various chemicals, but nothing in principle means that it is guaranteed to be a bad idea.

      Of course, it's probably a good idea to find out why sud

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      If it was that simple it wouldn't be such a problem for so many people.

      There are numerous issues with trying to live a healthy lifestyle, especially when your job is often quite unhealthy. The real issue though is that once you get overweight, your body *really* doesn't want you to lose it.

      These medicines fix a flaw in the human body, which was not designed for modern life but rather a time when food was often scarce. That's why it gets fat - it's storing that energy for times when you can't get enough calo

    • It doesn't matter if its something to be "proud of". Pride itself isn't something to be proud of.

      Its a drug that reduces appetite and thus reduces caloric intake. Weight loss is the natural result of that.

      It makes no sense to go all "that doesn't count! you cheated!" because they used a drug to accomplish their goals - its not a competition.

      • It doesn't matter if its something to be "proud of". Pride itself isn't something to be proud of.

        Its a drug that reduces appetite and thus reduces caloric intake. Weight loss is the natural result of that.

        It makes no sense to go all "that doesn't count! you cheated!" because they used a drug to accomplish their goals - its not a competition.

        Personally I think this is a disgusting circle to have greed create a problem and then to turn around and formulate a solution by piling on even more greed to solve it rather than addressing the root cause in the first place.

        What is the going rate for a single dose of Ozempic et el? How many thousands of additional dollars a year will people have to spend for this privilege? What are the health costs from drug side effects?

        As the saying goes "cheaters never prosper".

    • This is a common prejudice. My wife hates taking any kind of medicine, even when she needs it.

      Drugs are only a bad thing when they are abused. When they clearly improve the quality of life for people and improve their health, I see no problem with taking advantage of what modern medicine has to offer.

    • by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      Shrinking with drugs is not something to be proud of.

      Dieting is not easy. It makes me grumpy, including for this reply. The human body evolved to work on farms or hunting-and-gathering most the day, not desk jobs.

      Yes, I could spend yet more of my free time on the damned treadmill or whatnot, but until you try it, don't fuckin judge!

      Gimme the damned drugs so I can moon you with my skinny hairy pale ass.

    • by Cyberax ( 705495 )

      Shrinking with drugs is not something to be proud of.

      Why? When you get infected with bacteria, do you take antibiotics or fight off the infection by yourself, like a real man?

  • by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Friday October 04, 2024 @01:55PM (#64840105) Journal
    Drugs like this 'ozempic' may be helping, but it's not the real answer, it's treating a symptom, not the root cause.
    Note that I'm not making any judgements of anyone or suggesting what the 'root cause' is in actuality, but I am saying that if your body is working the way it's supposed to work, you shouldn't have to take medication in order to control your body composition; finding the real cause(s) would be best.
    • At least a few root causes are relatively understood. Insulin resistance messes with your metabolism, seemingly permanently. That combined with a stretched out stomach capacity and you will not easily get thin through willpower alone because your body doesn't work the same.

      What's not understood is the cure. Even after losing all the weight, the body still gives hunger signals for the same amount of calories it was getting during obesity. GLP1 drugs like Ozempic modify appetite. As soon as you stop the

      • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

        "GLP1 drugs like Ozempic modify appetite. As soon as you stop the medication you tend to regain the weight because you are just hungry all the time."

        Citation please. Just because traditional dieting has this effect does not mean that GLP-1 use does. Also, GLP-1's action is much more involved than mere appetite suppression. My personal experience is that appetite is altered not much as all, the primary effect is that food is not released from the stomach, making it difficult to eat much and creating huge

        • Citation please. Just because traditional dieting has this effect does not mean that GLP-1 use does.

          That's right in the studies on the approval of the drug.

          My personal experience is that appetite is altered not much as all, the primary effect is that food is not released from the stomach

          My raincoat doesn't keep my dry. It just makes the water move around my body. Pressure on the stomach walls from food is part of the signaling system for appetite and hunger.

          It has been long believed that Type 2 diabetes is permanent and incurable. That turns out to be false.

          Yeah, not talking about that. It was also believed that fat cells only get bigger in adulthood through weight gain but didn't increase in number - that was found not to be true. Obesity can lead to a higher number of fat cells as you gain weight. However, weight loss does not d

        • by cdwiegand ( 2267 )

          "It has been long believed that Type 2 diabetes is permanent and incurable. That turns out to be false."

          Citation, please.

          American Diabetes Association says otherwise: https://ada.com/conditions/dia... [ada.com]

          CDC agrees, there is no cure: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/a... [cdc.gov]

          Mayo Clinic also agrees: https://www.mayoclinic.org/dis... [mayoclinic.org]

          So please, where's this "cure"? If you're referencing "reversing" or putting it into "remission" - that is a horrible, horrible choice of words, because all that means is that you are reversi

      • by Cyberax ( 705495 )

        As soon as you stop the medication you tend to regain the weight because you are just hungry all the time.

        You regain _some_ weight. There's a gamut of possibilities, from "nothing" to "more weight than was lost". Most people will _not_ regain all the lost weight. Being on GLP-1 agonists also teaches people what amount of food is actually healthy for them, and this knowledge stays.

        I started GLP-1 drugs before they became popular, with daily injections of liraglutide, and then I switched to Ozempic. I lost 35 kilos (from 105 kg to 70kg) in total. Last year I decided to stop Ozempic and see what happens. I gaine

        • I don't know your height, but that's probably not up in the weight range that would need to worry about that so much.

          • by Cyberax ( 705495 )
            My BMI went down to 23 (normal) from 32 (obese). And before you say "just be more active", I was walking for 10k steps on a treadmill at home most of the days leading to my 105kg peak weight. It was absolutely a reason to worry, with steadily creeping A1C and lipids.

            So yep, GLP-1 drugs are awesome.
    • Secret: People drive everywhere and eat too much. When they are on their feet they move like old people fuck.
      I've had two major sedentary periods of my life and during both of them I had a slew of seemingly unrelated issues. The rest of the time I've been a fitness nut and could smoke, not sleep, get blackout drunk, and as long as it wasn't a habitual deal I could just shrug it off.

      Nobody wants to hear that shit though, it sounds like work and if everyone was sitting around pumping iron and getting high

    • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      While that may be true, it's not helpful. Without knowing the "real cause(s)" we cannot know if obesity is just a side effect of a benefit, and if our bodies are "working the way they're supposed to work", most of us would die young and many others would starve.

      What I'd like to know is if so many are taking these drugs how they can possibly afford it? Especially the claim that young people are. Semaglutide medications costs $100-$1400 a month in the US? How are young people paying for that?

      • I'm getting ozempic through my insurance. I'm a non-insulin using diabetic.
        That said, the actual cost to make a month's supply of ozempic is only $0.89-$4.73 [newsnationnow.com].
        Basically, it'd be the usual answer: People are normally covered by insurance, who pays nowhere near list price for the drugs. The only ones paying list are those on medicare and such.

        And most of those on it are older - that's when type 2 diabetes tends to be around the most.

    • Drugs like this 'ozempic' may be helping, but it's not the real answer, it's treating a symptom, not the root cause. Note that I'm not making any judgements of anyone or suggesting what the 'root cause' is in actuality, but I am saying that if your body is working the way it's supposed to work, you shouldn't have to take medication in order to control your body composition; finding the real cause(s) would be best.

      I agree. There has been some research that tells us that that obesity and endocrine disruptors are linked. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p... [nih.gov] Those weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are not without risk either. Slender people with pancreatitis might look better on their hospital bed, but I suppose it is a risk people want to take to be "beautiful."

      Research is looking into the possibility that they might cause pancreatic cancer. Some say there is no risk, but yes pancreatitis is a risk. Our "The

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        In the UK you have to be clinically obese to get these medications prescribed. So it's more than just looking better, and even if there is an increased risk of cancer, it has to be compared to the risk from obesity related diseases.

        • In the UK you have to be clinically obese to get these medications prescribed. So it's more than just looking better, and even if there is an increased risk of cancer, it has to be compared to the risk from obesity related diseases.

          Here, Ozempic is used as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. Wegovy is just a weight loss drug, same drug basically, just more of it.

          And here, you just have to talk your doctor into issuing a prescription for them. Most are happy to, even for people who are mildly overweight.

          My main outlook is that at least here in the states, that too many people take too many drugs with too many side effects. I do my best to avoid falling into that system. So far so good.

    • They can be, in the absence of something better.

      I have severe allergies. Regular antihistamines like Claritin and Allegra don't help me. I have to take Flonase every day, and have for years. I've tried allergy shots, but they didn't help. So until there's a better solution, I'm stuck squirting Flonase up my nose every day. That's a "less than perfect" solution that I can live with.

      For a lot of over-eaters, weight-loss drugs are a less-than-perfect solution that still makes their lives better, and seems to p

  • A large portion of people who died from covid were obese [cnbc.com]. Remove them from the pool and of course a decline will be seen. If they died young enough they weren't able to reproduce which means no fat kids.

    The recent drugs help, but kill off a portion of the population and you'll see a change in some statistic. This would be like finding a large increase in the deaths of Russians between 2022 and 2024. I wonder what was going on then.
    • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      What a disgustingly absurd and ignorant comment. Less than 1% of the population died of COVID, inconsequential in this context AND most of these people did NOT "die young enough" to avoid reproducing. Also, "fat kids" is not a genetic condition you piece of shit.

      "This would be like finding a large increase in the deaths of Russians between 2022 and 2024. I wonder what was going on then."

      No doubt you think this is a clever observation. Some things "going on" are causal, others are not. Understand the dif

    • A large portion of people who died from covid were obese [cnbc.com]. Remove them from the pool and of course a decline will be seen. If they died young enough they weren't able to reproduce which means no fat kids. Are people with obesity from endocrine disruptors on your list of people who deserve to die because they aren't slender?

      You might think that obesity is a sign onf weakness that needs removed form the gene pool, Unfortunately there is no cure for smugness, and feelng superior.

  • by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Friday October 04, 2024 @02:11PM (#64840153)

    A global pandemic that came with the risk of death if you had the comorbidity of obesity, wasn’t the reason. Insane increases in the cost of groceries or shrinkflation, wasn’t the reason. Not even younger people seeing first hand the insane medical cost of being overweight and simply wanting to eat better and be healthier, wasn’t the reason.

    Nope. Society ONLY lost weight because of weight loss drugs that went viral. Couldn’t possibly be anything else according to TFS. And sadly, I believe it.

    What we are at peak and sustaining, is the elimination of responsibility and accountability. Damn is it fucking pathetic.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      It's not pathetic, it's just that humans were not designed for modern life. We were not designed to sit at a desk for hours, or to have access to so much processed food. Even the supposedly natural stuff is not much like it was when our bodies evolved, and food certainly wasn't so available back then either.

      We also were not designed to live this long, and those of us with health problems just died because we couldn't keep up with the tribe, couldn't out run the predators, couldn't catch our next meal. As so

      • Please don't confuse people's desire to become overweight sedentary slobs with "modern life". This isn't "modern life", this is "modern slackness". Just because you have a desk job and a choice of 20 take-out fast food joints on the way home doesn't mean you need to live like you're getting a cash prize for being the fattest bastard imaginable.

        As someone with a chronic health issue, I don't feel ashamed or pathetic that I survived and did the best I could despite it, I feel lucky that I live in the 21st century.

        You may have a legitimate excuse. Most people don't. You don't need to forage and hunt your food through a jungle to remain healthy. In fact much of the world has no

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Do you really believe that people actually want to become "overweight sedentary slobs", as opposed to say looking like Brad Pitt? Come on, be serious. Everyone would be their ideal weight and shape if it was as easy as just making some simple lifestyle changes.

          • Do you really believe that people actually want to become "overweight sedentary slobs", as opposed to say looking like Brad Pitt? Come on, be serious. Everyone would be their ideal weight and shape if it was as easy as just making some simple lifestyle changes.

            You nailed it! Given a choice of fitting in all of your clothes for the rest of your life, getting laid more easily, and looking good without a shirt on....or an extra piece of cake...are these people stupid enough to think that for nearly half the planet, cake is that delicious? It may be vanity in your 20s, but by your 40s, they're not just worried about their appearance, but also their health. Being 50lbs overweight starts having serious consequences then. Also, food gets boring after awhile. With e

          • Do you really believe that people actually want to become "overweight sedentary slobs", as opposed to say looking like Brad Pitt? Come on, be serious. Everyone would be their ideal weight and shape if it was as easy as just making some simple lifestyle changes.

            Want? No. I'm saying people don't have the willpower to do the opposite. But that isn't "modern lifestyle", that is 100% their choice. It is their choice to be part of the average US adult consuming 294minutes of TV per day instead of going for a walk or a jog in the park. It is their choice to sit in drive through queue for a $3 burger rather than walking into a Walmart and buying a $0.24 banana to feed their appetite. The modern lifestyle isn't forcing this on anyone.

            Everyone would be their ideal weight and shape

            Everyone is their ideal weight and sha

      • It's not pathetic, it's just that humans were not designed for modern life. We were not designed to sit at a desk for hours, or to have access to so much processed food. Even the supposedly natural stuff is not much like it was when our bodies evolved, and food certainly wasn't so available back then either.

        ”Processed food”, didn’t turn people into lazy do-nothings. Human exercise didn’t go extinct, for one obvious reason. It’s absolute necessity. Modern humans have MORE access to sustain a healthy body than ever before. Stop making excuses for lazy people.

        We also were not designed to live this long.

        Many a centenarian would disagree. So does history:

        Psalm 90:10 in the Hebrew Bible appears to give seventy to eighty years as the natural life expectancy of a person surviving into old age, "The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty".

    • A global pandemic that came with the risk of death if you had the comorbidity of obesity, wasn’t the reason. Insane increases in the cost of groceries or shrinkflation, wasn’t the reason. Not even younger people seeing first hand the insane medical cost of being overweight and simply wanting to eat better and be healthier, wasn’t the reason.

      Nope. Society ONLY lost weight because of weight loss drugs that went viral. Couldn’t possibly be anything else according to TFS. And sadly, I believe it.

      What we are at peak and sustaining, is the elimination of responsibility and accountability. Damn is it fucking pathetic.

      It's fun to get self-righteous towards fat people and all, but your simple-minded explanation is not a reflection of reality. I don't know a single fat person over 40 who hasn't done a lot more than you've ever done to lose weight and failed. Obesity runs in my family and I have been working out 5-7x a day for nearly 30 years now. There's no junk food in my house and I live off of healthy food. My body fat has never been below 20%. Every member of my family is like that. My dad was like that in the Ma

      • I think you're misunderstanding the difference between a diagnostic indicator and the disease itself. Obesity doesn't necessarily mean you have health problems, but because so many health problems are associated with obesity, it serves as a very easy indicator of generally poor health. It's easy to measure, doesn't require extensive tests, and there's a fair amount of science behind it.

        Gluttony, inactivity, exercise allergies, overeating, etc... all show up as obesity. This single indicator tells the

        • Obesity is a strong hint of immediate and long term trouble. Even Lizzo, that body positivity icon, has had to lose much of her bulk to survive.

  • But what about ME!
  • Thriving requires that you have the right amount of stress in the right areas. You won't get anywhere good wrapped in bubblewrap, but you also can't afford to get run over by a Mack truck.

    General principle, if you can't do something important for your health (or any important part of your life) because of _____, you need to deal with ____, and trying to avoid that is still going to leave you screwed, no matter how effective the drugs seem. It's not that there are no excuses. It's that you need to deal wit

  • Lose the garbage food. Get off your ass and exercise.

    • Yeah... Have you dealt with actual people, lately? Of a sample size of 100 people I personally know, I know of maybe three or four that actually go out of their way to exercise regularly; one more if I include myself. Maybe another three or four that would consent to going for a leisurely to moderate walk. The rest would actively resist any sort of moderate activity, let alone directed exercise. We're fat because we're fkn lazy, and we hate doing anything about it. I don't like it, either, but that's t
  • According to the department of labor, food prices have increased roughly 50% in the last 10 years. That's well beyond inflation., and it's especially affecting fast food.

  • Here I thought maybe people were eating better. But no they're just sticking needles into themselves to cover up the most visible manifestation of their metabolic dysfunction.

Two can Live as Cheaply as One for Half as Long. -- Howard Kandel

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