Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm diabetic, and it is a factor. Essentially, the pancreas is on strike, permanently. I exercised HARD for years, and could eat whatever. 10k footraces, weightlifting. I don't exercise so hard at all now. Next year I'll be 70. I was and am still always able to put off eating, so that I can get by, eating less.
I'm just at the edge of obese for my height and weight. Genetic? It surely is ONE factor.
"Never seen an obese person who got that way by eating meat and eggs. Maybe it happens, but I've never seen it."
"The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a national nonprofit, public health organization with more than 17,000 doctor members, slammed the U.S. Department of Agriculture today for its gift of $21.9 million to help the meat industry push its products on U.S. consumers, many of whom suffer from obesity, diabetes, and other ailments made worse by consumption of these products.
“Rather than marketing products known to contribute to our obesity epidemic and ill health, the USDA should instead support America’s farmers growing the very products, like fruits, vegetables, and legumes, that we know benefit human health, help fight chronic disease, and contribute to healthy weight,” says Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, president of the Physicians Committee and adjunct professor of medicine at the George Washington School of Medicine.
This announcement comes on the eve of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on Sept. 28. The conference looks toward ending hunger and increasing healthy eating so that fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
“This is a clear case of the one hand not knowing what the other hand is doing,” Dr. Barnard says. “With the overwhelming evidence of the role of red and processed meat in chronic disease, it is imperative that the USDA advance policies not only to reduce and eliminate the consumption of these foods but also to encourage the further adoption of plant-based diets.”
While obesity rates and diet-related diseases in the United States are on the rise, nutrition and food policy in the United States does not adequately warn against the contribution of meat, poultry, and dairy products to obesity risk and its accompanying health problems. Also, current nutrition policy does not go far enough to highlight the benefits of a plant-based diet with regard to chronic disease prevention."
That goes both ways.
There's never been a time that it hasn't been true that you must "follow the money" to judge the honesty of clinical tests and reports.
These days, ideology is just as much a factor, and "scientists" are indeed willing to obscure science for the sake of ideology.
For instance, that "overwhelming evidence of the role of red and processed meat in chronic disease" is based on epidemiological studies that inevitably compare clean-eating, whole-food vegetarian dieters with junk food omnivores. Not a single one of them compares careful whole-food vegetarians with clean-eating, whole-food omnivores. And they know that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sitonmywhat
I'm diabetic, and it is a factor. Essentially, the pancreas is on strike, permanently. I exercised HARD for years, and could eat whatever. 10k footraces, weightlifting. I don't exercise so hard at all now. Next year I'll be 70. I was and am still always able to put off eating, so that I can get by, eating less.
I'm just at the edge of obese for my height and weight. Genetic? It surely is ONE factor.
A non-operational pancreas is not a genetic factor...unless non-operational pancreases run in your family.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 11-14-2023 at 07:13 PM..
I found some support that some obesity may have a genetic component. It's on the CDC website, it's hard to get more valid than that.
Key excerpt:
Quote:
"Do Genes Have a Role in Obesity?
In recent decades, obesity has reached epidemic proportions in populations whose environments promote physical inactivity and increased consumption of high-calorie foods. However, not all people living in such environments will become obese, nor will all obese people have the same body fat distribution or suffer the same health problems. These differences can be seen in groups of people with the same racial or ethnic background and even within families. Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the obesity epidemic. Nevertheless, the variation in how people respond to the same environment suggests that genes do play a role in the development of obesity."
The bolded part implies that diet is a big factor in today's epidemic of obesity, i.e., there may be little or no genetic component for much of today's obesity. Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) play a large role in obesity as well as the added sugars found in most UPFs. The huge food conglomerates have entire research staffs dedicated to tweaking three key ingredients ... salt sugar fat ... to make the appetite crave them. Coca Cola puts sodium in its drinks to make you both thirsty and hungry for more. They know. They do it on purpose. A great book on this is Salt, Sugar, Fat.
__________________
- Please follow our TOS.
- Any Questions about City-Data? See the FAQ list.
- Want some detailed instructions on using the site? See The Guide for plain english explanation.
- Realtors are welcome here but do see our Realtor Advice to avoid infractions.
- Thank you and enjoy City-Data.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 11-14-2023 at 07:26 PM..
It is a review/summary though. Would have to look further at the research.
Thank you.
I didn't dig into the references to find the underlying science, but I'm sure it's there for those who care to go digging for it. If anyone does so I hope they can post links and excerpts here for the rest of us.
__________________
- Please follow our TOS.
- Any Questions about City-Data? See the FAQ list.
- Want some detailed instructions on using the site? See The Guide for plain english explanation.
- Realtors are welcome here but do see our Realtor Advice to avoid infractions.
- Thank you and enjoy City-Data.
A few points of actual science and not imagined opinions.
Obesity is another example of a problem with a genetic basis influenced by environment...
If you have "the obsity genes" you will store more fat on a given calorie intake than those without that set of genes....
This genotype(s) had survival value when your primeval ancestors had to chase down a rabbit to get his proteins. If your forefather lived in fertile Indiana, he could just fall down blindly and land on a rabbit or deer. He ate well and often...
If your ancestor lived in the Mohave Desert, it would take him a week to even spot a rabibit, then days to run him down. He wouldn't have survived if he had the same genes as the Indiana cousin. He had to have special, very efficient genes controlling his metabolism and appetite-- genes that would allow him to stay fit & healthy on a very low calorie intake.
High Fructose Corn Syrup is an unfortunate and misleading name....Photosynthesis forms gluocose- one of many molecules with the same chemical formula-- C6H12O6. Those who have taken hi school chemistry envision pool balls stuck together in a rigid molecule with glucose being substantially different than fructose, another C6H12O6 molecule.... Those who know quantum mechanics envision a flock of 24 birds flying in an amorphous glob of varying shape-- each bird constantly changing positions in the glob, but the glob remaining grossly unchanged. ...
So it is with fructose and glucose-- constantly, automatically changing from one form to the other without need of enzymes or energy expenditure. Most plants make hexose that at any given moment are either in the glucose or fructose form eqully represented 50:50. Sugar cane & sugar beets hook them together to form sucrose...Corn doesn't do that, and for some reason stores them separately in a fructose to glucose ratio of 55:45-- so "high" fructose isnl't really all that high....HFCS isn't a problem because of its form. It's only a problem by virtue of it's bigger supply (92M ac of corn planted here each yr) and cheaper cost.
The trend to use the new drugs to lose weight are based on the effects of the small hormones that control insulin secretion and appetite suppression centers in the brain- an example of how genetic faxctors affect the problem.
While those who tend to be obese are told to cut down on food to lose weight, that might be a Herculean task. The morbidly obese may not be able to lose unless they go below 600 cal/d. Before the holier-than-thou claimants ask the obese to do that, let's see them try it for a week, let alone a lifetime.
BTW- contrary to popular belief, obesity in and of itself is not a "cause" of any disease. It is an indication that some (eg- diabetics) are eating too many calories, and it can cause additional hardship in those with certain problems (eg- extra strain on heart and bones in those with cardiac or arthritis problems).
Last edited by guidoLaMoto; 11-15-2023 at 01:35 AM..
I agree with most of the other posters, genetics is only one factor, and most of the time it is not the driving or primary factor. There are thousands of studies out there about this.
From what I gleaned from those studies behavior, environment, and genetic factors all have a role in causing people to be overweight and obese; and generally, it is in that order. Behavior is number one.
The only way I ever lost weight and kept it off was to track calories and weight continuously and religiously for a period of years. I used the one below to track them online it is a bit old-school but there are many others.
It's a lot of work and a tedious daily chore but worth it in the long run. After you have done that for a long period of time, you will know the caloric intake of everything you consume, without having to refer to a list or a guidebook. And you will know your "setpoint" very accurately (the amount of calories you can consume to maintain a constant weight) and you will also know the caloric deficit you will need to lose weight and at what rate.
I figured out that my setpoint was lower than most guides would suggest for men - it's about 2100 calories. I used a 1700 calorie target to lose weight at a rate of about 1 lb/week. I found that it took a long time to acclimate my body to lower calorie intake.
IMO a lot of people simply don't account for all the calories they are consuming. This is not a personal failing, because the brain/body constantly tries to make us eat more if food is in the environment. You can blame that on our primitive ancestors who needed to fatten up for the lean times.
Which is one of the things you learn quickly when you track calories. If high caloric density foods (usually those laden with sugars and fat) are in your home, you are far more likely to consume them. Just don't bring them home from the store.
In the end it is something you have to do for a lifetime, not during the course of a quick weight loss diet or a month of "good behavior".
Last edited by GearHeadDave; 11-15-2023 at 06:59 AM..
I honestly think the internet and social media have been SO helpful in terms of people eating healthier. The sharing of recipes and substituting of one healthier ingredient for another is amazing. There are recipes out there you can watch people make that some folks had no idea ever existed. Most recipes are passed down by family members or just in certain communities...now you can get easy access to many different healthy recipes from all over.
Is junk food done? no not at all, plenty of people still eat it, myself included but there's really no excuse for not knowing what is healthy vs what isn't. I think the problem these days is affording the healthier food and finding the time to make it.
. If high caloric density foods (usually those laden with sugars and fat) are in your home, you are far more likely to consume them. Just don't bring them home from the store.
yeah, I don't buy cookies, candy, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, chips...because I don't want to eat them.
My husband, though, loves all those junk foods and brings them home. Most can be hidden in his "treats" drawer, at least, so I don't see them.
He believes he can eat what he wants because he exercises a lot, and nags me to exercise more. I generally respond with a lecture on nutrition, with an occasional side rant on corporate manipulation.
He thinks "Trail Mix" is always healthy, and he buys a variety. I look at the ingredients: "Yogurt" (lots of sugar) covered raisins, M&Ms, dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts. Nuts are the only thing on the list that I think are healthy.
But the manufacturers are leaning in to that healthy aura of "Trail Mix". Hubby recently brought home "Happy Birthday Trail Mix", which was bits of cookies and candies, and "Churro Trail Mix", filled with weird stuff that kind of looked like churros. Neither contained anything I want to be eating.
The sweet tooth seems to run in his family; his mom kept a variety of sweets on a counter you had to pass wherever you went in the house. Staying there, I added a bag of nuts so I'd have something to stave off temptation. She asked me to keep my personal food in the pantry.
We need to call out the sugar industry. Sugar is as toxic and lethal as alcohol in the long run. Too many foods have hidden sugars. Fruits are also sugar products that needs to be limited when someone is obese. Nothing worst than eating GMO fruits that's been modified to be even more sugar dense than organic fruits. Stop eating sugar for a couple of weeks and see how quickly your body will lose weight.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
