Obese Epidemic: Political, Economic and Scientific

[Aractus]

I must be from another planet Daniel. Our household hates 'Coke' barely eats 'snack-foods' (we are talking chips/crisps, salted nuts, crackers, 'sweet-treats' like cream buns and other bakery "comfort food" and 'Lollies'? Forget it, we are LUCKY to go through a 500g block of dairy milk chocolate in two weeks.... it may end up about a month.

And yet we are still 'overweight' according to WHO.

I must be from another planet, because the question as stated in one of those doco's is why is anyone not overweight in a society geared towards overconsumption? Also, as Dr. Robert Lustig puts it, if you want to loose weight you are forcing your body to experience starvation. When you're hungry you eat, you get a release of dopamine and leptin. If you don't eat, your body experiences starvation as it converts body mass (typically fat or muscle) to energy. Most people don't want to endure that. Thus something like 80% of people who go the surgical rout for weight loss (gastric bypass, lap band) end up regaining some or all of the weight they lost.

David Elmore Smith (lost weight through training, not surgery - but he did have surgery to remove excess skin):

Weight Loss (2003-2009):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYr1cCBghFY

Weight Gain (2009-2012):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFMpNjEvxc

Weight Loss (Dec. 2012-Apr 2014): 200lbs (as reported on his facebook page).

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0dwm-Hu-0Y

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Anyway, Kichi, you can get fat over consuming any food it doesn't have to be sweets or snacks. Going to McDonald's and ordering a Big Mac is certainly healthier than ordering a Big Mac meal with fries and a coke. But McD's just like everywhere else want the up-sale and their menu is deliberately geared towards it. Having a few glasses of wine adds up as well - at about 130 calories a glass (small glass). So just two glasses of wine a day could equal 1/2 pound gain in fat over the course of a week.

Over consuming is great for business!