Should All Obese People Lose Weight?

[GregLee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg Check out the sodium in the dinners . It is usually extremely high .

I don't like highly salted food -- just can't stand the taste. I'd like the convenience of frozen dinners, if they were palatable. Even low sodium versions are too salty for me. I think they must use other additives in those to satisfy the prevailing taste for extremely salty foods.

My answer to the original question is "yes". It's just a comparatively uninformed guess, but that's what I think. I understand that it's difficult or impossible for some people to lose weight, but I don't see this as relevant to the question.

[Bestwifeever]

I think anyone who wants to lose weight should have at it, and anyone who doesn't shouldn't worry about what other people think.

[FIREd]

I have always had a normal or below normal BMI. I rarely eat out, never eat at fast food restaurants, never eat processed food, and prepare all meals from scratch. Yet my vitals are worse than those of many overweight people who eat at fast food restaurants and don't exercise. Other factors like genetics and stress might be as or more damaging than being overweight.

[flyfishnevada]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FD I have always had a normal or below normal BMI. I rarely eat out, never eat at fast food restaurants, never eat processed food, and prepare all meals from scratch. Yet my vitals are worse than those of many overweight people who eat at fast food restaurants and don't exercise. Other factors like genetics and stress might be as or more damaging than being overweight.

I personally believe that negative stress, as opposed to positive stress like the euphoria one experiences when they retire, is probably the worst thing for you. I've personally experienced intense physical symptoms from stress and anxiety and have seen other people that complain of chronic pain, sleeplessness, illness, etc. that is probably all due to their high stress levels. Sure that bacon might be bad for me, but it makes me happy. Stress is just 100% bad.

[haha]

I would venture that if women preferred overweight men, a great many of us would be overweight.

When we are young, almost everyone is lean and muscular. But sometime around age 40 this changes for many of us. I never had high consciousness of weight because I seemed to be just naturally thin.

But about this time women started to make offhand remarks about someone they had begun to date-"He is thin like you". As time went on it became more and more obvious that as men close in on middle age, those of us who are naturally thin get a freebie in the social game.

So even if I didn't think it was important to stay slim for health (and I am actually kind of agnostic about this, as I have never been even a bit overweight yet I would never win any health fairs), I would make at least moderate efforts to stay slim for the easy coupon.

Anyway, food and drink are just not that important to me, so it really isn't any significant effort.

Ha

[BigNick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl It's OK to give up -- perhaps you can't lose weight at this point. But deciding that it is healthy is denial.

+1. I was particularly surprised by this comment:

Quote:

Originally Posted by obgyn65 Should All Obese People Lose Weight? No. Obesity can be caused by hormonal problems for example (hypothyroidism). Nothing to do with lifestyle choices.

Obesity is caused by calorie intake exceeding calorie consumption. That can, in turn, be caused, in some cases, by diagnosable medical conditions. But then you might wonder, walking down the street into McDonald's, why people in Houston seem to be about five times as susceptible as people in Portland to hypothyroidism. The vast majority of obese people eat too much, especially empty carbs, and take too little exercise. There's only a very small amount of room in the "hormone disorder" section.

So "should" all obese people lose weight? Only if they want to. But neither should they be encouraged to make out like they're universally the victim of something beyond their control.

[haha]

I believe that our opinions very frequently outrun our knowledge. It's like driving fast at night, not realizing that something out in the blackness may be going to cause a crash, but we have no idea because our driving has insufficient information from out headlights.

Whole Health Source: Food Palatability and Body Fatness: Clues from Alliesthesia

Ha

[Ronstar]

The answer to the OP's question should be "yes". The fit should say "yes" to help keep their own health care costs in check. The obese should say "yes" to avoid the coming "fat tax".

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/ma...l?ref=magazine

[Purron]

I like big men. My DH is a big guy - 6'2" and a big frame. Not obese, but bigger than the charts say he should be. Part of it is muscle mass and part is "padding". His health is good and he's lost about 15 pounds since he retired. Gradual - mainly due to more physical activity and better food. I mainly want him to be healthy and happy. I wouldn't find him more attractive if he was thin. Health is the most important thing and I like him fine just as he is.

[Ronnieboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregLee I don't like highly salted food -- just can't stand the taste. I'd like the convenience of frozen dinners, if they were palatable. Even low sodium versions are too salty for me. I think they must use other additives in those to satisfy the prevailing taste for extremely salty foods.

I love salt.

I put salt on my salt.

I have Pepsi and salt running through my veins

[braumeister]

In a truly progressive society, the government would provide the appropriate incentives for the overweight to share their pounds with the underweight. Redistribution of avoirdupois.

Can you imagine the bureaucrats, swaggering into your home and unholstering their tape measures?

And the loopholes: "Well, your extra five pounds are OK for now, because I can see this is a legitimate 'Dear John' letter, but we'll be back next month."

And the special treatment inserted into Congressional bills: "CEOs of corporations in Missouri that have contributed over $1M to the Republicrat Senatorial Support Committee are exempt from mandatory weigh-ins until the next election season."

Nothing more elaborate than our current income tax regulations, so it ought to be easy enough to implement, don't you think?

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I would venture that if women preferred overweight men, a great many of us would be overweight. . Ha

I am another woman who likes big men .If they are chubby or even bigger and have an English accent I'm head over heels .

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg I am another woman who likes big men .If they are chubby or even bigger and have an English accent I'm head over heels .

Each to their own. After my divorce, I was delighted to find out that some women like bald men.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Each to their own. After my divorce, I was delighted to find out that some women like bald men.

So true, so true.....

[floridanurse]

everyone that is fat is like that because they consume nutritionally deficient chemical filled processed crap.

eat a carrot. consume REAL food. actually real living food. fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds. there is no species of living being on this earth that 'cooks' its food. and we are no exception.

its the reason we have such horrible disease including obesity.

Watch the movie Forks Over Knives, Food Inc, King Corn, Ingredients, etc. The truth is coming out. watch the documentaries.

now, should fat being lose weight? no, I want to have a job until I RE in 2024. so keep eating your fast food and drinking those chemicals you call soda. The only liquid a human should consume is water. period. If it is created in a laboratory it is bad for you.

the evidence is out there. cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. It is going to bankrupt our country. period.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by floridanurse everyone that is fat is like that because they consume nutritionally deficient chemical filled processed crap. eat a carrot. consume REAL food. actually real living food. fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds. there is no species of living being on this earth that 'cooks' its food. and we are no exception. its the reason we have such horrible disease including obesity. Watch the movie Forks Over Knives, Food Inc, King Corn, Ingredients, etc. The truth is coming out. watch the documentaries. now, should fat being lose weight? no, I want to have a job until I RE in 2024. so keep eating your fast food and drinking those chemicals you call soda. The only liquid a human should consume is water. period. If it is created in a laboratory it is bad for you. the evidence is out there. cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. It is going to bankrupt our country. period.

+1

[flyfishnevada]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron I like big men. My DH is a big guy - 6'2" and a big frame. Not obese, but bigger than the charts say he should be. Part of it is muscle mass and part is "padding". His health is good and he's lost about 15 pounds since he retired. Gradual - mainly due to more physical activity and better food. I mainly want him to be healthy and happy. I wouldn't find him more attractive if he was thin. Health is the most important thing and I like him fine just as he is.

My DW would agree with most of that. Besides, I'm not fat, I'm cute and cuddly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by floridanurse everyone that is fat is like that because they consume nutritionally deficient chemical filled processed crap. eat a carrot. consume REAL food. actually real living food. fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds. there is no species of living being on this earth that 'cooks' its food. and we are no exception. its the reason we have such horrible disease including obesity. Watch the movie Forks Over Knives, Food Inc, King Corn, Ingredients, etc. The truth is coming out. watch the documentaries. now, should fat being lose weight? no, I want to have a job until I RE in 2024. so keep eating your fast food and drinking those chemicals you call soda. The only liquid a human should consume is water. period. If it is created in a laboratory it is bad for you. the evidence is out there. cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. It is going to bankrupt our country. period.

I think you confuse the fact that many obese people have terrible eating and exercise habits and therefore suffer from the above mentioned diseases with the idea that simply being overweight causes them. I will not defend being overweight, but you paint with too broad a brush. EVERYONE is not fat because they eat processed food. Some eat way too much unprocessed foods, but not all. You can't put everyone in the same basket and call it good. That's kind of the point of the whole article.

if that were so, all smokers would die of lung cancer, all drinkers, liver disease, and so on. But they do not, just like all overweight people do not die of heart attacks or strokes.

As for the societal cost, it is only because as a nation we have decided to try and nationalize healthcare over the last 80 years or so that we have the problem of paying for everyone's risky behavior. Like in braumeister's tongue in check post, then the government needs to curb our behavior, in effect take away our freedom to live how we see fit. Right, wrong or indifferent, that is a cost of this kind of nationalized medicine.

[Purron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by floridanurse everyone that is fat is like that because they consume nutritionally deficient chemical filled processed crap.

OK.....so you have figured out how everyone who is fat got that way.

Quote:

now, should fat being lose weight? no, I want to have a job until I RE in 2024. so keep eating your fast food and drinking those chemicals you call soda.

And you don't think "now, should fat being lose weight?". After all, if they die, your future job prospects will be that much brighter. Just an unexpected comment from someone with the handle of "floridanurse".

[GregLee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyfishnevada Right, wrong or indifferent, that is a cost of this kind of nationalized medicine.

Obesity in the US has been caused by nationalized medicine?

[M Paquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregLee Obesity in the US has been caused by nationalized medicine?

I believe it was Abe Simpson that said: "I remember the day so clearly. I was wearing a yellow onion on my belt as that was the style of the day. We didn't have white onions because of the war. The Kaiser had stolen all of our insurance salesmen, and had forced us to use nationalized medicine. It was a sad day for our country, as the troops had all ballooned up and we were reduced to drafting fourteen year old boys. Now, I was taking the ferry to Shelbyville, which cost three bees, which was what we were calling nickels then on account of the war."