The Obesity Era?

[jimandthom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elbata I measure my waist and I'm 33-34". I have to buy 32" pants. At Costco and many other stores, I'm lucky if I can find a pair. Usually starts now at 34". So yes, vanity sizes for men too. Also, I don't think we have a chance at solving the obesity problem. Weight loss centers aren't about losing weight permanently, they're about allowing people to save face that they're doing something to lose weight. How many people go on a diet and really think it's going to work. Eschewing carbs, eating high fat and protein is the narrative that has won the day. Carbs are evil. Doesn't matter that's what created civilization, or that the largest mammals on earth are solely carb eating machines.

Close on that answer---- the centers are about making money.

To eat a more healthy meal, requires a bit of planning ahead, and probably spending more than what a meal in a box costs.

In our poorer days, we ate a lot of the "meals in a box" type stuff, but our genetics, youth and activity levels allowed any calories to be good calories. We are now 66-- spouse is 5/8ish 142#s and I am 5/11 160#s.

We also bike, kayak and walk. We think of mowing the lawn as a form or exercise and laugh at the thought that to do a repair on our 3rd floor requires a couple of trips up and down 3 flights of stairs.

As our responsibilities at home and work decreased(before retirement) our food selection improved but also became a tad more time consuming in terms of shopping/purchasing, and prep versus the "food in a box".

Had our first truly "fast food" in 3+ years recently. We were doing a quick run "below the bridge". But it was cheap, fast and convenient- these are the buzz words for what many people eat today. Hopefully it will be another 3 years again.

We have done this to ourselves and we are seeing the results in our medical care costs, the expansion in the sizes of automotive cockpits, the dumbing down of clothing sizes.

We live in a tourist town and see all shapes and sizes. Mostly tho we see round and waddling spheres stuffing there faces and loose of their kids. It fine on vacation but sadly that must be diet at all times.

I'm happy that so many people have health issues from their lifestyle choices. We and most of you here also, make a decent return on our money from investments in the TSM etc that occur because of the lifestyle this country is developing.

Those of us, who because of genetics or ambition who avoid the trap will make out well finanacially.

We have seen the enemy and he is us. Pogo

[jimandthom]

Side story--- we have 2 friends staying with us at present, who normally live "below the bridge". For a variety of reasons, they will be staying with us for a few more weeks, but just came back from a medical appointment at their downstate doctors.

They are both younger than us, by 1 to 7 years.

Person 1--- heart bypass, takes Metformine, overweight by 50ish pounds. Stopped smoking after bypass(4 months ago)
Person 2--- bad hip(maybe just Bursitis), stroke, right side neck cleanout, 1 step away from going to the needle for diabetis. Still smokes and overweight by 50ish pounds.

While living here, they are eating our type of food and live in our 3rd floor visitors suite. Their doctors were please to see that they each lost 7-10 pounds and other things were also better.

It is predominately our lifestyle for the majority of these type of issues.

But I don't care because my 401ks are making money.

[Amethyst]

Well, I am slightly underweight at 5'7.5" and 128 pounds; was very active four days a week in the gym; never smoked; drink small amounts of alcohol; eat all the "right" things and none of the "wrong" ones (if one insists on putting moral values on food). And I've been sidelined for months by a shoulder impingement caused by arthritis.

There are no guarantees, no bargains with god for good behavior = no health problems. Only hope.

My 401K isn't doing all that great, but I have a pension so who cares.

Amethyst

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimandthom It is predominately our lifestyle for the majority of these type of issues. But I don't care because my 401ks are making money.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Well, I am slightly underweight at 5'7.5" and 128 pounds; was very active four days a week in the gym; never smoked; drink small amounts of alcohol; eat all the "right" things and none of the "wrong" ones (if one insists on putting moral values on food). And I've been sidelined for months by a shoulder impingement caused by arthritis. There are no guarantees, no bargains with god for good behavior = no health problems. Only hope. My 401K isn't doing all that great, but I have a pension so who cares. Amethyst

Of course there are no guarantees but the quality of life benefits from being fit and a healthy weight is far superior to the alternative.

One of my golf buddies rarely plays these days because he has gained 40 pounds in addition to the 20 extra he had before and now his back is sore all the time. He'll go to the chiropractor every week but he won't even consider that his back just might be sore from a lifetime of no exercise and 60 extra pounds.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound And people also claim "60 is the new 40". Life expectancy has not improved by 20 years though, so people still croak at roughly about the same old age, with another year or two at most. No point in trying to fool yourself.

I'm not so sure of that.

I think of it as people in their 60's are acting or trying to act like they are still in their 40's. To a certain extent my observations show that to be true. My grandparents in their 60's acted the role of elderly limited folks. My grandmothers were extremely matronly and not very active. They cooked, watched TV, read a bit and kept house. They would never consider a 6 mile day hike, going skiing or spending an hour working out 3-4 times a week. OTOH, many of the old folks I see today who are in their 60's are active, fit, and still do many things in life, perhaps not as fast and far as the 30 and 40 somethings, but they are not couch potatoes.

From what I have read most of the increased average life spans comes not from people in their 80's living into their 90's, but more people in their 60's and 70's making it into their 80's. Both of my grandfathers died of things that today are easily treatable with a pill - high blood pressure meds. Personally, I could be crippled for most of my remaining life, except that I have a new artificial knee.

[brett]

Since retiring eight years ago we have changed our diet completely. No fast food, no prepared foods, less red meat, lots more fresh fruit and salads. The impetus was travel. We did not want to be uncomfortable if overweight and flying for long trips. That, plus the local food offerings in various travel destinations.

We feel better, we look better, we have lost excess weight, our food tastes better than it ever has, and I believe that we might eat less. Plus we cut out a lot of the sweet pre packaged dessert crap. Plus some red wine for the ticker.

We see an incredible difference in the obesity rates when we travel in the US vs many other countres. No wonder the per capita cost of healthcare in America is among the highest in the world with what could only be considered to be very mediocre outcomes. What shocks my wife, a former health care professional, is the seeming increase in obese children, adolescents, and young adults. Is it any wonder that the percentage of GNP spent on healthcare is so comparatively large as is the the fact that is is increasing at a much faster rate up than inflation.

Drive down any suburban area and count all the fast food outlets. Or view the adverts for supersizing those the sofa and fries! It speaks volumes. As we say in the IT industry...garbage in, garbage out.

Plus, we actually leave our car at home and walk as often as we can.

[Jeffman52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtail Perhaps. However, I don't recall really ever seeing an obese person who appears to be 80+ y.o.

My FIL is 89 years old and is obese....and not just a little obese. I go with what someone else had said. At just shy of 90 if he wants to eat icecream and pastries, more power to him. But I also know that he is the exception not the rule when it comes to older obese people.

[Jeffman52]

DW and I avoid processed foods as much as possible and stick with fresh vegetables, fruits and lean meats. Portion control is our friend. Exercise is also our friend. However I do short circuit some of that with my love of craft beer. The good thing is we pay attention to our weight and have tweaked things over the last 10 years if we see we are going off target on weight/health.

[GrayHare]

Pants getting tight? Ease up on whatever you are eating.
Pants getting loose? Buy a smaller size.
Lather, rinse, repeat until at desired weight.

[pj.mask]

I can’t say I’m CICO type person as I have never counted. I do know approximately how much food I eat vs need or how my body feels compared to my ideal (I see myself naked every day in the mirror). I also weigh myself. Tend to say in the +/- 5 lbs range. I think it is easier to do quick and small course correction vs wait until I’m +20lbs.

Some days I eat a lot (guess 4000 cal), other days I’ll eat 1000 cal. With 1/4 of that being morning coffee.

I think the big loss for diets is most people view it: I’ll suffer through this month and reach my weight and then it will be super easy to maintain.

But if you go back to the same old diet and yo-yo back to terrible “health” food, it won’t work out.

If you’re hungry, load up on vegetable. People would be surprised how easy it is to stay full and fit that way.

[jimandthom]

Lets supersize it, unlimited fries, all you can eat buffet, we have the meats ----ad nauseum.

This is what I meant by our 401ks reap the benefits. There is a corporate interest in pushing the messages above. The profit $$ then flow to our 401s.

I worked retail and hospitality services my whole work life. I saw it and lived it until I saw too much and made changes for myself.


Please ruin you pancreas, waddle back and forth on your knees, gete that quad bypass and still eat like you are at the trough. The healthcare portion of our 401ks will thank you for it.

Yes I realize that there are people with these health issues that did not self inflict. But the majority(my opinion) is self inflicted. Many bad knees are not from the effects of weight but from the labor we did. Those people deserve the best replacement available and are probably(my opinion) more likely to respond to treatment quicker and with less side effects.


We still enjoy the lesser healthy fare, but its more occasional. We are also able to walk (1 -2 miles) to our favorite eateries and pubs. Walking also helps to have absolutely no guilt or concern about extra weight or potential health issues when we have an extra craft beer or a piece of pie with the meal.

As others have stated---they and we got smart at some point. Don't know when probably was gradual.

[HFWR]

My DF (88yo) had both a heart valve replacement and a hip replacement last year. Thus, two times in a year he was unable to eat much if anything for a couple of weeks each. This is why a few extra pounds comes in handy...

As for obesity, we eat too much and move too little. And much of what we eat is carb-laden crap, so processed that it requires essentially no energy to digest.

[harley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj.mask Some days I eat a lot (guess 4000 cal), other days I’ll eat 1000 cal. With 1/4 of that being morning coffee.

Just out of curiosity, what are you putting in that coffee? A quarter a stick of butter? A couple of scoops of ice cream? Ah, I know, a couple shots of whiskey.

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffman52 My FIL is 89 years old and is obese....and not just a little obese. I go with what someone else had said. At just shy of 90 if he wants to eat icecream and pastries, more power to him. But I also know that he is the exception not the rule when it comes to older obese people.

Well truly that is the first exception I have heard about.
At this stage, yeah of course I agree with you. He is very lucky to get to this age.

[omni550]

"Recall that obesity is a disease caused by excessive insulin, not excessive calories. It is a hormonal imbalance, not a caloric one."

"Insulin signals our body to store food energy in the form of body fat. When we fast, and insulin goes down, we burn some of that stored energy and this is why we don’t die in our sleep every night. Yes, we are able to survive without stuffing muffins in our mouths every 2 hours."
....

"Obesity is therefore not a caloric balance problem, but rather the gradual increase in the BSW thermostat (appestat) over time. Let see how that works."
...

"The key to combating obesity, then is to help in the Insulin vs Leptin fight by lowering insulin. Everything depends upon it. Leptin is already maxed out. The only thing left is to lower insulin."


https://medium.com/@drjasonfung/cont...r-12e2e69e94dd


omni

[ER Eddie]

The reason more pets are fat is because of the ingredients in pet foods. It's not good. Look at the ingredients sometime. You'll likely see lots of grains and sugars (under various pseudonyms), plus lots of strange sounding additives -- it's processed food, full of grain and sugar. It's the same crap that is making human beings fat, except in lousier grade quality, plus some low-quality meat, plus chemical additives that probably wouldn't be allowed in human grade food.

I was shocked when I got educated about this subject and learned how bad the food is that most of our pets get. I assumed that if it was being sold in a pet food store, or in a vet's office, then it would be okay. Wrong. I ended up feeling very guilty about the damage I did to my own pets. I can only plead ignorance.

Lab animals are probably fat because the lab chow is made of similar stuff.

I encourage everyone who owns a pet to look further into this. Think about what your pet really needs to thrive.

[Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Like kids, animals don't run around outside the way they used to. Cats used to stay slim and trim by hunting outdoors. Dogs just ran around. Nowadays, most people keep their pets indoors. Also, people entertain themselves by feeding "treats" to their pets.

+1

[Badger]

[QUOTE=omni550;2311808]

"Insulin signals our body to store food energy in the form of body fat. When we fast, and insulin goes down, we burn some of that stored energy and this is why we don’t die in our sleep every night. Yes, we are able to survive without stuffing muffins in our mouths every 2 hours."
i/QUOTE]


Not exactly. Insulin has a counterpart called Glucagon also produced in the Pancreas .

When the level of insulin drops it is the result of the lower level of glucose in the bloodstream. The role of Glucagon is to convert the stored glycogen in the cells (a process called glycogenolysis) to glucose and release it in the blood stream. Once the level of glucose increases to it's threshold then insulin kicks in again. It is a balancing act between the two hormones.


Cheers!

[Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett Since retiring eight years ago we have changed our diet completely. No fast food, no prepared foods, less red meat, lots more fresh fruit and salads. The impetus was travel. We did not want to be uncomfortable if overweight and flying for long trips. That, plus the local food offerings in various travel destinations. We feel better, we look better, we have lost excess weight, our food tastes better than it ever has, and I believe that we might eat less. Plus we cut out a lot of the sweet pre packaged dessert crap. Plus some red wine for the ticker. We see an incredible difference in the obesity rates when we travel in the US vs many other countres. No wonder the per capita cost of healthcare in America is among the highest in the world with what could only be considered to be very mediocre outcomes. What shocks my wife, a former health care professional, is the seeming increase in obese children, adolescents, and young adults. Is it any wonder that the percentage of GNP spent on healthcare is so comparatively large as is the the fact that is is increasing at a much faster rate up than inflation. Drive down any suburban area and count all the fast food outlets. Or view the adverts for supersizing those the sofa and fries! It speaks volumes. As we say in the IT industry...garbage in, garbage out. Plus, we actually leave our car at home and walk as often as we can.

+++1


Cheers!

[RetiredGypsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omni550 "Recall that obesity is a disease caused by excessive insulin, not excessive calories. It is a hormonal imbalance, not a caloric one." "Insulin signals our body to store food energy in the form of body fat. When we fast, and insulin goes down, we burn some of that stored energy and this is why we don’t die in our sleep every night. Yes, we are able to survive without stuffing muffins in our mouths every 2 hours." .... "Obesity is therefore not a caloric balance problem, but rather the gradual increase in the BSW thermostat (appestat) over time. Let see how that works." ... "The key to combating obesity, then is to help in the Insulin vs Leptin fight by lowering insulin. Everything depends upon it. Leptin is already maxed out. The only thing left is to lower insulin." https://medium.com/@drjasonfung/cont...r-12e2e69e94dd omni

Ouch. I mean good on him, trying stand up comedy instead of keeping to his field of expertise, but these jokes are just so flat.

Oh wait, he's selling a diet, so of course CICO can't be the answer. Hard to fill a book with boring news like that.