Dumbledore:
Sorry, but you have to prove it. There's nothing out there to suggest this.
If people are coutning calories and aren't losing weight, then they're either: cheating and eating snacks on the side, underestimating their calories (very common to underestimate the size of a portion, and thus the calories in it), lowering their physical activity level at the same time (doing less because they feel more tired or hungry).
but the problem is that calories out isnt a level playing field. Some people would have to devote an ungodly amount of time to working out in order to get into a normal bmi range. I know Ive met families that ate healthier/were more active than mine, but they were all somewhat overweight, and all had about the same body type/fat distribution, so I found it hard not to assume it was genetic. They were all healthier than me, thats for damn sure. lol.
the good news is that obese people can see a great improvement of health with a relativley small decrease in their body fat percentage.
there is currently a debate in the medical community about wether or not to diagnose a condition called 'metabolic syndrome', its basically a set of conditions that make it much harder for individuals to lose weight. its basically saying 'you have rotten genetic luck'. But a lot of people are saying that its not neccesary, im not sure which side of it im on yet...
some rather common conditions like make it extremely difficult to shed weight because of endocrine/hormonal issues.
We are a nation of fat people, because everyone thinks like you do. They don't want to have to do the hard work. They want a "magic bullet" to lose weight, and that just doesn't happen. Eat less, exercise more. That's it.
The dietary reccomendations the FDA handed out when I was growing up were quite flawed, and were not healthy over all. It was that fat free/avoid meat low impact exercise 3x a week for 30 minutes thing. It simply didnt work very well, many people found themselves losing weight but hanging onto body fat and feeling/looking like hell with that sort of routine.
I very much disagree that everyone wants the 'easy way out'. I think that people in general work hard at losing weight but have bad information on how to go about it. My experiences lead me to believe that people will try many things w/diet and exercise that are hard to do and dont see results, and THEN start looking for the quick fix because the stuff they tried doesnt work anyway, so they 'might as well' try hydroxy cut or whatever pills there are out there. Many of the diet and exercise programs out there
technically work if followed, but they push aspects of the body to such extreme limits that you would have to be seriously obsessive to stick to it. The thousands of swindlers out there are detrimental to many, someone can spend hours on their ab contraption and have a strong core but not much else to show for their hard work. Or they might be lead to believe that because they cant reasonably become 'thin' its not worth it to do so much hard work. Appearance is considered much more important than health, the family i referenced before had a daughter who was the object of endless teasing about her weight despite her doing more about it than all the skinny kids making fun of her for being 'lazy'.
I think the key to ending this sort of problem is for fitness to be TAUGHT in school. physical education fails at this in america in an extreme way. it makes exercise a one-size-fits-all ordeal when it isnt, and it basically made me hate working out in general because to pass I was forced to do exercise I did not enjoy when there were enjoyable activities I could have been doing that gave me the same benefits. The benefits of exercise were vaugely, if at all, explained to me. during the weight training unit, no one explained reps or sets or the way to do weight training to make it effective, we were let into the weight room with someone to make sure we dont get injured, and they said "go". No one explained that spot reduction does not work, while i watched apple shaped kids do an ungodly amount of ab excersizes. No one explained the point of weight training at all, while I watched boys work on nothing except their upper bodies. Competitive work outs were the main focus of every PE class ive ever had, and this is obviously discouraging to children who are not fit or coordinated to begin with. The presidential testing was HUMILIATING.
NO ONE, no one explained diet outside of calories.
I've seen it in myself and many of my family members. Most of my family members who have tried to lose weight were serious about it, some desperate. And I'd watch them have a cookie ("it's just one"!) or add in the 150 calories for 4oz. of meat to cover a 9oz. sirloin. Or go to McDonalds for a BigMac and count is as a 350 calorie cheeseburger. OR decide that going without food was making them miserable so they quit exercising. I've watched peopel whose lives, limbs, and eyesight are at risk violate doctor prescribed diets...and I don't think you can convince me all these people are suicidal.
hunger is a force to be reckoned with, thats for sure. Its a fight against everything your body tells you to do, every day. Its extremely hard to break habits as well.
And you're right, everyone is ignoring why we have so many people overweight, because no one wants to hear the truth. They want a super-diet, a magic bullet that's easy and quick. They don't want to do it the hard way, the healthy way, losing a pound or two a week at most. They want to drop 15 pounds in a month, and stay that way forever without having to work at it.
I think you are over simplifying the issue. The prevelance of overweight people is a combination of cultural and health issues. I believe lack of education, a wealth of misinformation, a cultural focus on appearance rather than health, and conflicting messages about food all contribute strongly to the use of the quick fixes.
many people do know diet pills are unhealthy, but they take them because they just want to be thin.
In america we are constantly bombarded by conflicting messages, 'a snack you dont have to feel guilty about', 'reward yourself', 'only 100 calories, so you can feel good about eating again', "eat like a MAN", etc. These sorts of messages effect everyone, food is used as a comfort for many people and advertisers encourage this, even to children.
the wide prevelance of binge eating disorder needs to be examined imo. its the most prevelant eating disorder in america, and the ravenous, crazy hunger is the same as it is for bulimics, there is just no 'purge' stage. To people like that, food is a drug, bulimics/BED sufferers can eat themselves into debt if its severe. I have sympathy for people like that, I cant imagine how hard it must be to have an addiction to something you need to live. Like being an alcoholic who needs one beer every day to live, thats the closest comparison i can come up with. There are other emotional issues that cause people to over eat (that I believe are much more prevelant than BED, emotional eating is RAMPANT and encouraged). When people with these sorts of problems decide to work on their weight, they are almost never offered any kind of psychological help. they are told to stop being so lazy when they may need more than an eating/exercise program to achieve long term success.
There are reasons for it that are not openly discussed, because people don't want to face facts.
I'm urging you to think. Think about how much study has been done in this area. Think about why a study done by a diet company might differ from those published in peer-reviewed medical journals. Think about why a lot of "fad" diets use preliminary studies, or unreplicated studies, as a basis for thier claims. Think about why all this research has not shown any truth to the claim that the type of calories play a major role.
I agree, its important for people to be encouraged to do this. Its just that most people dont understand the difference between a peer reviewed study and the rest, this is another issue of people being undereducated in schools- its clear that america has fallen behind in science and math and nothings being done about it.
But the fact remains that thousands of people in this country are overweight, the real issue that we are ignoring is why this is so. Yes weight loss is hard and difficult, but is simply counting your calories, a diet that has been around for quiet some time, really worked for everyone then why are so many people over weight? Let me guess, people will not stick to the diet. I have know many people who have stuck to low calorie diets and they did not lose weight. Again let me guess, they didn't do the diet right. Many of these people we obsessed with losing weight the last thing they would do is eat something they shouldn't or go against the medical advice they recieved. When I commented that people who have lost weight might not know how it is for other people that is what I meant. Weight loss is a complicated and difficult issue that goes far beyond just counting calories, just because you lost weight for yourself does not make you an expert on how other people can lose weight. I am urging you to think, think beyond current scientific studies, and advice from the medical community. Think beyond the simple tactic of attributing the lack of weight loss by others as not following the diet correctly or not having the willpower to stay on the diet. Something more is going on. We are a nation of fat people, their are reasons for this that are not openly discussed or aknowledged.
