discussion How would you go about tackling the obesity crisis?

[robattack332]

Unfortunately, these Ozempic/Monjaro medications are going to be the first phase to get out of this mess. Changing people's eating behaviors is possibly the most difficult addiction to treat. These medications are working with minimal side effects (and before anyone says anything about long-term BS, they've been studied for decades).

 

Second is to introduce incremental diet changes that fit in with people's lifestyle. People are not just going to start cooking up veggie sautés every night if they are eating fast food normally. There are a lot of companies coming up that are making "better-for-you" foods that tackle things like lowering sugar, certain oils, etc...They are not perfect in any way, but they help people get their 'hit' of satisfying foods they need while transitioning off anything artificial (like weaning off any drug). The goods news is that grocers, like even Walmart, see the health food trends and are working to get these in their stores and made more accessible. Doesn't happen overnight though.

 

Psychological work also needs to be more interwoven in the clinical care settings when obesity is present.

 

I work very deeply in this industry and the truth is it's an extremely hard ditch that we have in front of us to climb out. The idea that the FDA/Gov't are going to just start banning and labelling things is not a reality we will see any time soon. As newer food brands grow and are acquired by larger corporation, we may see it happen. But that is not any time soon.

[Dzjxdzjx]

Ban the fats

[zasderfght]

Can someone legitimately tell me why ATRL is obsessed with strangers' bodies? 

 

As someone is slightly overweight according to my BMI, I honestly do not take offense to these forums since I'm technically not obese, but how does someone being obesity genuinely affect your wellbeing? 

 

If you wouldn't date a person who's obese, don't. If you wouldn't befriend a person who's obese, don't. People who are obese are not looking to make you obese. You are your own person with your own thoughts and actions. 

 

Also, I can tell some of you have not been on medications that cause weight gain or had the misfortune of experiencing weight gain as a side effect of medications. Medications like SSRIs/antidepressants can cause weight gain, and I am living proof of this. When I was on Amitriptyline, I gained 20 pounds. I ate exactly the same. I got about the same amount of exercise/movement in. That's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. 

 

If you're genuinely considered with obesity as a health-issue, focusing on people is where you're going to fail. Studies have shown that body-shaming/fat-shaming people only leads to people binging, over-eating, etc. If your friends are obese, I mean, it's not your business, but you could recommend healthier fast-casual/fast food options for when y'all hang out, maybe invite them to the gym, etc. 

 

Unless you're a doctor and your patients are obese, or someone close to you is obese to the point where they're losing mobility and on the brink of death, why do you care so badly? 

 

And then some of y'all have the audacity to ask why you're single and why men are critical of your bodies or hyper focused on sex. Your weight is not a sole indicator of health. Is it healthier to not be obese? Yes. But you can be skinny and still be deficient in nutrients, be malnourished, under-eat, be anorexic, etc. 

 

Threads like these legitimate make me lose brain cells. 

[MasterExpose]

I'd gather all the fatties and put them in weight categories. Each category is put on certain diet and exercises 6 days a week, each Sunday is weight day to see improvement. Once they reach a healthy weight they are removed from the system. 

[splozo]

Probably start at reducing subsidies to things like corn that contribute to a lot of cheap processed foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients. 

Put that money towards things like addressing food desserts, public transport, etc. 

Proper education also super important about nutrition and excercise is important, maybe make it a (bigger) part of kids' PE classes. 

Provide kids with free nutritious meals during school instead of food that either looks like slop or junk food that gets around rules that are put in place - pizza classified as a vegetable for example. 

Maybe even provide resources for overweight people to see a dieticians and/or personal trainers with certain qualifications so they get real information/experienced as opposed to turning to quacks selling them horrible (mis)information.

 

Probably a decent place to start. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by splozo

[bad guy]

On 4/8/2023 at 8:00 AM, Happylittlepunk said:

There is already a movement like that for men. Many men are being pressured now to lose weight and start doing physical fitness. Not straight up bullying but many influencers are now pushing guys to workout more in order to get a girlfriend, have more sex, get out of depression, make yourself presentable, get more confident to make friends and improve your appearance at work and social life at least for men it’s socially more acceptable to pressure guys to physically improve themselves. 
 

with women unfortunately no it’s more accepting to be plus size or accept how her body is at least on social media. 

That's not "bullying", it's good advice. There is not a single reason outside being disabled that a person cannot commit to personal health and fitness by working out. I've actually seen men in wheelchairs fit and at the gym so if they can do it so can someone who's able-bodied but too lazy to put in effort into themselves. Preaching self-discipline is a good thing and more people should have it. Weakness in physical health leads to weakness in mental and emotional health as well, and there's studies that prove this. Also men's bodies are not as dissected as women's are in media and real life, so the comparison doesn't work. 

 

OT: Food deserts and local governments strategically placing cheap/unhealthy food options in low income areas are probably one of the biggest reason for America's obesity issue. Real markets, grocery stores with actual healthy food should be everywhere and not just in middle/upper class areas. PE should be more individualized rather than whatever schools are doing now where as long as they are outside and have PE uniforms on they get an A. Schools should provide healthy food options that are edible. Parents should stop enabling their kids' bad eating habits. Lots of things.

Edited April 14, 2023 by bad guy

[Aethereal]

On 4/11/2023 at 5:05 AM, splozo said:

Probably start at reducing subsidies to things like corn that contribute to a lot of cheap processed foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients. 

Put that money towards things like addressing food desserts, public transport, etc. 

Proper education also super important about nutrition and excercise is important, maybe make it a (bigger) part of kids' PE classes. 

Provide kids with free nutritious meals during school instead of food that either looks like slop or junk food that gets around rules that are put in place - pizza classified as a vegetable for example. 

Maybe even provide resources for overweight people to see a dieticians and/or personal trainers with certain qualifications so they get real information/experienced as opposed to turning to quacks selling them horrible (mis)information.

 

Probably a decent place to start. 

Corn contributes to foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients? I thought all type of grains were very healthy and suitable for eating including corns. 

[So.. what now]

A man made famine.

[zasderfght]

15 hours ago, bad guy said:

That's not "bullying", it's good advice. There is not a single reason outside being disabled that a person cannot commit to personal health and fitness by working out. I've actually seen men in wheelchairs fit and at the gym so if they can do it so can someone who's able-bodied but too lazy to put in effort into themselves. Preaching self-discipline is a good thing and more people should have it. Weakness in physical health leads to weakness in mental and emotional health as well, and there's studies that prove this. Also men's bodies are not as dissected as women's are in media and real life, so the comparison doesn't work. 

 

OT: Food deserts and local governments strategically placing cheap/unhealthy food options in low income areas are probably one of the biggest reason for America's obesity issue. Real markets, grocery stores with actual healthy food should be everywhere and not just in middle/upper class areas. PE should be more individualized rather than whatever schools are doing now where as long as they are outside and have PE uniforms on they get an A. Schools should provide healthy food options that are edible. Parents should stop enabling their kids' bad eating habits. Lots of things.

You were on to something with exercise helping mobility issues, potentially helping mental health (and symptoms one can experience having a mental illness), and the importance of getting enough healthy protein/fat/complex carbs. 

 

I also agree women are held to a much higher standard than men in terms of beauty standards. And food deserts and the surplus of unhealthy food options (or convenient, fast-food/fast-casual foods being cheaper than the healthy foods), and low-income households being factors to obesity.

 

However, I feel we need to examine mental health illnesses, and health in general, a bit more closely. Certain medications can cause weight gain. Certain medical conditions such as hypothyroidism cause weight gain. Symptoms of clinical depression can make it harder on the individual to be motivated to do basic self-care such as getting enough exercise. 

 

I'm not making excuses for people with certain medication/lifestyle regimens that are out of their control (to an extent) or incredibly difficult to manage, but you cannot downplay these factors. 

 

I think to tackle obesity, and what we have in our individual control/power (not a licensed dietitian or health expert, btw) is to hire a dietician, if affordable, personal trainer, if affordable, using free websites like MyFitnessPal to track calories, getting a FitBit or Apple Watch, if affordable, to track steps. 

 

Joining a gym is another great option-- Planet Fitness is as low as 10/month. Sometimes gyms have body scans where you can see your fitness age, get your BMI rating, and other medical metrics. 

 

For mental health, you can try requesting a medication that doesn't promote weight gain. Seeing a therapist, potentially one that specializes in eating behaviors (not necessarily eating disorders) or nutrition/diet/lifestyle, would be pretty great. 

 

You can try limiting beverages to water. 

 

But for obesity, it really needs to be a holistic approach, imo. If eating healthy foods was sustainable, affordable, and relatively easy/manageable, far less Americans would be obese. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by zasderfght

[Sweet Sexy Savage]

Make America a pedestrian friendly country

[hallucinate]

maybe start with going against the the body positivity movement 

it’s doing more harm than good now sadly

Edited April 14, 2023 by hallucinate

[zasderfght]

13 minutes ago, hallucinate said:

maybe start with going against the the body positivity movement 

it’s doing more harm than good now sadly

If you're against body positivity, does that mean people should hate their bodies until they are no longer obese? Do you think that would help someone mentally? We do realize that losing weight-- if done healthily, ideally under supervision of a trained professional-- can take weeks, if not months? I don't think constantly hating your body until you're at least overweight or "fit" is healthy for you. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by zasderfght

[hallucinate]

1 hour ago, zasderfght said:

If you're against body positivity, does that mean people should hate their bodies until they are no longer obese? Do you think that would help someone mentally? We do realize that losing weight-- if done healthily, ideally under supervision of a trained professional-- can take weeks, if not months? I don't think constantly hating your body until you're at least overweight or "fit" is healthy for you. 

i never said any ‪of these things

body positivity was actually great when it first started but now you have people promoting obesity and calling weight loss “toxic” etc. 

 

you should love your body no matter what and be confident in it but just don’t say stuff like “health at every size!!!” or “diet culture is toxic!!!”

 

women like tess holliday or virgie tovar are perfect examples of this behavior

Edited April 14, 2023 by hallucinate

[zasderfght]

11 minutes ago, hallucinate said:

i never said any ‪of these things

body positivity was actually great when it first started but now you have people promoting obesity and calling weight loss “toxic” etc. 

 

you should love your body no matter what and be confident in it but just don’t say stuff like “health at every size!!!” or “diet culture is toxic!!!”

 

women like tess holliday or virgie tovar are perfect examples of this behavior

Diet culture can be toxic, though. Crash or fad diets are not sustainable long-term and can lead to weight gain/increase in the future. 

 

Yes, not being overweight/obese is better than having more body fat index, however, being underweight isn't good either. And you can have someone who is deficient in nutrients, isn't sleeping, sedentary, has heart problems, etc. but is a "normal" weight. And you can have someone overweight or obese, yet they're physically active, their blood work came back normal, etc. Would you still say the person with a normal BMI is healthier in this scenario? 

 

I'm not trying to pick out every flaw in what you're saying and the issue is more how we look at obesity. I think we should first be invested in our health, first and foremost. Then figure out how our government, health education, and/or marketing/social media can promote and offer long-lasting, viable solutions to weight-loss and viewing food as nutrition. 

 

The answer is not "ban all fats" (not that you've said this). 

Edited April 14, 2023 by zasderfght

[hallucinate]

2 minutes ago, zasderfght said:

Diet culture can be toxic, though. Crash or fad diets are not sustainable long-term and can lead to weight gain/increase in the future. 

 

Yes, not being overweight/obese is better than having more body fat index, however, being underweight isn't good either. And you can have someone who is deficient in nutrients, isn't sleeping, sedentary, has heart problems, etc. but is a "normal" weight. And you can have someone overweight or obese, yet they're physically active, their blood work came back normal, etc. Would you still say the person with a normal BMI is healthier in this scenario? 

 

I'm not trying to pick out every flaw in what you're saying and the issue is more how we look at obesity. I think we should first be invested in our health, first and foremost. Then figure out how our government, health education, and/or marketing/social media can promote and offer long-lasting, viable solutions to weight-loss and viewing food as nutrition. 

 

The answer is not "ban all fats" (not that you've said this). 

i don’t claim that BMI means everything, a smoker or a drug addict can’t be healthy regardless of their weight. however we are specifially talking about weight here and how it affects the whole body

 

other than that i definitely agree with you, both being extremely underweight and obese are harmful

[zasderfght]

10 minutes ago, hallucinate said:

i don’t claim that BMI means everything, a smoker or a drug addict can’t be healthy regardless of their weight. however we are specifially talking about weight here and how it affects the whole body

 

other than that i definitely agree with you, both being extremely underweight and obese are harmful

In that sense, yes, being overweight and/or obese is not ideal. And while this is a serious issue, and I wish no one was obese, ATRL's knee-jerk's (and again, not saying you) response is "ban the fatties," "starve fat people," or some other solution that, ignorance aside, actually does not contribute to sustainable weight loss. 

 

Also, I wish obesity was solely about weight, but sadly, this is also a socioeconomic issue, so solving worldwide (or even American) obesity is going to have to be looked at from different perspectives. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by zasderfght

[Raphy23]

ban french fries, candy, chocolates, soda, potatoes, white bread/bakes good, and any other high glucose index foods!

[Raphy23]

On 4/8/2023 at 3:07 PM, Dula Peep said:

More regulation on fast food places

free/affordable healthcare

adjust/remove daylight savings time so it’s not dark when you get out of work at 5 in the winter

more affordable gyms/rec spaces and parks

maybe make employers give an hour or longer lunch breaks so workers can go on walks/the gym

educate people more on nutrition with tv commercials/spots.. I felt like the Covid ones were pretty effective 

 

…a lot of people, like my parents unfortunately, just don’t care and want to eat what they want mostly because they are addicted to sugar 

 

No one needs light at 5am  I agree remove the time change, but leave it at summertime forever so it's not dark at 4pm in the winter. I need light in the EVENING! 

[Dula Peep]

50 minutes ago, Raphy23 said:

No one needs light at 5am  I agree remove the time change, but leave it at summertime forever so it's not dark at 4pm in the winter. I need light in the EVENING! 

yeah that's what I mean, you can't have "summertime forever" tho because daylight is shorter in the winter 

[Riverbank]

On 4/8/2023 at 3:47 PM, Lipgloss said:

Don't let them reproduce. Fat people make fat children. 

I'm sorry but

[thetea]

8 hours ago, hallucinate said:

i never said any ‪of these things

body positivity was actually great when it first started but now you have people promoting obesity and calling weight loss “toxic” etc. 

 

you should love your body no matter what and be confident in it but just don’t say stuff like “health at every size!!!” or “diet culture is toxic!!!”

 

women like tess holliday or virgie tovar are perfect examples of this behavior

of course you'd mention the most extreme examples of people supporting obesity but body positivity is about not having negative things to say about other people's bodies, not to encourage obesity. and a lot of diet culture is toxic and creates eating disorders.

[Robert]

Subsidise vegetables, fruit and white meat so they are affordable. Make health and cooking skills a bigger part of education curriculums. 

[thetea]

17 hours ago, zasderfght said:

In that sense, yes, being overweight and/or obese is not ideal. And while this is a serious issue, and I wish no one was obese, ATRL's knee-jerk's (and again, not saying you) response is "ban the fatties," "starve fat people," or some other solution that, ignorance aside, actually does not contribute to sustainable weight loss. 

 

Also, I wish obesity was solely about weight, but sadly, this is also a socioeconomic issue, so solving worldwide (or even American) obesity is going to have to be looked at from different perspectives. 

you're so right. a lot of the people in this thread have no valuable opinions or solutions on how obesity can feasibly be tackled. 

[TiaTamera]

On 4/8/2023 at 10:24 AM, LoveInStereo said:

If we take nutrition out of the equation, the average person is sedentary throughout the day much more than they should be. I walk 30 minutes to & from work & my coworkers act like I’m climbing Everest because they all sit on transit or drive. Staying active is important & helps your metabolism!

And we are becoming even more sedentary with work from home & robots/AI starting to replace everything.

 

On 4/8/2023 at 10:37 AM, cockatoo said:

Oh yeah 100%. I mean there's not much benefit in being slim if you're sniffing coke every weekend and getting blind drunk at the first available opportunity.

 

Better access to clean tap water is definitely a big one. I've also thought if supermarkets sold more of those pre-cut fruit and vegetable packets and didn't charge an arm and a leg for them, it would encourage more people to buy them. Things need to be easy and ready made for them to be appealing.

Yeah the prepackaged sliced fruit cost more than the uncut fruit and it makes no sense. I understand labor cost and having to use packages but by now but the price point t difference makes no sense considering that often times you’re getting less fruit than if you bought it whole.

On 4/8/2023 at 10:40 AM, HeavyMetalAura said:

What I want to say is that we need to just start treating unhealthy food like the monster it is. Alcohol and cigarettes come with warnings on them, so I don’t understand why a McDonalds Happy Meal or a large soda that contains days’ worth of sugar doesn’t have a health warning in big block letters on it that it’s bad for you or could cause adverse effects in large quantities. 
 

Then again that doesn’t necessarily stop being from abusing alcohol and cigarettes either, and most dietitians say labeling foods as “bad” leads to disordered eating. So maybe that’s not the solution.

 

Even still, there’s this notion that it’s “no big deal” to “treat yourself” every now and then as though some of these foods aren’t basically poisons - and we willingly buy them for our children on the regular - so we definitely need to start seeing these foods for what they are and ditch the nonchalant attitudes about them. 
 

edit: this isn’t a solution per se, but I guess what I’m trying to see is that I wish we had a culture where we associates sodas and cakes with vaping more than salads and whole grains. There should be more moral panic about our abuse of junk food than there is. I’d like to see some outrage. 

In NYC they passed a bill a while ago where fast food places had to add a sodium warning label on the menus/display screens. It does help, at least for me. Sometimes it deters me from eating there at all and other times it influences what I choose on the menu. And when I still eat something with the sodium label, I’m making a conscious decision to do so and I’m filling aware of how unhealthy the sodium level is.

On 4/8/2023 at 11:32 AM, Aristide said:

Do what they do in Japan: government raises your taxes if the measurement of your waistline is above a certain limit.

Lmaooo is this true? 

[TiaTamera]

19 hours ago, Raphy23 said:

ban french fries, candy, chocolates, soda, potatoes, white bread/bakes good, and any other high glucose index foods!

Chocolate and potatoes can stay, it just depends on how they are made.

 

I started drinking flavored seltzer water instead of soda and now I cannot even drink regular juice without watering it down and I barely drink soda anymore, and if I do it’s ginger ale and very rarely Vanilla Coke (if there’s no ginger ale). Ginger ale has the lowest sugar content out of all the sodas & I drink it when I feel like I’m low on sugar and/or need a carbonate beverage.

 

lowering my sugar and salt intake made me realize how sweet and salty things are now.