Michael Buerk. Is obesity a disease?

Seems I've driven Minnie off this thread by asking for an apology for being so rude and ill informed about me. C'est la vie. Yes, she's on other threads.

Witzend Sun 11-Aug-19 18:05:01 I am sure you are right about snacking. I have 2 rich finger biscuits with my hot milk at night and that's it. On the odd occasion when I want something mid afternoon I eat whatever is in the fruit bowl. Recently we were house sitting for DS & DiL while some decorators were working and we thought we should buy some biscuits. I was amazed at how cheap they are so it is hardly surprising that people buy them. Only one of the decorators ate them and when the electrician came he refused them too. They were all slim.

That's horrible Hetty, as if thin equals some sort of superiority.

My very nice and somewhat chubby friend (previously mentioned above) had to endure bitchy comments when she (on a day out) had the nerve to eat a sandwich in public. What is wrong with people? Larger ladies still need to eat!

Lessismore, well it really seems that way, doesn't it? I think post menopausal weight gain is just another sick joke in a woman's life. Nature is having a real laugh.

Let's see, first, there's puberty, then periods, (pregnancy, childbirth, breast feeding - rinse and repeat!), followed by pre menopause, menopause and post menopause. Old age and death hold no fear after all that!

4th....post menopause?

I once read that there are three life stages where fat cells are laid down (acquired). One was a stage in the womb, the second was at age two and the third at age 11 - 13.

Anyone who is slim at these ages has less fat cells and tends towards leanness. Those who were chubby have more, therefore are more 'primed' to put on weight easily.

It made sense to me as my family have slim children and tend to eat a lot but never gain weight. My friend was a big baby and chubby child. She seems to exist on salads, has very little sugar or fat in her diet (never eats cakes or biscuits) and exercises daily but tends to put on weight. Life is just not fair!

After a holiday in Italy recently, where she stayed with an Italian friend and her large extended family, a dd remarked on how slim they all were - and put it down to no snacking, None at all.
The meals were fairly simple but ample Italian style food, but nothing in between.

Given that so many people in the U.K. keep a constant supply of biscuits, cakes, crisps, etc. in the house, and help themselves often, I have to think she could well be right.

I don't know about anybody else, but I hardly ever buy cakes or biscuits - unless we have guests - because I know I'll just eat them! I am congenitally unable to leave a packet of Garibaldis or Fig Rolls alone, so they're a very rare treat.

Should add that I'm still far from my former size 10 - even after 2 babies - more like a 14 now, so even more reason to avoid the biscuit aisle.
(Dh and I do indulge in the odd bar of Fruit and Nut, though....)

But isn’t there some concern now that BMI is not the best way to measure obesity?

I’m sure I read it somewhere but I’m cooking dinner so can’t go and track that down lol

N&G muscle weighs more than fat so athletes can be heavier but it is the BMI which counts.

I do think Woodmouse that the current ways in which obesity is measured do not take into account that we are all different . As you say being a tall lady can skew the results . Also I think I read ( and don’t shoot me :-). ) but some pro athletes can be deemed as obese because they are extremely muscular.

It seems to me common sense is rarely applied in these cases .

Whoops !
It should read ...I have to take that letter out sometimes and remind myself I've not got to cut out something to loose weight.

It appears that dieting in relation to the article is defined as less calorie intake than energy output. Nonnie .

I think it explains clearly that if you are unable to exercise fairly rigorously you will struggle to lose weight over a long period of time unless you keep reducing the calorific intake. There comes a stage where you reach a calorific level that your body interprets as starvation and will do all it can to hang onto fat stores.

My frustration is when I am measured (height) and weight taken, I am told I am overweight. I am 14st.

I used to be a size 12 at 18 yrs of age and considered Twiggy like.

I'm now 69 and a size 18 and 2 1/2st heavier than I was at 18.

I do feel overweight sometimes because I remember what I was like and what the charts tell me. My height and weight put my BMI etc in the overweight bracket.

One measurement I have not mentioned is that at 18, I was 6'1"and at 69' I am still 6'1". The charts really do not take into account tall women.

I had a hip replacement three years ago. My consultant, in the letter to my doctor described me as a slender lady. I have to take that letter out sometimes and remind myself I've got to cut out something to loose weight.

Weight gain I put down to pregnancies (2nd one), drop in exercise, (two major operations) and stressful first marriage. I took up exercise again when fit enough but not as strenuous as squash, which I loved years ago. These days it's Pilates and Zumba Gold (that's the steady version!)

N&G I wonder how they define dieting? I don't like the idea as, at some point, you would stop. I prefer not eating certain things (DH firmly believes I don't like pastry!) and only small amounts of others. By doing this I think it trains us to eat appropriately for our own bodies.

Exactly NanaandGrampy.

And as for the exercising more, it'd have to be daily and at least an hour. I've been there and done that, and frankly, with a full-time profession (teacher) I just couldn't always fit it in. I did everything I could to make exercising pleasurable, joining a gym that was a treat to go to, with a lovely pool and great exercise classes. It mostly worked, when I had time, I was there.

Sorry to but in oldgimmer but funnily enough I was reading an article about the effect of dieting on resting metabolic rate and the relevant line -

Researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center confirmed this in a study published in the December 2007 issue of the journal "Obesity." The study found that resting metabolic rate decreased at month three of a calorie-restricted diet.

The only way to increase the RMR was to do one of 2 things- exercise more or cut calories again .

A rock and a hard place if your mobility in compromised.

Witzend I would if we agree on 'cause'? I totally agree that if one has certain conditions it is much easier to put on weight but surely that can be counteracted by eating less and/or getting more exercise? As I said up thread 2 DSs, same size, used to do the same physical work, one has always eaten a lot the other always much less. I think we can all make excuses, some of us are like very economic cars and can do 100 miles to the gallon and others can only do 30. If you fill the economic car with as much fuel as the other one it will overflow.

I believe that steroids can often cause weight gain. A friend whose dh is being treated for prostate cancer tells me he's 'ballooned' since he's been on steroids.

And I do believe there are other conditions/medications which can cause weight gain, but I dare say that the percentage of obese people who can genuinely blame such factors is relatively small.

I am one of those lucky people who could always eat anything and not put on weight, until recently that is. I am still slim. I do not like sweet things and prefer vegetables to carbs.

My DD on the other hand has a completely different build and needs to exercise in order to keep weight off. She is also a great fan of carbs as is my husband who is overweight.

I am sure a lot of it is body type also what your taste in food is.

What I do object to though is that all my life overweight friends have told me I must be anorexic or have an eating disorder. I would never dream of saying anything to them about the fact that they are overweight.

@gagajo: could you quote your source for your idea that constant dieting lowers the metabolism please?

Minnie* please stop assuming I know nothing about it. I am not strictly hypothyroid, I don't have one! Apology please.

Nonnie. Stop it. You don't know what you're talking about. Some people who are hypothyroid are not on the correct medication. They reckon it's about 15/20%. They need T3 as well as T4 due to conversion issues. It's infuriating to read people blithely suggesting that UAT isn't that bad.

For the majority the T4 medication works fine. And these people won't even have to be 'more careful than others' because the medication has basically made their issues go away.

However a big enough minority never get optimal levels unless they are prescribed T3. Which means they are still symptomatic and they can still have weight issues.

Please stop talking about something you know little about.

PamelaJ1 Sat 10-Aug-19 16:39:53 thanks for that, I agree.

GagaJo Sat 10-Aug-19 23:34:26 being hypothyroid does not make it 'near impossible to lose weight'. It really isn't as bad as that, they just have to be more careful than others.

GagaJo This probably why the 5:2 and other fasting diets seem to work well. Your body metabolism doesn't slowdown because the day after you drastically cut your food intake, you are back to normal (sensible) eating.