Posted on 05/02/2016 9:14:49 AM PDT by Sean_Anthony
An impressive array of brainpower
Fat? Blame your genes, say doctors Overweight? Maybe you really can blame your genes Blame your genes for obesity
Headlines such as these have become a staple of science and health journalism. Are they right? Are obese people really helpless victims of their genes?
Let us begin by distinguishing between monogenic obesity and what scientists call common obesity. Monogenic obesity, as the name implies, is caused by a mutation in a single gene, which is inherited in a Mendelian fashion, just as conditions such as sickle-cell anemia and cystic fibrosis are. In the case of monogenic obesity, the mutation derails the bodys ability to turn off hunger signals after an individual has eaten. This type of obesity usually is characterized by insatiable hunger and severe, early-childhood-onset obesity. Monogenic obesity in turn is divided into two subcategories: syndromic and non-syndromic.
Syndromic obesity is associated with specific genetic syndromes, which usually include mental retardation. The best known of these syndromes is Prader-Willi Syndrome, which is associated with low IQ, reduced muscle mass, and hyperphagia, or uncontrollable eating. Moreover, the reduced muscle mass of people with PWS means that their caloric requirements, per kilogram of body mass, are only about 60% of those of normal individuals. Notably, even individuals with PWS can have a normal weight if someone else controls their caloric intake; the fat does not magically appear on their bodies.
Bad carbs, low fat diet and constant eating 6 or more times per day in the form of sodas, latte’s and other snacks without giving the digestive system a rest is probably the biggest reason many of us are fat. I think genes predispose people to storing more or less fat too but the carbs are the biggie.
Now, to put this in context, this means that he would gain a pound every three days (you don't gain a pound of fat when you gain weight, you gain muscle and connective tissue as well so let's forget the 3000 calories equal a pound gained nonsense) if he were eating the recommended number of calories. In a year this would represent a gain of about one hundred and twenty pounds. So in addition to genetics, and diet, and exercise (a minor factor; you can't exercise enough to make a big difference and it stimulates appetite), there is also the body's homeostasis and its drive to preserve the status quo. Earlier studies of bushmen and others found similar surprises; given their extreme activity level you would expect them to require a very large number of calories per day to maintain weight, but they maintained weight on about half of that. Anyway, point being it is not just eating too much. And no, I'm not overweight.
More than likely lack of exercise and taking in far more calories than the body burns is the leading cause of obesity.
Advice:
1. Pray to God as one in Christ (see tag) to be healthy and not be fat, loose needed weight, etc.
2. Eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness, meaning as a rule we only eat when we become too weak to do what we need to do, and only what we need (small amounts) to regain our strength, and normally do not eat much of foods that are heavy in fat calories, regardless of what the clock says, or bcz you we simply want the pleasure of eating. If you eat too much, do not eat again until you are getting weak from lack of food.
3. Thank God for good health and weight, but do not be self-satisfied or glory in yourself, but rejoice in the Lord and give Him thanks and glory as unworthy but beloved and blessed (in Christ) servants.
Right on, its a very complicated hormonal process.. Gary Taubes video ‘why we get fat’ opened my eyes.
Garbage IN, Garbage Out. It's all about how much and what you eat.
By the same token, I love it when they grow in the wash! ;o]
Eat less than you burn, you lose weight. Simple.
Not easy, but simple.
If you’re fat you have no one to blame but yourself.
Heck! I have clothes that shrink just hanging in my closet!
;’)
;’)
Mine; too!
Time for a class action suit and the manufacturers of hangers!!
Mine; too!
Time for a class action suit against the manufacturers of hangers!!
“you can’t exercise enough to make a big difference”
I know one way you can.
“If youre fat you have no one to blame but yourself.”
Ifs a religion with some people, and they are incapable—intellectually and emotionally—of accepting that obesity might be a matter of lipid regulation rather than moral turpitude.
The Church of the Immoral Fatso incessantly keens like a grieving banshee that every fat deposit is punishment for the loathsome perversion of over-eating, than which no sin is greater. Every fatso is guilty! Every fatso must be punished! All scientific findings to the contrary must be treated like leftists treat liberty!
Its really not that hard to see the problem with the calories in/calories out nonsense. If not for the bigotry of the Church of the Immoral Fatso, science would be free to acknowledge the truth.
If normal people maintain a normal weight on a normal diet, and the vast majority did until recent decades, then why do some people become obese on a normal diet? The Church of the Immoral Fatso, of course, insists that all such reports are lies, and that the immoral fatsos were secretly over-eating. All scientific evidence to the contrary—and theres a bunch—is simply denied.
For people who can maintain a normal weight with a reasonable amount of exercise and a reasonable diet, it is very flattering to believe that anyone could do the same if only they tried. This belief places them in a position of moral superiority vis a vis those who cannot (or, in your view, are too weak to) maintain a normal weight. If there are actual metabolic issues, then you are not morally superior, but only fortunate. Quite a demotion.
I’m fat and I blame my jeans for pointing that out to me every time I try to put them on.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.