The Skinny on Fat (The Truth About Obesity, Part 2)

Tech Central Station ^ | July 16, 2003 | Sandy Szwarc

[Timesink]

A host of sinful foods have been demonized as the root of obesity and poor health of American adults and children. Fast food restaurants have been sued, accused of contributing to customers' obesity because their food tastes too good and they tempt us by advertising. Taxes are being proposed on foods deemed fattening or bad for us, namely, anything with meat or fat, that is fried or processed or that is sweet.

[djf]

The entire article is at best, pathetically apologetic, and at worst, totally irresponsible journalism. Somewheres out there, there is an obese person, probably female, who read it, decided all her efforts were in vain because it's hereditary, so she gives up even trying, and three weeks from now, she's dead from heart disease, or complications from diabetes. Somebody should show the author a picture of the people who were in Auschwitz.

[laredo44]

Do you also think that depression is just a state of mind and people should just snap out of it?

Or, as my football coach once told a teammate who had just broken his ankle, he should, "run it off"?

[Xenalyte]

Dude, you gotta WARN me before you post something like that. My monitor is now covered in mocha frappaccino.

Reminds me of one time on Married . . . With Children that Kelly is trying to get Al to butt out of her life for the time being, and he's insisting that she tell him about her problems, so she says, "I'm ovulating, and I get this little pinching cramp right here."

Al looks puzzled, then says, "Walk it off, and next time, stretch before you ovulate."

[RedBloodedAmerican]

You lost 67 lbs in that amount of time because most of it was water, which your body needs. Now Atkins diet is turning to burning your body muscle. It's a death trap. I, personally, am glad Atkins is gone. He was killing people. Need more info? Read "The Diet Trap" by Pam Smith. She lays it out there. You can find excerpts of her book online by doing a search. I hope for your sake you get away from Atkins death sentence.

[ravingnutter]

The same is true of working in the yard on weekends.

You haven't seen my yard :) My front yard alone is 1/2 acre. I live in the hill country...I move large rocks, shovel top soil and plant sod, we recently built a natural rock patio by hauling in huge flat rocks from the creek bed in a wheelbarrow and we are in the process of clearing the back of our property to put in a raised bed garden. If that ain't enough to make me huff and puff, I don't know what is.

[Publius6961]

I will spare you my opinion about cureent "teachers"; there are many articles about it on FR already.

Suffice to say it was a clear attempt at a false comparison and a change of subject.
Denial is not a river in Egypt.

[Xenalyte]

The science behind Atkins is indeed sound. I've finally gotten my doctor to admit that. I'm no scientist, but even my high-school chemistry tells me that the body burns carbs like it does fat. If you keep feeding it carbs, it'll never get around to burning the fat.

[Xenalyte]

Since you don't even read the articles before you post your snippy little insults, I don't think I'll play with you anymore. I come here for reasoned argument, and it's sorely lacking in you.

[aruanan]

You are just bringing back (good) memories from my nutrition lectures in college and post-grad.

Where did you go? What are you doing now?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Why do you go to a doctor if you already know the answer?

And what about muscle?

The problem is people eat too many carbs to begin with. When there is not enough carbs in your body, it will burn muscle as well as fat; IT CAN'T DIFFERENTIATE.

Atkins was a fraud. Made money off people who don't know.

[sinkspur]

You lost 67 lbs in that amount of time because most of it was water, which your body needs. Now Atkins diet is turning to burning your body muscle. It's a death trap.

Total, absolute nonsense.

RBA, you don't know what you're talking about, so stop giving advice.

I've been on Atkins for SIX YEARS! It's not a diet, it's a new way of eating. It's healthy, and no one "loses muscle" on Atkins.

Bureaucratus, you keep right on doing what you're doing. If you need encouragement, email me. I didn't have as much to lose as you did, but once I lost what I wanted to lose, I've stayed there.

You don't need the carbs.

[mhking]

I have gone without sugar for over 5 years.

No veggies? No fruit? No seasoning on your food? No beer? No milk?

Sugar is in everything. And quiet as it's kept, a small percentage of sugar is probably necessary to remain healthy. I'm sure it's nowhere near the amount of sugar that contemporary America is force-fed.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

You know what's funny? Atkins was a cardiologist from 1955. He has NO training in diet, food, etc. What's ironic is what his "diet" will be doing to your arteries and veins.

At least the sources I cite and read are trained specialists in that area, something Atkins was NOT.

The Amway of Food Diets.

Have a nice life.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

You're talking refined sugar, not natural sugar. There's a difference.

[ravingnutter]

Responding to your comments to SamAdams76...first of all, I am a woman :) Secondly, I can't run...my ankle gives out every time, a result of ice skating injuries when younger. I do however walk at a very fast pace, but I have to be careful not to get overheated because I don't sweat, I retain water and swell. I normally put a fan on me when walking to keep me from getting overheated. I have had to cut my wedding rings off more than once. But my doctor recommends the walking for my high blood pressure. I personally think my problem is hormone related as I am going through maxipause, as I call it, even though I had a hysterectomy at age 26 (am 45 now). But the doctor says my hormone level is fine. She can't figure it out either, thought it might be related to stress, but the psychotropic drugs they tried to put me on for anxiety made me gain weight even more, so I quit taking them. I now take herbal medications, Valerian and Relacore for stress.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

For anyone who wants the low down on these harmful "diets", you can CLICK HERE, and browse from some online excerpts from Pam Smith's book "The Diet Trap".

[aruanan]

Aruanan, would you mind commenting on why Atkins type diets are so successful in causing weight loss?

Since Michael Fumento does such a good job of analyzing the Atkins diet in the context of actual research versus anecdote, let me point you to his recent June 6 essay on National Review Online called Hopeless Fad: Sorry, the Atkins Diet Still Doesn't Work. He also demonstrates the deviousness of Atkins diet disciples in cherry picking studies and portions of studies that appear to support their cause and ignoring the overwhelming evidence that undermines it. Here are a few paragraphs that refer to some recent studies said to support the Atkins diet, but click the link for the rest of the piece:

"The probable explanation" for the early weight loss, said the chief researcher of the 12-month study (Gary Foster of the University of Pennsylvania), is that it "gives people a framework to eat fewer calories, since most of the choices in this culture are carbohydrate driven." He told me: "You're left eating a lot of fat, and you get tired of that." So the Atkins plan is merely a low-calorie diet in disguise.

Soon though, Atkins dieters become so starved for carbohydrates that they either start cheating or quit the plan altogether. In fact, both studies were plagued by high dropout rates from all sets of dieters. The only weight-control regimens that work for life require both eating in moderation and exercise.

"The Atkins diet produces weight loss, as does the grapefruit diet, the rotation diet, and every other fad diet out there," Foster's co-researcher James Hill of the director of the University of Colorado Center for Human Nutrition in Denver. "I haven't seen any data anywhere saying Atkins is better than these other diets for weight loss."

[mhking]

Atkins is the first and only diet I have tried. It works...and I'm not going back to eating the way I used to either. I've lost 65 lbs in 7 weeks and plan to lose about 40 more. (I was 6'6" 335 when I started)

Tell me more! Please! (I'm 6'4"/285+ and want do peel off about 50-80 pounds or so...)

[RedBloodedAmerican]

If you get hot flashes, have you tried taking Black Cohash?

[ravingnutter]

Lean Cuisine is a pretty good match.

Just a warning...you might want to check the salt content of those, it is much higher than other similarly packaged meals. I tried those as well, but can't tolerate the salt content.