Is Obesity a Disease
"Is Obesity a Disease?"
That's the biggest crock of shit I've heard lately. Statistics shows that 1/3 of adults in American are obese, and a growing trend among kids and that it has reached "epidemic level" (National Geographic, August 2004). Whether obesity in US has reached "epidemic level" is arguable. Let me tell you what has really reached epidemic level. Our unhealthy diet/life style has reached an unhhealthy level.Our restaurant's serving portion has definitely reached an epidemic level. And our reluctance to avoid personal responsibilities has gone well beyond epidemic level.
The definiton of "disease" according to The American Heritage? Stedman's Medical Dictionary is "a pathological condition of a body part, an organ, or a system resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms." So, if you ask me, obesity can hardly be considered a disease by the traditional sense, at least not without some stretching of the definition.
The fact that creditable magazines are trying to sell this whole idea of "obesity is a disease" to the public lately is simply pissing me off. Back in February of this year, I read an article published on U.S. News by the title of "Rethinking Weight -- Hey, maybe it's not a weakness. Just maybe. . .it's a disease." This article, in my opinion, really should be renamed "Why I think Obesity is a Disease." I threw in the "I" in there because the article, again in my humble opinion, has no scientific merits whatsoever. The strongest supporting statement it used was that children with fatter parents tend to be fatter than their counterparts with trimmer parents despite the fact that they spent about the same amount of time in physical activities. And exactly how does that prove anything? Not a word was mentioned about he different, or similarity, in diet between the two group. Do we know that the fatter family don't have fast food 3+ times a week? Are weight straightly determined by the amount of activities? And note that they are "roughly the same," that in itself is not even scientific.
Then I read this article in National Geographic titled "Why are Americans so fat" by Cathy Newman. And quite frankly, as a woman in her early-thirties struggling to control her weight, the article was short of depressing. The message that I got from the article was that "obesity is a genetics disorder and the only solution is to have one's stomach stapled, but it has a failure rate of 10%. In extreme cases you get horrible complications from the procedures." Well, thanks a lot. I thought it is common sense that "diet + exercise" are the two key factors in controlling weight, but not a word was mentioned about exercise.
I do, however, give it credit for mentioning the increase in serving sizes of food overall in the US and that people no longer have an idea of what "one serving" is. It also has a pretty good picture to provide readers with a simple guideline of what one serving should be like. I thought for once the discussion will be steered towards the right way and reached the right conclusion. No such luck. After the food portion discussion, the conclusion went right back to "genetics disorder" and that certain individuals actually "crave" food more than others, and that it's not a question of self-control. Let me put it this way, there are quite a few hot girls at my work place, and I have never seen them eating more than a salad (sometimes only half a salad) with a few pieces of meat during lunch, not hamburgers. And when they snack during the middle of the day, they snack on fruits, not candy bars or chips. Or do the genes specifically crave for unhealthy, high calories/fat content food?
I don't get this whole idea of trying to pry it off on "disease." If obesity has reached an epidemic level, how does that help to educate the public that "it is not your fault. You really have no control over it"? And I thought suing a pub for selling alcoholic beverages to patrons who are "obviously drunk" has gone too far. I am almost tempted to think that the food industry is meddling with this. Perhaps the fast food industry (along with the junk food industry) is paying the media to hide the truth and lead the public astray.
Take a restaurant like Outback, Black Angus, or Red Lobster for example (mind you, I am not talking about the quality of their food, I think the quality is fantastic, it's the QUANTITY that blew my mind). You went in, hungry, they serve you dinner rolls (in Red Lobsters' case, biscuits), then the entrees come with a salad or soup. I am almost always full by the time the entree arrives. Then I feel like a moron if I want to box the entire entree up without touching it first. And a few bites later, I don't think the portion is worth boxing up so I proceed to trying very hard to finish what's on the plate and end up over-eating.
Another interesting and valid point also discussed in the National Geographic article was the concept of "idle eating." A study was done to a group by giving them pasta. On day 1, a specific amount was given on a plate. The subjects reported that they are full when they finished the serving. Another day, 50% more pasta was giving in the "serving," and the subjects proceed to finished off the plate. Mindless eating of 100 calories at a time can easily add up to 10 pounds a year. You do the math.
To control this "obesity epidemic," we don't need cure or a miracle pill, although I am sure the pill is coming soon -- there's money involved. But even if the miracle pill can help all of the obese individuals out there, it's not getting to the root of the problem. To truly control this epidemic, we need revoluions - revolution in our mentality and revolution of the food industry.
Americans like bargains. It is this mentality that ultimately drove restaurants in competition to provide bigger and bigger portions of food -- that needs to be changed. People also need to be more conscious of when they are full and sometimes that means leaving food in the plate. After all, what is the point in stuffing oneself to not waste a couple bux, then spend even more time and money at a gym to burn off the extra calories? People also need to stop relying on fastfood as their everyday meals. (Yeah, lawasuits have already been filed against fast food companies because "I didn't know eating it everyday will make me fat." Hop in.)
To quote the tacky saying, "recognizing your problem is half way to solving it." What Americans need is to start recognizing what they are really dealing with here, not another excuse, an ultimate one -- genetic disorders. If everything is a genetic disorders, there will be no criminals (I'm sure serial killers or spousal abusers will just LOVE to use that as a defense -- I can't control my urge to kill/beat up my wife, it's genetically pre-determined). So before you can afford a stomach stapling, consider to be more conscious about what you are eating and when you should stop eating. And a more active life-style won't hurt.
On a side note, the National Geograpic article ended with "'There is no feast which does not come to an end,' an ancient Chinese proberb warns." How that relates to the article, I have no idea. I thought Cathy has concluded that obesity is a genetic disorder. Regardless, I think she was referring to the saying "天下無不散之筵席," which really means: all gatherings (with friends, families), no matter how much fun you have, will eventually come to an end and everyone will go their own way. The "feast" in this case refers to "gatherings," it has nothing to do with the actual act of eating. Just thought I'd point it out.
***
Whew! I really should write a book about this subject -- "Why we really get fat." It might become a New York Time bestseller, but probably not. The public (1/3 of them anway) would much rather think of obesity as a disease than to hear the truth. Regardless, I'll never have the patience to write a whole book so that's a mute point.
Another side note: hubby think it's irrelevant that the Chinese proverb was used entirely out of context. He said it just has to "sound good." That's what one gets for marrying a white boy. XD
That's the biggest crock of shit I've heard lately. Statistics shows that 1/3 of adults in American are obese, and a growing trend among kids and that it has reached "epidemic level" (National Geographic, August 2004). Whether obesity in US has reached "epidemic level" is arguable. Let me tell you what has really reached epidemic level. Our unhealthy diet/life style has reached an unhhealthy level.Our restaurant's serving portion has definitely reached an epidemic level. And our reluctance to avoid personal responsibilities has gone well beyond epidemic level.
The definiton of "disease" according to The American Heritage? Stedman's Medical Dictionary is "a pathological condition of a body part, an organ, or a system resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms." So, if you ask me, obesity can hardly be considered a disease by the traditional sense, at least not without some stretching of the definition.
The fact that creditable magazines are trying to sell this whole idea of "obesity is a disease" to the public lately is simply pissing me off. Back in February of this year, I read an article published on U.S. News by the title of "Rethinking Weight -- Hey, maybe it's not a weakness. Just maybe. . .it's a disease." This article, in my opinion, really should be renamed "Why I think Obesity is a Disease." I threw in the "I" in there because the article, again in my humble opinion, has no scientific merits whatsoever. The strongest supporting statement it used was that children with fatter parents tend to be fatter than their counterparts with trimmer parents despite the fact that they spent about the same amount of time in physical activities. And exactly how does that prove anything? Not a word was mentioned about he different, or similarity, in diet between the two group. Do we know that the fatter family don't have fast food 3+ times a week? Are weight straightly determined by the amount of activities? And note that they are "roughly the same," that in itself is not even scientific.
Then I read this article in National Geographic titled "Why are Americans so fat" by Cathy Newman. And quite frankly, as a woman in her early-thirties struggling to control her weight, the article was short of depressing. The message that I got from the article was that "obesity is a genetics disorder and the only solution is to have one's stomach stapled, but it has a failure rate of 10%. In extreme cases you get horrible complications from the procedures." Well, thanks a lot. I thought it is common sense that "diet + exercise" are the two key factors in controlling weight, but not a word was mentioned about exercise.
I do, however, give it credit for mentioning the increase in serving sizes of food overall in the US and that people no longer have an idea of what "one serving" is. It also has a pretty good picture to provide readers with a simple guideline of what one serving should be like. I thought for once the discussion will be steered towards the right way and reached the right conclusion. No such luck. After the food portion discussion, the conclusion went right back to "genetics disorder" and that certain individuals actually "crave" food more than others, and that it's not a question of self-control. Let me put it this way, there are quite a few hot girls at my work place, and I have never seen them eating more than a salad (sometimes only half a salad) with a few pieces of meat during lunch, not hamburgers. And when they snack during the middle of the day, they snack on fruits, not candy bars or chips. Or do the genes specifically crave for unhealthy, high calories/fat content food?
I don't get this whole idea of trying to pry it off on "disease." If obesity has reached an epidemic level, how does that help to educate the public that "it is not your fault. You really have no control over it"? And I thought suing a pub for selling alcoholic beverages to patrons who are "obviously drunk" has gone too far. I am almost tempted to think that the food industry is meddling with this. Perhaps the fast food industry (along with the junk food industry) is paying the media to hide the truth and lead the public astray.
Take a restaurant like Outback, Black Angus, or Red Lobster for example (mind you, I am not talking about the quality of their food, I think the quality is fantastic, it's the QUANTITY that blew my mind). You went in, hungry, they serve you dinner rolls (in Red Lobsters' case, biscuits), then the entrees come with a salad or soup. I am almost always full by the time the entree arrives. Then I feel like a moron if I want to box the entire entree up without touching it first. And a few bites later, I don't think the portion is worth boxing up so I proceed to trying very hard to finish what's on the plate and end up over-eating.
Another interesting and valid point also discussed in the National Geographic article was the concept of "idle eating." A study was done to a group by giving them pasta. On day 1, a specific amount was given on a plate. The subjects reported that they are full when they finished the serving. Another day, 50% more pasta was giving in the "serving," and the subjects proceed to finished off the plate. Mindless eating of 100 calories at a time can easily add up to 10 pounds a year. You do the math.
To control this "obesity epidemic," we don't need cure or a miracle pill, although I am sure the pill is coming soon -- there's money involved. But even if the miracle pill can help all of the obese individuals out there, it's not getting to the root of the problem. To truly control this epidemic, we need revoluions - revolution in our mentality and revolution of the food industry.
Americans like bargains. It is this mentality that ultimately drove restaurants in competition to provide bigger and bigger portions of food -- that needs to be changed. People also need to be more conscious of when they are full and sometimes that means leaving food in the plate. After all, what is the point in stuffing oneself to not waste a couple bux, then spend even more time and money at a gym to burn off the extra calories? People also need to stop relying on fastfood as their everyday meals. (Yeah, lawasuits have already been filed against fast food companies because "I didn't know eating it everyday will make me fat." Hop in.)
To quote the tacky saying, "recognizing your problem is half way to solving it." What Americans need is to start recognizing what they are really dealing with here, not another excuse, an ultimate one -- genetic disorders. If everything is a genetic disorders, there will be no criminals (I'm sure serial killers or spousal abusers will just LOVE to use that as a defense -- I can't control my urge to kill/beat up my wife, it's genetically pre-determined). So before you can afford a stomach stapling, consider to be more conscious about what you are eating and when you should stop eating. And a more active life-style won't hurt.
On a side note, the National Geograpic article ended with "'There is no feast which does not come to an end,' an ancient Chinese proberb warns." How that relates to the article, I have no idea. I thought Cathy has concluded that obesity is a genetic disorder. Regardless, I think she was referring to the saying "天下無不散之筵席," which really means: all gatherings (with friends, families), no matter how much fun you have, will eventually come to an end and everyone will go their own way. The "feast" in this case refers to "gatherings," it has nothing to do with the actual act of eating. Just thought I'd point it out.
***
Whew! I really should write a book about this subject -- "Why we really get fat." It might become a New York Time bestseller, but probably not. The public (1/3 of them anway) would much rather think of obesity as a disease than to hear the truth. Regardless, I'll never have the patience to write a whole book so that's a mute point.
Another side note: hubby think it's irrelevant that the Chinese proverb was used entirely out of context. He said it just has to "sound good." That's what one gets for marrying a white boy. XD
posted by cahalan @ 02:15
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