Perspective on potential causes of the obesity epidemic

[Heisman2]

Interesting read: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/articl...6/1445/6572830

I'm not going to comment on everything but a couple thoughts not directly mentioned:
- Even if calorie intake has not increased in the last 20 years, if the calorie intake 20 years ago was elevated such that it would naturally lead to a BMI considerably higher than average at the time, then it would make sense to me for the average BMI to steadily increase over subsequent years as it continued to move closer to that new higher average.
- The author mentions that people with elevated BMIs are more prone to underreporting calorie intake. Thus, the fact that calorie intake has been reported at the same level for the last 20 years implies there has indeed been greater underreporting as time goes on since BMI has increased. This indicates calorie intake has increased over time.

On the flip side, he did not mention the potential role of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which surprises me as I feel that definitely warrants more research.

[air2fakie]

Briefly skimmed in about 30 secs after I read: "The commonly accepted explanation is pervasive overeating: ever-increasing energy intake as the population gains weight, year after year. However, evidence does not support this hypothesis."

It's funny how that the author points to a bunch of things other than eating too much (literally just dismisses the idea entirely), yet almost every obese person most of us know IRL both isn't careful about how much they eat and doesn't do much fitness-wise.

Plus this study talks about "rigorously collected" self-reported data from various sources. If people aren't counting calories, who cares what they're reporting or how rigorously it's collected? Aside from the fact that this "study" like so many others doesn't include any actual experiment/participants of its own, & just pulls data from surveys/info convenient to its findings, that wasn't collected necessarily for the same purpose. I didn't even notice him acknowledging the drastic rise in personal computer/smartphone/gaming activity (& presumably less physical activity) in both youth & adults during the exact time period he's examining.

The author literally says that "eat less, move more" isn't a solution because it doesn't address the drivers of obesity. No matter what other BS reasons like gut microbiomes the author comes up with, "eat less, move more" will always be the solution in almost every case of typical obesity.

[faithbrah]

Briefly skimmed in about 30 secs after I read: "The commonly accepted explanation is pervasive overeating: ever-increasing energy intake as the population gains weight, year after year. However, evidence does not support this hypothesis."

It's funny how that the author points to a bunch of things other than eating too much (literally just dismisses the idea entirely), yet almost every obese person most of us know IRL both isn't careful about how much they eat and doesn't do much fitness-wise.

Plus this study talks about "rigorously collected" self-reported data from various sources. If people aren't counting calories, who cares what they're reporting or how rigorously it's collected? Aside from the fact that this "study" like so many others doesn't include any actual experiment/participants of its own, & just pulls data from surveys/info convenient to its findings, that wasn't collected necessarily for the same purpose. I didn't even notice him acknowledging the drastic rise in personal computer/smartphone/gaming activity (& presumably less physical activity) in both youth & adults during the exact time period he's examining.

The author literally says that "eat less, move more" isn't a solution because it doesn't address the drivers of obesity. No matter what other BS reasons like gut microbiomes the author comes up with, "eat less, move more" will always be the solution in almost every case of typical obesity.

i'm pretty sure this was mentioned in an episode of iron culture. these are not eric helms' exact words, but i think he implied that while "eat less, move more" is physically the solution, most people have a problem with the psychological side (think cravings, lack of self-control etc.)

so basically the "real" solution is something that makes people adhere to the "eat less, move more" philosophy instead of falling of the wagon over and over again

[air2fakie]

i'm pretty sure this was mentioned in an episode of iron culture. these are not eric helms' exact words, but i think he implied that while "eat less, move more" is physically the solution, most people have a problem with the psychological side (think cravings, lack of self-control etc.)

so basically the "real" solution is something that makes people adhere to the "eat less, move more" philosophy instead of falling of the wagon over and over again

I hear you, although I do think free will and personal choice factor into a personal decision on how to live/eat more than studies like to acknowledge. However, I also think it’s ok for someone to choose to be obese & sedentary… not everyone has to or even truly wants to be healthy or fit, when other lifestyle habits are considered.

But back to the study, it actually says people are eating less and getting fatter, and that there are other scientific/genetic factors that need to be urgently pursued and funded because they are the true drivers. I defer to Heisman in case I missed something.

[Heisman2]

But back to the study, it actually says people are eating less and getting fatter, and that there are other scientific/genetic factors that need to be urgently pursued and funded because they are the true drivers. I defer to Heisman in case I missed something.

That is pretty much what it says. To summarize briefly:

- he uses NHANES data from ~2000-2020 to indicate energy intake has stayed the same (based on 24 hour dietary recalls)
- he acknowledges there is underreporting but states there is no reason to think the underreporting has systematically increased over time
- he says there is no reason to think physical activity has decreased over time
- he says the gut microbiome can extract calories from food and this is quite variable
- he says some combination of intergenerational genetics, the gut microbiome, and possibly other things are altering kcal extraction from food and nutrient partitioning such that adiposity increases over time
- he says we should focus research efforts on figuring out these other causes to address them directly

[DougyF7]

i'm pretty sure this was mentioned in an episode of iron culture. these are not eric helms' exact words, but i think he implied that while "eat less, move more" is physically the solution, most people have a problem with the psychological side (think cravings, lack of self-control etc.)

I wonder if some sort of cognitive behavioral therapy would work to help with the psychological side. It does seem like an anxiety or something where food is used as a comfort to cope and then the cycle continues. There needs to be some focus on self acceptance (of how many calories are truly being eaten, of where the person stands at their current weight) before they can move forward.