29 replies to this topic

[devilsfan26]

FWIW, the two nutritionists my wife has seen and other doctors I know say that while exercise can help, weight loss/gain is more related to genetics and diet.  No matter how much exercise you do, you're not going to slim down if you're eating pizza, fried chicken and chinese food on a regular basis.  Why do you think some football linemen are morbidly obese despite the amount of exercise they get.  Their diet is specifically tailored to keep them as big as possible.  People also tend to put on more weight as they age as metabolism slows.  If I ate what I ate when I was a teenager, I would probably weigh 300 pounds (back then, I weighed 170).

 

Also, be very careful about claims that something "affects brain function".  Most of the time, this claim is a truism in that everything you do and everything you eat affects brain function in some way.  A few quacks who go in front of congress every so often to talk about the dangers of violent video games make that claim.  The very act of playing any video game, whether it's Tetris, Super Mario Brothers or Grand Theft Auto affects brain function.

Some of my friends lost a lot of weight from changing their diet and running.  So you're saying they probably could have gone without the running and would have lost almost the same amount of weight?

[Daniel]

Some of my friends lost a lot of weight from changing their diet and running.  So you're saying they probably could have gone without the running and would have lost almost the same amount of weight?

 

I'm not a doctor, and don't have a science education that goes beyond high school, so don't take my word as gospel.  I'm only reporting what I've heard and my general experience and observations.  

 

If you want to make your own conclusion about the people you know, you'd have to ask how much running they did then compared to now, and what they were eating then compared to what they're eating now.  The more specifics the better.

 

Overall though, nutrition, health and weight gain are complex phenomena.  Just watch the news, and you'll notice a new "study" that seems to come out every day that contradicts the study you heard about a few days earlier. 

 

Like most things though, a little common sense, goes a long way.  We all know that some exercise is better than none and that vegetables and fish are better than soda and pizza, although a soda and pizza every so often isn't going to kill you. 

[devilsfan26]

I'm not a doctor, and don't have a science education that goes beyond high school, so don't take my word as gospel.  I'm only reporting what I've heard and my general experience and observations.  

 

If you want to make your own conclusion about the people you know, you'd have to ask how much running they did then compared to now, and what they were eating then compared to what they're eating now.  The more specifics the better.

 

Overall though, nutrition, health and weight gain are complex phenomena.  Just watch the news, and you'll notice a new "study" that seems to come out every day that contradicts the study you heard about a few days earlier. 

 

Like most things though, a little common sense, goes a long way.  We all know that some exercise is better than none and that vegetables and fish are better than soda and pizza, although a soda and pizza every so often isn't going to kill you. 

I wasn't doubting you about the exercise thing, I just found that interesting because I've never heard that before.  I majored in sport management and had to take a lot of classes that were for both my major and exercise science, so they of course put a lot of emphasis on the importance of staying active.  Even if exercising doesn't produce that big of a physical benefit, I think a part of staying healthy is reducing stress and staying active helps reduce stress, though I guess this could differ from person to person.

 

You can probably find a study that provides evidence for both sides of any issue.

 

And yeah it's not hard to avoid soda and pizza etc, but in my opinion the real challenge is to avoid eating foods that aren't processed and loaded with additives.  Stuff like bread, cereal, etc may not be as healthy and natural as it seems.

[DevsMan84]

I wasn't doubting you about the exercise thing, I just found that interesting because I've never heard that before.  I majored in sport management and had to take a lot of classes that were for both my major and exercise science, so they of course put a lot of emphasis on the importance of staying active.  Even if exercising doesn't produce that big of a physical benefit, I think a part of staying healthy is reducing stress and staying active helps reduce stress, though I guess this could differ from person to person.

 

You can probably find a study that provides evidence for both sides of any issue.

 

And yeah it's not hard to avoid soda and pizza etc, but in my opinion the real challenge is to avoid eating foods that aren't processed and loaded with additives.  Stuff like bread, cereal, etc may not be as healthy and natural as it seems.

 

I wil tell you one thing, my gf stopped buying the whole wheat bread at Trader Joe's because after looking at the label she found they put a decent amount of sugar in it.

[Daniel]

I wasn't doubting you about the exercise thing, I just found that interesting because I've never heard that before.  I majored in sport management and had to take a lot of classes that were for both my major and exercise science, so they of course put a lot of emphasis on the importance of staying active.  Even if exercising doesn't produce that big of a physical benefit, I think a part of staying healthy is reducing stress and staying active helps reduce stress, though I guess this could differ from person to person.

 

You can probably find a study that provides evidence for both sides of any issue.

 

And yeah it's not hard to avoid soda and pizza etc, but in my opinion the real challenge is to avoid eating foods that aren't processed and loaded with additives.  Stuff like bread, cereal, etc may not be as healthy and natural as it seems.

 

Don't get me wrong, exercise is obviously VERY important if you're training for some kind of athletic activity.  I'm talking more about weight loss for your average joe.  So if you're running five miles a day or pumping iron all the time, it will make a big difference.  Most people who are even inclined to exercise aren't going to go to those lengths.

 

Also, most of the stuff's that's labelled "natural" aren't really. 

[mouse]

Re. nutrition education: there are some basic things that a lot of people don't know. For example, too much starch is bad. I know a ton of people who think they're healthy when they eat pasta. Others may think processed, Stouffer's type stuff is okay, if they stick to chicken and veggies because they don't understand the effects of sodium or how much salt is in processed foods. As for exercise (not nutrition, but still fits into education as a solution), a ton of people consider weightlifting working out, but that doesn't cause you to lose weight, and doesn't help your heart. Kids, especially in poorer communities (I don't agree with Bloomberg, but he's right that obesity is a bigger problem for the poor), need to understand basic stuff about nutrition and exercise, and unless things have gotten a whole lot better since I was in school, they probably don't. I don't know that anyone has the money to do this (the school I work at certainly doesn't), but if people want to begin to solve the obesity problem, they need to get someone into a school a couple times a year to do basic presentations. Some outside organizations like Americorps try to do this, but not enough, and not with enough organization.

[Devils731]

Some of my friends lost a lot of weight from changing their diet and running.  So you're saying they probably could have gone without the running and would have lost almost the same amount of weight?

 

Gov't did a 10 year study on diet and weight loss, they found the vast majority of weight loss came from caloric intake.  The people who started exercising more tended to increase their calories, without realizing it, to balance out their extra activity.

 

The study wasn't about who was healthier, I'm guessing the exercising people were, it was purely looking at weight loss, and caloric imbalance was all that mattered, not how you came to the imbalance.

[Dead]

I see the affects of bad diet on a daily basis at work, since I work at an city inner ER.  Banning certain types of food/drinks is crazy, if someone wants to eat/drink that garbage it is up to them to make that personal choice.

 

However I will say there is nothing like seeing a patient that wants their family to bring them McDonalds after having a MI.   Or a diabetic that enjoys the super sugary meals/drinks then comes in with a BS of 800...

 

Even when the above people make BAD (terrible) choices it is THEIRS to make, not mine, not yours not anyones elses.

Edited by Dead, 13 March 2013 - 08:47 AM.

[DevsMan84]

I see the affects of bad diet on a daily basis at work, since I work at an city inner ER.  Banning certain types of food/drinks is crazy, if someone wants to eat/drink that garbage it is up to them to make that personal choice.

 

However I will say there is nothing like seeing a patient that wants their family to bring them McDonalds after having a MI.   Or a diabetic that enjoys the super sugary meals/drinks then comes in with a BS of 800...

 

Even when the above people make BAD (terrible) choices it is THEIRS to make, not mine, not yours not anyones elses.

 

I really have no issue at all if people want to make bad decisions in their life.  That is what is great about our country that we can do whatever the hell we want even if it negatively or positively affects ourselves.

 

However, I think it becomes a little fuzzier when because people choose to lead a terrible lifestyle in terms of their diet, that usually they end up in the hospital and often the bill for that stay is either left to the insurance thus helping to raise premiums, or their stay if funded by the government.  As a taxpayer I really do not want to pay for other people's lousy decisions.  I believe you should suffer all the consequences of your decisions whether they are good or bad and not having others pay for it.

[Daniel]

I really have no issue at all if people want to make bad decisions in their life.  That is what is great about our country that we can do whatever the hell we want even if it negatively or positively affects ourselves.

 

However, I think it becomes a little fuzzier when because people choose to lead a terrible lifestyle in terms of their diet, that usually they end up in the hospital and often the bill for that stay is either left to the insurance thus helping to raise premiums, or their stay if funded by the government.  As a taxpayer I really do not want to pay for other people's lousy decisions.  I believe you should suffer all the consequences of your decisions whether they are good or bad and not having others pay for it.

 

Well then maybe the time is coming where Medicaid can refuse to pay for medical expenses of morbidly obese people, smokers, or people who otherwise engage in risky behavior.  (Wouldn't include Medicare, since, theoretically anyway, users have paid into the system).  Or, and this is something I agree with, there should be specific taxes on unhealthy things people consume, such as fast food, alcohol and cigarettes.