Poll: Obesity as a Disease.
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First a couple questions and sorry in advance since this isn't exactly about the thread:
1) What class and at what level are you writing this paper for, because that first source might not fly at a university level.
2) Granted I haven't done direct research into the subject, but strictly speaking you can't say that 40-70% of "fatness" is caused by genetics. There are a lot of things controlling the genetic code, and not every gene is expressed or expressed to the same extent. There are a lot of other factors that affect how, and which genes are expressed in what amounts, and you can't make assumptions on any population from a small group (not to mention one of those sources is one a bacteria).
3) The part about conversion. There are a lot of factors that can influence how much of the energy in your food is stored, not just some variations with proteins. Among these factors, how much you store will be related to age, height, and lean muscle mass.
^All that being said if you are writing on a high school level, ignore that cause you wouldn't be expected to know it, but if your writing on a university level for a biology/science course, be careful how and what you say, and I'd try to find a better source for human obesity than that C. elegans website (try google scholar and punch in human obesity genetic causes).
On-topic: Yes, I consider obesity a disease. More often than not obesity has some sort of underlying factor whether it is physiological or physical. Now granted, this doesn't mean that anyone who is overweight is so because its out of their hands.
1) What class and at what level are you writing this paper for, because that first source might not fly at a university level.
2) Granted I haven't done direct research into the subject, but strictly speaking you can't say that 40-70% of "fatness" is caused by genetics. There are a lot of things controlling the genetic code, and not every gene is expressed or expressed to the same extent. There are a lot of other factors that affect how, and which genes are expressed in what amounts, and you can't make assumptions on any population from a small group (not to mention one of those sources is one a bacteria).
3) The part about conversion. There are a lot of factors that can influence how much of the energy in your food is stored, not just some variations with proteins. Among these factors, how much you store will be related to age, height, and lean muscle mass.
^All that being said if you are writing on a high school level, ignore that cause you wouldn't be expected to know it, but if your writing on a university level for a biology/science course, be careful how and what you say, and I'd try to find a better source for human obesity than that C. elegans website (try google scholar and punch in human obesity genetic causes).
On-topic: Yes, I consider obesity a disease. More often than not obesity has some sort of underlying factor whether it is physiological or physical. Now granted, this doesn't mean that anyone who is overweight is so because its out of their hands.
I wouldn't call it a disease but contrary to the prevailing opinion of this thread so far it's not something that is a "lifestyle choice" and isn't preventable by "getting some fucking exercise" or "putting down the god damn fork".
"People come in all shapes and sizes" is a phrase we used to get taught but which got hushed up a little when it was discovered that creating a society which stigmitises and shames the "overweight" is profitable.
Studies as early as 1959 have shown that eating less and exercising more only works in 5% of people. And I don't mean the other 95% give up or do it wrong or something, I mean for 95% of people that just plain doesn't work. Several studies have shown that dieting, while causing initial weight-loss, almost always leads to the patient regaining their weight within 5 years, if not gaining more, even if they still persist with the diet.
Now I'm not saying for a second that exercising and eating right aren't healthy - in fact, that's just the thing: engaging in a healthy lifestyle leads to health. BUT weight and health are two totally different things, that have been lumped together despite overwhelming evidence that they shouldn't be. More studies have shown that obese people who engage in the same healthy lifestyles as "ideal weight" people have, get this, the exact shame chances of various illnesses as each other. And obese people and "ideal weight" people who engage in the same UNhealthy lifestyle choices share the exact same elevated risk.
The $68bn weightloss industry, and governments keen to scapegoat, have fed the media machine and lead to obesity hysteria, the tragic results of which are, among other things, a 112% increase in eating disorders in children under 12. As well as anxiety, stress and depression over being stigmitised on a daily basis leading to increased suicide and stress-related illnesses in the overweight, thus making the whole mortality thing a grim, self-realising prophecy.
Shaming and ridiculing fat people with comments like "put down the fucking fork" is bad for psychological health and this translates into bad physical health. Not just eating disorders, but also the rejection of a healthy lifestyle because it "clearly isn't working." It is, it is working for their health. But the human body is so much more complex than just "its size is determined by calorific exchange", and we all seem to have forgotten that, because a society that hates the fat is a society that makes weightloss industries a whole lot of money.
Here's some research, feel free to ignore it and, like the guy above me, claim to know the "cure" for obesity without any evidence.
Bibliography:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/1580453
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Dieting-Does-Not-Work-UCLA-Researchers-7832.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/17469900
http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/9
http://www.rxpgnews.com/obesity/Adolescent_Dieting_May_Predict_Obesity_and_Eating__3907_3907.shtml
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/4/900.short
http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/study-healthy-habits-make-healthy-fatties/
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/steven_blair/
http://thinkmuscle.com/health/obesity-health-metabolic-fitness/
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM198603063141003
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/282/16/1547.short
"People come in all shapes and sizes" is a phrase we used to get taught but which got hushed up a little when it was discovered that creating a society which stigmitises and shames the "overweight" is profitable.
Studies as early as 1959 have shown that eating less and exercising more only works in 5% of people. And I don't mean the other 95% give up or do it wrong or something, I mean for 95% of people that just plain doesn't work. Several studies have shown that dieting, while causing initial weight-loss, almost always leads to the patient regaining their weight within 5 years, if not gaining more, even if they still persist with the diet.
Now I'm not saying for a second that exercising and eating right aren't healthy - in fact, that's just the thing: engaging in a healthy lifestyle leads to health. BUT weight and health are two totally different things, that have been lumped together despite overwhelming evidence that they shouldn't be. More studies have shown that obese people who engage in the same healthy lifestyles as "ideal weight" people have, get this, the exact shame chances of various illnesses as each other. And obese people and "ideal weight" people who engage in the same UNhealthy lifestyle choices share the exact same elevated risk.
The $68bn weightloss industry, and governments keen to scapegoat, have fed the media machine and lead to obesity hysteria, the tragic results of which are, among other things, a 112% increase in eating disorders in children under 12. As well as anxiety, stress and depression over being stigmitised on a daily basis leading to increased suicide and stress-related illnesses in the overweight, thus making the whole mortality thing a grim, self-realising prophecy.
Shaming and ridiculing fat people with comments like "put down the fucking fork" is bad for psychological health and this translates into bad physical health. Not just eating disorders, but also the rejection of a healthy lifestyle because it "clearly isn't working." It is, it is working for their health. But the human body is so much more complex than just "its size is determined by calorific exchange", and we all seem to have forgotten that, because a society that hates the fat is a society that makes weightloss industries a whole lot of money.
Here's some research, feel free to ignore it and, like the guy above me, claim to know the "cure" for obesity without any evidence.
Bibliography:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/1580453
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Dieting-Does-Not-Work-UCLA-Researchers-7832.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/17469900
http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/9
http://www.rxpgnews.com/obesity/Adolescent_Dieting_May_Predict_Obesity_and_Eating__3907_3907.shtml
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/4/900.short
http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/study-healthy-habits-make-healthy-fatties/
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/steven_blair/
http://thinkmuscle.com/health/obesity-health-metabolic-fitness/
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM198603063141003
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/282/16/1547.short
I believe it can easily be an self-imposed addiction. I believe a minority really can't help it, usually those with medical problems that makes it extremely difficult. However, I believe for a majority eating right, exercising, and just generally leading a healthy life-style will help them in losing weight, whether it's 100lbs or just 20lbs, they earned it and should be proud of themselves; regardless of what anyone else says. You can still be hefty, stocky, and a thicker person while living that healthy lifestyle. However, I believe a majority of people tend to put way too much emphasis into; "It's my genes!", "It's my bones!", "It's my body structure!" and they end up not even trying.
I myself was addicted to food and I'd use it to self-medicate myself (ALONG with drinking and smoking). Like some people do with cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol. I was 100lbs overweight by being 245lbs, at the height of 5'5". I banged all of the same drums. Genetics, bones, body-structure. I am now 168lbs and closing in on the personal goal I set for myself (145lbs), which means I've managed to lose 77lbs. I quit smoking and drinking. No gym, no crazy workout fads or diet crazes. I worked out at home, studied plant-based nutrition, and used that as a guide to eat as healthy as I possibly could. I still do. "You can have just one, you've been so good!" is a constantly repeated phrase that ends up haunting me. I find that I can't indulge like other people even with a simple snack-sized bag of chips even having just one beer or two beers with friends is something that requires a dedicated workout later, however I can also be personally blamed for running my metabolism right into the ground, even if it wasn't that fast to begin with.
I caught a lot of hate from my family, who also always blamed genetics for their physical appearance; because I asked them to please lead healthier lifestyles. My family (besides my dad who has always been healthy) are yo-yo dieters. If something doesn't work to their expectations that week, they'll move on to some other crazy diet phase. Eventually they gain whatever they did manage to lose back and say, "See, it's my genes! Exercise and eating right doesn't work!" Except it actually can, if you can muster the self-control. As my cousin and sister proved to themselves.
As long as you eat right, exercise, and generally live a healthy life-style your body will reflect that, size 0 to 12.
I myself was addicted to food and I'd use it to self-medicate myself (ALONG with drinking and smoking). Like some people do with cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol. I was 100lbs overweight by being 245lbs, at the height of 5'5". I banged all of the same drums. Genetics, bones, body-structure. I am now 168lbs and closing in on the personal goal I set for myself (145lbs), which means I've managed to lose 77lbs. I quit smoking and drinking. No gym, no crazy workout fads or diet crazes. I worked out at home, studied plant-based nutrition, and used that as a guide to eat as healthy as I possibly could. I still do. "You can have just one, you've been so good!" is a constantly repeated phrase that ends up haunting me. I find that I can't indulge like other people even with a simple snack-sized bag of chips even having just one beer or two beers with friends is something that requires a dedicated workout later, however I can also be personally blamed for running my metabolism right into the ground, even if it wasn't that fast to begin with.
I caught a lot of hate from my family, who also always blamed genetics for their physical appearance; because I asked them to please lead healthier lifestyles. My family (besides my dad who has always been healthy) are yo-yo dieters. If something doesn't work to their expectations that week, they'll move on to some other crazy diet phase. Eventually they gain whatever they did manage to lose back and say, "See, it's my genes! Exercise and eating right doesn't work!" Except it actually can, if you can muster the self-control. As my cousin and sister proved to themselves.
As long as you eat right, exercise, and generally live a healthy life-style your body will reflect that, size 0 to 12.
I would say that yes, it's a disease. But no, that's not an excuse.
I'd compare it to something like ADHD (genuine ADHD, not "I have bad parents"). It's something that makes life a bit more complicated and makes you deserving of some aid in managing your life. But it's no excuse to utterly destroy your own life (like cardiovascular diseases would do).
There's a difference between being chubby, bigger or whatever you want to call it and being obese. The first is perfectly fine. The latter is inexcusable unless there's something really serious going on.
Everyone has difficulties in their life. As an adult you're meant to face your difficulties and live with them. Bad metabolism is just another of life's troubles.
I'd compare it to something like ADHD (genuine ADHD, not "I have bad parents"). It's something that makes life a bit more complicated and makes you deserving of some aid in managing your life. But it's no excuse to utterly destroy your own life (like cardiovascular diseases would do).
There's a difference between being chubby, bigger or whatever you want to call it and being obese. The first is perfectly fine. The latter is inexcusable unless there's something really serious going on.
Everyone has difficulties in their life. As an adult you're meant to face your difficulties and live with them. Bad metabolism is just another of life's troubles.
while I'm willing to concede some people will just always be 'fat' regardless of what they do to lose wieght
it's not a disease. it's just being lazy
it's not a disease. it's just being lazy
Too true about the 'normal diet'. I think that most guys who could sustain on 2000 calories are small and weak and/or have a very fast metabolism, but for a short woman with a slow metabolism could turn her into a chubby chubster.BringBackBuck said:
But I don't think one could survive on 800 calories a day. 1000 calories and less is known as the starvation level, it was known as that even in 1918, (and I suspect people may have been generally shorter back then, if only a little, shorter = factor for less calories required), when many people in Germany found that this was all the food they could get, one of the reasons why they gave up in WW1. Also the body needs protein and fat so the source of the calories has some importance.
I must consume well over 3000 calories a day. I have 4 glasses of banana milk in the morning, (unless there's something other than cereal and toast in the morning), and load my plate up with meat+whatever else is for lunch and dinner and consume as much as I can in both of those meals. Then a couple hours after dinner I have a litre of milk with a scoop of weight gainer).
I'm around 180 pounds and I'm gaining weight very slowly. There are some people that could possibly become obese because of this diet. I guess most people who are obese simply don't want to be thinner, if they wanted it bad enough, they would find a way, (generally, there are probably some people with medical conditions out there.)
Its not a disease...But it can be a symptom of a disease of the mind.
When your fat and nobody desires you, its easy to fall into a depressed place where you think its pointless to try and fix it.
Took me a long time to realise how easy it can be to lose weight if you put your all into it.
When your fat and nobody desires you, its easy to fall into a depressed place where you think its pointless to try and fix it.
Took me a long time to realise how easy it can be to lose weight if you put your all into it.
Regardless of the cause, it's completely avoidable.
Eat to your needs, beyond your needs, you'll get fat.
Quite simple.
Eat to your needs, beyond your needs, you'll get fat.
Quite simple.
I'll go ahead and say yes. I'm sure some people genuinely can't control their obesity due to chemical imbalances/genetics or the like.
I assume that most obese people are like me though...they simply don't have the willpower and desire to make the dietary and lifestyle changes necessary to lose weight.
I assume that most obese people are like me though...they simply don't have the willpower and desire to make the dietary and lifestyle changes necessary to lose weight.
Obesity is not a disease. It is a symptom. It might be a symptom of an underlying genetic disease, but it could also be a symptom of eating too much or moving too little.
So, could a person who is obese be that way due to a disease, yes. This does not mean that every obese person suffers from a disease.
I have genetics working against me, I will probably always have some amount of pot-belly. However, when I wasn't working out and watching my diet, I was obese by every definition. Now I'm still "overweight", but I'm running two miles three days per week, and lifting weights on the others; and staying under 2,000 calories a day.
Yeah, I may have a "disease" that makes it harder for me to keep weight off than a "normal" person, but if I decide not to do anything about it the resulting obesity is on me, not the disease.
Other people have more serious conditions, but I'm not really certain that the majority of people who want to call obesity a "disease" really have anything like that.
So, could a person who is obese be that way due to a disease, yes. This does not mean that every obese person suffers from a disease.
I have genetics working against me, I will probably always have some amount of pot-belly. However, when I wasn't working out and watching my diet, I was obese by every definition. Now I'm still "overweight", but I'm running two miles three days per week, and lifting weights on the others; and staying under 2,000 calories a day.
Yeah, I may have a "disease" that makes it harder for me to keep weight off than a "normal" person, but if I decide not to do anything about it the resulting obesity is on me, not the disease.
Other people have more serious conditions, but I'm not really certain that the majority of people who want to call obesity a "disease" really have anything like that.
you, sir, know more than I, but i would assume that if it was genetic then the rates of obesity would not increase as lifestyle becomes more sedentary. that just screams 'ENVIRONMENTAL LINK' to me. Besides which i do worry about people who get obese, and then refuse to do anything about it because they think it might be entirely genetic and out of their hands, so they stuff their faces with fatty food and move an inch every few weeks and get huffy if you even mildly imply that their lifestyle may be unhealthy
Obesity/being overweight is not a disease.
It can be a SYMPTOM of a medical problem.
But it itself is not a disease.
It can be a SYMPTOM of a medical problem.
But it itself is not a disease.
not always true. i think its extremely rare, but my uncle sleeps 20 hours a day, and has chips and beer for breakfast. he's clinically underweight.Daystar Clarion said:
In videogame terms I see Obesity more of a status effect, like 'stoned' or 'dead tired' it's just a good deal harder to overcome and has bad effects attached.
The labeling of things as 'diseases' or 'illnesses' are different things because it's up to doctors to tell you, but status effects are obvious to everyone "Dude, you're stoned..." "hey man, you're kinda fat."
The labeling of things as 'diseases' or 'illnesses' are different things because it's up to doctors to tell you, but status effects are obvious to everyone "Dude, you're stoned..." "hey man, you're kinda fat."
I believe that if I can walk for miles without rest, keep up with the kids in my family, and work a physically exhausting job without a break then it does not matter what my weight is, because I am damn-active enough to keep up with myself.
Happiness is a major factor, if you are unhappy with yourself, you can work towards change, if you are truly happy with yourself, screw other people and the high-horses they road in on.
Happiness is a major factor, if you are unhappy with yourself, you can work towards change, if you are truly happy with yourself, screw other people and the high-horses they road in on.
