The truth about obesity

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/05/truth-obesity-five-fat-myths-debunked

Nadja Hermann
Sat 5 Jan 2019 07.00 EST
Last modified on Sat 5 Jan 2019 11.20 EST

•••••

I came across the term “fatlogic” on Reddit and it immediately resonated with me. The term doesn’t mean “fat people’s logic”, but refers to the complex grab bag of supposedly medical facts, well-meaning advice, homegrown ideas and fantasies that make losing weight not only difficult, but impossible.

•••••

Fat logic is not just a problem for fat people; I have never met a person who was completely free of it. Here are a handful of the most persistent myths, debunked.
Myth 1: ‘I eat only 1,000 kcal a day, but I don’t lose weight’

•••••

Myth 2: ‘Being overweight isn’t that bad for you’

•••••

Myth 3: ‘Being overweight doesn’t impede me’

•••••

Myth 4: ‘My family and friends don’t think I need to lose weight’

•••••

In one British study, obese people were asked to assess themselves, and only 11% of women and 7% of men with a BMI of over 30 were aware they were obese. In a 2015 study, parents were asked about the weight of their children: 80% of parents of overweight children rated them as being of normal weight.

•••••

Myth 5: ‘Obesity is largely due to your genes’

Genes create a basic situation, but they don’t oblige anyone to be fat. Things that can genuinely be explained by genetics are appetite, preferences for certain flavours (such as sweet or fatty) and the natural urge to be physically active.
Advertisement
NC Ski
Sponsored by NC Ski
6 Destinations for a Winter Weekend Getaway

Think that mountain getaways are just for skiing and snowboarding? These six N.C. ski resorts offer tubing, ice skating, snowshoeing and more!

Several studies have shown that carriers of so-called obesity genes consume on average 125-280 kcal a day more and have no differences in their metabolic rates. To say that some children have a genetic propensity towards obesity means only that they have an inherently larger appetite than naturally slim children, who feel hungry less often.

But the deciding factor in whether children have a tendency towards being fat is the set of conditions created by their parents and the rest of their environment (such as school meals), which can serve either to encourage or discourage obesity. Living in a household where high-calorie food is constantly available won’t necessarily make children fat if their genetics mean they have a naturally small appetite. Children with naturally large appetites, by contrast, will pounce on the proffered fare.

However, studies have shown that food preferences are not an inescapable fate. In one experiment, the brains of obese and normal weight subjects were scanned to record their reactions to food. The reward centres in the obese subjects’ brains showed a strong reaction to high-fat foods (fast food, sweets). The test was repeated after the subjects had followed a dietary plan containing healthy, low-calorie foods for several months. The reward centres in the obese subjects’ brains reacted more strongly to these foods in the second test.

In the end, our genes just set out the path we will follow if we don’t actively strive to change its direction (which can take great effort). However, those efforts are only temporary: once we have become habituated to new behaviours, we no longer have to struggle to maintain them.

•••••