lexxerduglas:

soselfimportant:

thyroxine:

dressesandyarn:

picklemethis:

“The biological reality of our weights and weight control, and the effects of dieting, were clinically demonstrated more than 50 years ago in what remains the definitive research on the subject. The findings in this famous study, revolutionary at the time, have been replicated in the most precise, complicated metabolic studies of food intake behavior, energy expenditure and the biochemistry of fat conducted by the country’s top obesity researchers.

This classic study made the most important contributions to our understanding of dieting, yet surprisingly few consumers today have ever heard of it.”

This is the first time I’ve seen this article and a description of this research. I am beyond astounded by the cognitive dissonance of our society and the sheer amount of lies behind the diet industry, and from doctors.

I’ve never heard of this study and it’s pretty fascinating. All of the behaviors we associate with anorexia nervousa seem to actually be the biological result of starvation.

This is a fascinating read, and it certainly compels me to brush up on my knowledge of the physiology behind all this!

whoa this is a cool ass article

This is probably an overreaction, so I’m going to tuck the following wall of text under a cut and save those who don’t want an earful of whistle-blowing (apparently I can’t do that on link reblogs oh well??). I’m the daughter of a nurse of 30 years who has had first-hand experience with obesity induced or exacerbated health complications among her patients and as such I have some VERY STRONG OPINIONS about weight as a health issue, so this kind of thing tends to ruffle my feathers.

I’m used to blogs being biased and one-sided, but I felt like I had missed some important point somewhere and became increasingly uneasy about the legitimacy of the argument as the article went on. The information it was feeding me was presented in a light that insisted it was consistent with the point the author was trying to make, when much of it felt twisted, or that it was making a different point altogether, or that other important information was being omitted. At the end of it, I wanted to know how that study was relevant to overeating as a causation of obesity, or how being obese could possibly be construed as healthy, because I just wasn’t making the connection.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the study involved a group of fit, healthy young men, not a group of obese individuals, yes? So it would make perfect sense that these previously healthy individuals would arrive back at their “genetic set point,” encompassing a broad range of sizes, without becoming obese, right? Pointing out that they engaged in what would normally be considered “overeating” during their recovery period has nothing to do with the kind of overating that occurs in society today. As one of the doctors running the study remarked, they needed to consume extra calories during their recovery period for tissue repair.

What does this have to do with people overeating and becoming unhealthily obese? Where’s the study that shows obese individuals consuming normal caloric intake and walking three miles and maintaining their obesity, or individuals engaging in overeating and becoming obese with no negative medical impact, or healthy and fit individuals becoming obese by way of something other than overeating (or hypothyroidism)? The study on starvation effect would be relevant for a piece on eating disorder causation, what the crap does it have to do with obesity?

Instead of continuing on to argue with the article, which I’m not really qualified to do, I took a little initiative. I don’t like to take things at face value only to find out they were written that way to sensationalize an issue or actually had no founded basis to begin with. I’ve been duped before. So I poked around on the internet a little bit, just to see what I could find about the author and her work.

She has a Bachelor’s of Science in nursing and is a practicing nurse with 30 years of experience… in neonatal care. Her degree isn’t in food sciences, kinesiology, or physology, and it’s a four year degree at that. Not a PhD, nor a Master’s. Nothing to indicate ongoing studies in relevant fields. Okay. Not being an expert doesn’t preclude her from blogging or publishing print articles about it reliably so long as the information she supports her expositions with is well-researched and viable. Let’s read some of her other blog articles. Man she… really thinks the medical field at large is trying to pull the wool over our eyes, decrying everything from the threat of mercury in fish, to the widespread “misconceptions” surrounding obesity, to the growing evidence that chemical preservatives aren’t very good for us.

Oh, it looks like I’m not the only one uncomfortable with the way she presents information. This MD/PhD in physiology sure has some interesting things to say on the matter. And by interesting, I mean disconcerting.

I’m all for challenging unhealthy societal “norms” reinforced by profit mongering media and a government that doesn’t have the patience to do sufficient legwork before writing legislation on shit it doesn’t understand. It’s also really nice to find articles that don’t demonize individuals for their weight problems.

But I can’t agree with anyone who tries to absolve people from a personal responsibility to maintain a healthy weight, ESPECIALLY when they deliberately misconstrue medical data to do so. A few extra pounds isn’t bad, being a little overweight can still be healthy, and everyone’s body is different. There’s nothing wrong with being comfortable with how you are, if you’re truly free of physical discomfort or ailments. Sometimes eating right and exercising isn’t enough due to medical conditions that are difficult to control, and I understand that not everyone has the time, funds, or willpower to overcome these challenges, but obesity is not healthy. So please…

Please.

Don’t let misinformation and a hatred for shitty media ideals lull you into thinking otherwise :c

See, I was raising an eyebrow at some of this article, but while I agree with you on this there’s several things that are pretty hurtful in the way you present things.

But I can’t agree with anyone who tries to absolve people from a personal responsibility to maintain a healthy weight, ESPECIALLY when they deliberately misconstrue medical data to do so

Why is this a responsability? Why is it that society has the right to shun us when we don’t fit its ideals? Why use a word that makes obesity equal to sin to say this?

You know who never worries about having the “time, funds, or willpower”? Thin people. Those who eat normally or eat junk food and stay thin, while you spend your life glancing sideways when they down cereal bars in front of you and you’re like “no I already had an apple for breakfast I can’t”. (People usually call people out for smoking in front of someone who’s trying to quit, but this is never done with food. Never)

Why should we, because we are fat, have a duty to expend time, funds, emotional and mental health to make other people comfortable with our weight, and with this idea that no, they’re not priviledged, they just have a ~healthy lifestyle~. Why should we be shamed into all that extra effort by friends, media, sometimes medical staff, after every specialist you’ve seen tries a diet then another and then just gives up with a “well you could try to exercise a bit more” to avoid saying that they have no idea. It’s unfair and it’s hurtful, and it’s even more painful when people go self-righteous on you by just saying that “you just don’t try hard enough”. (And by the way, do you know how hard it is to exercise when you’re obese? Sports bras for large sizes don’t exist, clothes are too small, shoes aren’t adapted, we’re shamed when we jog on the street. That’s without taking into account the damage it does on your muscles and joints)

I’m one of those crazy examples. The girl who in med school did nine hours of martial arts a week, walked at least an hour per day (up and down hill), hates sugar and never drinks soda or eats junk food. And I weighed 100kg at the time. I’m 110 now, because my muscled and joints can’t handle the strain properly anymore and that means I’ve had to slow down on physical activity (depression also didn’t help). The only time in my life I lost weight, it was a combination of the lifestyle mentioned above and stress issues that made me unable to eat and prone to throwing up every other mean.

And on the very rare occasion that you can get someone to listen and believe that, the argument is “you’re an exception”. I’m not. Most people I know who have been dealing with weight all their life are healthy eaters, prime examples in my family.

There are probably people who’s “fault” it is for overeating or only eating junk food or whatever. (And even then I often wonder, out of those, how many are from poor families who take the cheapest food they can take—it’s rarely the healthy one) But even those don’t have a duty to others to be thin. Their weight is not a sin. Judging their worth and personal integrity on the grounds of weight is.

I don’t think you were meaning to shame, because from the tone of your post you were trying to be helpful and to stop people from getting false hopes. But that attitude and language is hurtful, especially because we deal with it every single day of our lives.

And to all my followers out there. If you want to “help” a fat person, don’t patronize them. If there’s any advice of common knowledge you can give, then believe me, they’ve tried twenty years ago. Be nice instead. Be a good friend. Be accepting. That will be a million times more helpful, if they do decide they want to try their odds and expend that crazy effort into it. Because feeling like you’re loved no matter what is the best motivation for change, not shame.