ARTICLE: "The Obesity Myth"

Interesting article in Salon about a new book:
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/200...yth/index.html
(if you don't subscribe, you'll have to click through an ad)

I really have no idea how I feel about his thesis, honestly. But it's
an interesting addition to the ongoing discussion.

Personally, I still need to lose weight just for myself. But I do like
seeing overweening media trends debunked. It pleases my inner
anarchist. :-)

Dawn

Dawn Taylor wrote:
|| Interesting article in Salon about a new book:
|| http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/200...yth/index.html
|| (if you don't subscribe, you'll have to click through an ad)
||
|| I really have no idea how I feel about his thesis, honestly. But it's
|| an interesting addition to the ongoing discussion.
||
|| Personally, I still need to lose weight just for myself. But I do
|| like seeing overweening media trends debunked. It pleases my inner
|| anarchist. :-)
||
|| Dawn

I think his points are right on the money, there's a big difference between
fitness and weight. I haven't found time to finish the book, though.

But overall fitness of the populace is down as well, how could it not be
with TV and video games taking up kids' time and the majority of school
districts dropping phys ed and even recess for financial reasons. And kids
riding buses to school instead of walking. I know that if there had been
computers and video games when I was a kid I would have been totally glued
to a chair.

In ,
Roger Zoul stated
|
| I think his points are right on the money, there's a big difference
| between fitness and weight. I haven't found time to finish the book,
| though.

Right....but part of the authors point is that fitness is a more important
thing to focus on than mere weight. so, instead of making everyone crazy
about losing weight (which some will do without exercise) the focus should
be greater on activity or being nonsedentary. A lot of people that people
have would go away if there would not become and stay sedentary for years,
including, to some degree, obesity.

Also, even with TV, video games, and riding to school, some kids still don't
get fat and some remain fit. So I think the problems really goes deeper.

FOB wrote:
|| But overall fitness of the populace is down as well, how could it
|| not be with TV and video games taking up kids' time and the majority
|| of school districts dropping phys ed and even recess for financial
|| reasons. And kids riding buses to school instead of walking. I
|| know that if there had been computers and video games when I was a
|| kid I would have been totally glued to a chair.
||
|| In ,
|| Roger Zoul stated
|||
||| I think his points are right on the money, there's a big difference
||| between fitness and weight. I haven't found time to finish the
||| book, though.

To me the intro page of the article is pure heresy. Recent findings on the
hormonal soup released by fat on the body underscores the nature of the
danger of being obese.

The article seems to suggest that 500 pound man need only exercise to be
healthy. In reality, a 500 pound man has a huge mass of muscle needed to
just make walking possible.

I did not want to click through to the rest of it. Why pollute my mind?

On 6/29/2004 3:08 PM, Cubit wrote:
To me the intro page of the article is pure heresy. Recent findings on the
hormonal soup released by fat on the body underscores the nature of the
danger of being obese.

The article seems to suggest that 500 pound man need only exercise to be
healthy. In reality, a 500 pound man has a huge mass of muscle needed to
just make walking possible.

I did not want to click through to the rest of it. Why pollute my mind?


Well, the thing is, I have always been active. I have always hiked. I
biked for 18 months before I got serious about trying a different WOE,
etc. I lost 80 pounds. I feel better. I am more fit. I can exercise
a lot more and I can look back and say, yeah, I was riding my bike 6x a
week for 14 miles (yes, over 80 miles a week) at 14 mph or so but that
was not fit compared to where I am at now. I can hike so much better
now it isn't even funny. I just generally feel so much better and I
know that I am healthier because I am fueling my body way better than I
was before I lost that weight. So, when the author says that he is fit
and active, what does that mean? Fit and active compared to... At a
healthy weight for his body type compared to...

--
jmk in NC

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 15:17:49 -0400, Alice Faber
announced in front of God and everybody:

In article ,
"Cubit" wrote:

I did not want to click through to the rest of it. Why pollute my mind?

The article wasn't talking about the morbidly obese. It was talking
about people who weigh 175 pounds who think they should weigh 125
pounds, and why they think this.

And people who weigh, oh, 135 but think they should weigh 110 because
of the rapidly decreasing mark of what's considered an "overweight"
BMI.

Dawn

jmk wrote:
|| On 6/29/2004 3:08 PM, Cubit wrote:
||| To me the intro page of the article is pure heresy. Recent
||| findings on the hormonal soup released by fat on the body
||| underscores the nature of the danger of being obese.
|||
||| The article seems to suggest that 500 pound man need only exercise
||| to be healthy. In reality, a 500 pound man has a huge mass of
||| muscle needed to just make walking possible.
|||
||| I did not want to click through to the rest of it. Why pollute my
||| mind?
|||
|||
|| Well, the thing is, I have always been active. I have always hiked.
|| I biked for 18 months before I got serious about trying a different
|| WOE,
|| etc. I lost 80 pounds. I feel better. I am more fit.

Neither one of those indicators speaks to your health. You can feel good,
be fit, but still not be in good health. Or, you can be overweight and be
in poor health. Or, you can be overweight, get plenty of exercise, and be in
good health.

I can
|| exercise
|| a lot more and I can look back and say, yeah, I was riding my bike
|| 6x a
|| week for 14 miles (yes, over 80 miles a week) at 14 mph or so but
|| that
|| was not fit compared to where I am at now. I can hike so much better
|| now it isn't even funny. I just generally feel so much better and I
|| know that I am healthier because I am fueling my body way better
|| than I

How do you know you're healthier? Did you lose some health problems that
you formerly had?

|| was before I lost that weight. So, when the author says that he is
|| fit
|| and active, what does that mean? Fit and active compared to...

Compared to himself. One can improve fitness without losing a pound. Or,
one can lose a lot of weight and become fitter for a particular activity
just due to being lighter. Hiking and bicycling, for example. Those are
two exercises where simply losing pounds will improve your fitness for doing
those activities. However, that doesn't mean that further training at a new
& lighter weight won't give rise to yet greater fitness.


|| At a
|| healthy weight for his body type compared to...

Healthy doesn't not mean fit and neither term has to do with the amount of
bodyfat one carries.

||
|| --
|| jmk in NC

Roger Zoul wrote:

Neither one of those indicators speaks to your health. You can feel
good, be fit, but still not be in good health. Or, you can be
overweight and be in poor health. Or, you can be overweight, get
plenty of exercise, and be in good health.


I had a dear friend who was slender and fit. He was 5'8" and probably didn't
weight 130 soaking wet. He was a ball of energy, constantly on the go. He
was a sailor, and rode his bicycle constantly. He never smoked, drank only
an occasional social drink, never ate red meat, and was just 45 years old.

And two weeks ago keeled over dead from a massive heart attack (no family
history, his dad is still alive and well, and his grandfather died only a
couple years ago at about age 90). You just never know.

--
Debbie

On 6/29/2004 4:07 PM, Roger Zoul wrote:
jmk wrote:
|| On 6/29/2004 3:08 PM, Cubit wrote:
||| To me the intro page of the article is pure heresy. Recent
||| findings on the hormonal soup released by fat on the body
||| underscores the nature of the danger of being obese.
|||
||| The article seems to suggest that 500 pound man need only exercise
||| to be healthy. In reality, a 500 pound man has a huge mass of
||| muscle needed to just make walking possible.
|||
||| I did not want to click through to the rest of it. Why pollute my
||| mind?
|||
|||
|| Well, the thing is, I have always been active. I have always hiked.
|| I biked for 18 months before I got serious about trying a different
|| WOE,
|| etc. I lost 80 pounds. I feel better. I am more fit.

Neither one of those indicators speaks to your health.

If they are not indicators of my health, they are also not indicators of
the author's health and that would pretty much blow his thesis, wouldn't
it? His thesis is that fitness is more important than weight adn that
fitness should be stressed to people. From your response below, he
measures fitness compared to himself (his previous fitness level). Why
is that valid for him and not valid for me?

You can feel good,
be fit, but still not be in good health. Or, you can be overweight and be
in poor health. Or, you can be overweight, get plenty of exercise, and be in
good health.

Well, I was overweight and not in bad health and now I am at a better
weight and I am more fit and I am in better health. This is based on
medical tests. I have never had high blood pressure, cholesterol
problems, bg problems, etc. I can tell that my heart is in better shape
now. Simply the fact that my recovery rate is much improved.


I can
|| exercise
|| a lot more and I can look back and say, yeah, I was riding my bike
|| 6x a
|| week for 14 miles (yes, over 80 miles a week) at 14 mph or so but
|| that
|| was not fit compared to where I am at now. I can hike so much better
|| now it isn't even funny. I just generally feel so much better and I
|| know that I am healthier because I am fueling my body way better
|| than I

How do you know you're healthier? Did you lose some health problems that
you formerly had?

Climbing (hiking) is better, I am rarely out of breath, while blood
pressure was not bad before, it has improved, etc. I move better and my
joints are happier now.


|| was before I lost that weight. So, when the author says that he is
|| fit
|| and active, what does that mean? Fit and active compared to...

Compared to himself.

He

One can improve fitness without losing a pound. Or,
one can lose a lot of weight and become fitter for a particular activity
just due to being lighter. Hiking and bicycling, for example. Those are
two exercises where simply losing pounds will improve your fitness for doing
those activities. However, that doesn't mean that further training at a new
& lighter weight won't give rise to yet greater fitness.

Yes, one can improve fitness without weight loss. I did that for a few
years before improving my WOE/WOL.

|| At a
|| healthy weight for his body type compared to...

Healthy doesn't not mean fit and neither term has to do with the amount of
bodyfat one carries.

I actually do think that fitness is a large component of a healthy
lifestyle.

--
jmk in NC