Has the media exaggerated the health threat of obesity?

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I challenge you to think of one country that has declining life expectancy as a result of obesity. Can't think of one??

I'm not saying that obesity has no bad effects on one's health, I mean, afterall, there are countries like Japan that has low obesity rates and live long lives, but I'm starting to think whether or not the health threat is exaggerated.

Consider this, even the US (which the media has labelled as an example of obesity epidemic gone out of control) has slowly rising life expectancies and has no trend of declining (yet). Also, the most obese countries in the world are at the "top category" in terms of life expectancy. I also have the impression that chronically malnourished people don't live long, while many obese people live well into their 70s.

Of course, this could mean that we have to wait for at least a generation or two since a lot of the "alarming obesity trends" affect younger people and children. The current generation of seniors probably lived decent healthy lives when they were younger, back in the days when the internet and video games were not around and computers were barely used.

I know people who have died earlier than they might otherwise have done due to chronic obesity. So it certainly reduced their life expectancy even if it isn't significant at a population level.

The countries with the most obesity are also the richest, so tend to enjoy adequate housing, clean water and healthcare.

Well spotted, jc6chan. The so-called 'obesity epidemic' has in fact levelled out since about 2008-9, and was in any case heavily (sorry, pun not intended) dependent on the redefinition of 'obese', in a downwards direction, which IIRC happened in 1994. People in developed countries have in general gotten both bigger and taller since the 1950s (when, don't forget, post-WWII rationing was still in force in the UK and many people were still going short of basic foods a lot of the time).

A good summing up of the facts on health and obesity is here:
http://kateharding.net/faq/but-dont-you ... unhealthy/

Basically, a lot of what you see in the media about fat and health is based on the notion that it's useful to have a highly visible group of people you can blame for things, especially if those people a) are construed to have 'brought it on themselves' and b) don't have the same legal protection some other discriminated groups have.

Here's a thought: In the late 1800s and long into the 20th century, doctors in Britain and the US believed that a huge number of diseases were caused by too much sexual desire and activity. Especially in women. So much so that they resorted to surgery to remove the relevant, perfectly healthy body parts. Today, we have surgery that removes or restricts parts of people's perfectly healthy guts because we believe an ever-increasing list of diseases are caused by people wanting and eating too much food. (And again, especially in women; way more female patients are recommended for gastric bypass than male.) Maybe in 100 years' time there'll be another fashionable blame game going on, and another kind of surgery to fix it. Or maybe we'll finally get sane about disease being more complicated than that.

I'm 304 and my blood pressure was described as "enviable" the other day by the nurse.

It is significant at a population level - increase in type II diabetes in developed countries, for instance - but cancelled by other effects. Which is what the OP et al are overlooking by not acknowledging that life expectancy is a product of very many factors.

I can offer some clear first-hand experience... Starting with my family:

Grandma: thin & fit; lived to 85.

Father: muscular build and low body fat; lived to 90.

Mother: Obese with diabetes (adult onset after years of obesity), and high blood pressure; lived to 60 (last 3 years in hospitals)

Me: late 20s to mid 30s, out-of-shape and a little heavy... Got DEADLY high blood pressure, skyrocketing cholesterol, and was warned about heart and vascular disease. I felt tired all the time, and my back and knees were giving out, and I felt OLD at 35. Then I had to go on blood pressure and cholesterol pills, and was on a diabetes watch. I felt horrible; got male problems, and couldn't do anything I used to do. So I didn't like that at all, and I made it an Aspie obsession to get back in shape... REALLY in shape to the point where I'm now a competitive-level bodybuilder and weightlifter, and in better overall health and lower body fat than a high school track athlete since 40 (now I'm 44 and still improving), and my blood pressure is back to normal, my cholesterol is fine, and my blood sugar is in normal limits and no medications needed for such. I feel physically more able than I did at 19, and I'm still riding dirt bikes, and running up & down hills, etc; not getting out of breath either.

So there's enough evidence for me; no further discussion needed as far as I'm concerned.

Charles

Saudi Arabia and Obesity has led to a almost 25% diabetes recorded infliction rate 2004; and has grown p till now, not "eased in 2008" as mentioned by another poster. Leading to lowered quality of life, and life-expectancy too. And much preventable health-care costs.

http://www.ameinfo.com/176121.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/02/ ... BW20090209
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15573186


Now imagine other countries that are not fortunate enough to survey this information. Like African countries that have easier access to food nowadays; where their history has been a natural selection of survival, and their bodies are not ready to cope with obesity .

Last edited by Infoseeker on 12 Jun 2011, 11:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, I know that life expectancy is a product of many factors but I'm pointing out that so far, obesity isn't as big of a threat as other issues such as AIDS and malnutrition and alcohol abuse. The other factors have actually LOWERED life expectancy in some countries. I have yet to hear of obesity lower the life expectancy of a country. Of course obesity has negative health effects, but not enough to trump the benefits of improving health care. At least so far this is the case. We'll have to wait until the future to see if countries like Britain and the US starts a life span decline.

Look at the Pacific Islands as an example. The Cook Islands and Nauru have had their life expectancy drop like a rock in these past few decades directly and specifically because of the obesity brought upon by the widespread use of western diet.


You dont see it affect developed countries like the US because health care is much more advanced and widely available.

Reading this thread makes me want to exercise again, but it's too close to my bed time.

I can relate Charles. I was pretty obese before, (almost 30% bodyfat), was starting to get more difficult to take in breaths at that weight. Carried most of it around my stomach. My dad would always tell me "stop breathing!" lol because I would breathe heavily. I couldn't really tie my shoes easily at all. I lost it all, I lost 95 lbs, went to below 10% bodyfat. Still have high blood pressure, constant fatique. Was put on a stimulent, it helps a little, but still very tired. Blood pressure is excellent now with the medication. My father's family had history of high triglycerides, my dad recently had a mitral valve repair. Everything else is fantastic. My doctor said the hypertension is probably from genetics, and although my family has no history of that, perhaps my father's father's , father had it. No other explanation. I was diagnosed with chronic fatique syndrome with no known cause.

Weight isn't everything. In fact I often question it...because of my own expereince, it doesn't make sense. I feel terrible. Never have any energy. I eat healthy too. I lift weights 5 days a week....do cardio. I just don't get it.

But, I do agree, that being very obese can put you at at health risks. And 2/3's of america is supposedly overweight. On top of that the whole food industry is going bat crazy with new fads, new "dies", like "gluten free" products that are otherwise bad for you. And for example only pointing out one nutritent in a food item, and ignoring the others. I.e low fat does not mean it doesn't have high sugar.

Is that they key here? We've spent all the time worrying about Fat but in a stealthy way a lot of our food has Sugar? I mean what going on with those breakfast cereals?

Yes, and it applies to other aspects of it as well. Because something says "no sugar added" doesn't mean its sugar free. Whole wheat bread sometimes doesn't have whole wheat flour as the first ingredient (which means it isn't 100% whole wheat like it says). Got to read the nutriton labels carefully. The first ingredient is the one the food item has the most of, the last, the least.

You'd be surprised how much salt and sodium most fast food has. You need 2,000 mg of sodium a day. a whopper from burger king has 1,544 mg of sodium! And 40% over your daily limit for saturated fat! (A bad fat).

Because something is "fattening" doesn't its bad for you, and the opposite is also true. If something , like extra virgin olive oil, in moderation, is used, it has high of good healthy fats, and low of bad saturated and trans fats. So the term fattening can be misleading.

Most of the cereal you find in the isles of the grocery store is loaded with sugar. Not good. I even bought some granola flax/pumpkin seed from sprouts the other day, thinking it was healthy. But its loaded with sugar (less than most cereals, but still). Yoplait yogurt is another bad example. Its low in fat and calories, but has alot of sugar.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/visits ... 1fekf.html

That's not the only thing that the media exaggerates.

I'm overweight and I have fantastic blood pressure and I eat well and exercise 4-5 times a week. The media exaggerates it because "fat people are unattractive." They want to give us another reason to hate ourselves. :/