The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > General Discussion > On being fat

On being fat

  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. All
I hate euphemisms like "obese" and "overweight." I had become fat. I tipped the scales at 103 kg. Even for someone of my height that was a lot of blubber.

In September I decided to do something about it. I joined weight watchers and a gym. Four months and 18 kg later I'm getting there. My target weight is 80 kg. At 85 kg I'm not ready to declare victory yet.

How did I lose weight so fast? I had thought this was going to be a long slow process. Instead the kilos melted away. I don’t even have any hunger pangs.

Turns out I am lucky.

You cannot lose fat cells. Once you get them you have them for life. The best you can do is reduce their size.

Unfortunately it turns out fat cells have an optimum size. When they become too small they start yelling "feed me, feed me." We experience that as hunger. That's why it's so hard for some people to lose weight.

That's the bad news.

Here's the good news. Good for some anyway. Until recently it had been thought that you could grow new fat cells throughout your life. New research at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden shows that the NUMBER OF FAT CELLS IS FIXED IN CHILDHOOD. If you were skinny when you emerged from childhood then you have a limited number of fat cells. If you become fat as an adult it is because your existing stock of fat cells has become bloated.

And here's where I was lucky. Until my mid-thirties I was thin as a rake. I have a limited stock of fat cells. All I had to do was return my fat cells to their normal size. That's much easier than trying to reduce an excess of fat cells to below normal size.

You can read about the research here:

http://www.aip.org/isns/reports/2008/020.html

Is there a point to this? I suggest there is.

COMBATING CHILDHOOD OBESITY SHOULD BE OUR NUMBER ONE HEALTH PRIORITY.

Once the kids are fat they will have a lifetime of problems.
Posted by stevenlmeyer, Saturday, 17 January 2009 10:16:03 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Steven,
Here’s another angle on fat: It's no longer just a individual health issue.It's increasingly being presented as a global warming issue.

A recent article in NewScientist argued that fat people contribute more to global warming because:
i) they consume more fats & sugars, which generate more CO2 during production
ii) their additional weight means they burn more fuel in being transported from A to B.
iii) they feel the extremes of temperature more, so they use more power to heat & cool their environment.

And of course, there are more fat people in the West.
So it’s one more piece of evidence in the pogrom against the West

Don’t shoot me I’m just the messenger!

Hope your keep exercise routine going.

Cheers (with mineral water!)
Posted by Horus, Sunday, 18 January 2009 7:07:31 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Many a fatman has lived to an age.
Some examples are Jackie Gleason, Orson Wells and Sydney Greenstreet all were around until their 70's or so, though all had health problems.
It always helps to lose weight.

I think the big killer is stress.
A combination of over-weight, lack of excercise and stress.

Dont lose a vision if you have good one.
A vision is very important. Actually a vision is vital to life.

When Ansett airlines went down a few years ago some pilots were suiciding because all of their eggs were in one basket.
They knew nothing else but the skies.

My back-up is landscape painting.
Posted by Gibo, Sunday, 18 January 2009 8:45:04 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Hi Horus,

Food is a greater contributor to global warming than driving. A vegetarian who drives an SUV probably contributes more to global warming than a meat eater who uses public transport.

This diagram from New Scientist sums it all up.

http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/2673/26731701.jpg

However, though I've taken to eating less meat, I am not a vegetarian.

NB: There are difficulties with a vegetarian diet. It takes a lot more juggling to make sure you get all the essential amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids. Anyone who wants to go vegetarian should consult an expert nutritionist.

There is another aspect to this. On average fat people have lower incomes and require more resources from Medicare than people of normal bulk. So we'd all save a few bucks if fewer people were fat.

On the other hand fat people tend to die younger and don't stick around to collect their old age pensions for as long as people of more normal girth. That saves a bit of money.

NB: mineral water is one of the worst contributors to global warming. So I'd prefer you to toast me with a good red wine.

I decided to lose weight for entirely SELFISH REASONS. I started getting pains in my lower back. It got so bad I could not ride my bicycle for a while. My doctor told me that, while thin people can also have back problems, my chances of avoiding a recurrence were better if I lost a few kilos.

I was not thinking in terms of reducing my carbon footprint or saving the taxpayer a few bucks.

All that being said I do think we would be doing kids, and ourselves, a favour by doing our best to stop them putting on those extra fat cells. COMBATING CHILDHOOD OBESITY REALLY WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO SPEND ADDITIONAL HEALTHCARE DOLLARS.
Posted by stevenlmeyer, Sunday, 18 January 2009 9:13:09 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Horus, 'and of course there are more fat people in the west'.

Per cap. the middle east is far and away the fat centre of or planet, and here in oz stats indicate that obesity is linked with lower socio-economic status.

Steven its energy in/energy out with particular emphasis on the source of energy ie adequate protein naturally limits our intake of carbs.
Posted by palimpsest, Sunday, 18 January 2009 10:59:24 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Dear Steven,

Thanks for this thread.

I showed it to my husband.

He currently tips the scales at 104k's, he's over
six feet in height, but he's got problems with his
back, high blood pressure, et cetera. In other words
he's not feeling well.

If you could do it, I thought perhaps he should give
it a go. His added problem is that he likes to drink,
which I don't think helps the situation.

I'm even thinking of signing him up for that "Light
and Easy," food delivery to your home service, that's
advertised on TV. Because I am concerned that his
health seems to have taken a nose-dive.
Posted by Foxy, Sunday, 18 January 2009 11:05:13 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. Page 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy