Religion linked to obesity in young adults

[Bill O'Olberman]

Praise the lard? Study links church to obesity - Health - Diet and nutrition - msnbc.com

Interesting.

 

[waltky]

Dispelling the myths of obesity...

Authors try to separate fact, fiction on obesity
Jan 31,`13 Fact or fiction? Sex burns a lot of calories. Snacking or skipping breakfast is bad. School gym classes make a big difference in kids' weight.

All are myths or at least presumptions that may not be true, say researchers who reviewed the science behind some widely held obesity beliefs and found it lacking. Their report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine says dogma and fallacies are detracting from real solutions to the nation's weight problems. "The evidence is what matters," and many feel-good ideas repeated by well-meaning health experts just don't have it, said the lead author, David Allison, a biostatistician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Independent researchers say the authors have some valid points. But many of the report's authors also have deep financial ties to food, beverage and weight-loss product makers - the disclosures take up half a page of fine print in the journal. "It raises questions about what the purpose of this paper is" and whether it's aimed at promoting drugs, meal replacement products and bariatric surgery as solutions, said Marion Nestle, a New York University professor of nutrition and food studies. "The big issues in weight loss are how you change the food environment in order for people to make healthy choices," such as limits on soda sizes and marketing junk food to children, she said. Some of the myths they cite are "straw men" issues, she said.

But some are pretty interesting. Sex, for instance. Not that people do it to try to lose weight, but claims that it burns 100 to 300 calories are common, Allison said. Yet the only study that scientifically measured the energy output found that sex lasted six minutes on average - "disappointing, isn't it?" - and burned a mere 21 calories, about as much as walking, he said. That's for a man. The study was done in 1984 and didn't measure the women's experience. Among the other myths or assumptions the authors cite, based on their review of the most rigorous studies on each topic:

-Small changes in diet or exercise lead to large, long-term weight changes. Fact: The body adapts to changes, so small steps to cut calories don't have the same effect over time, studies suggest. At least one outside expert agrees with the authors that the "small changes" concept is based on an "oversimplified" 3,500-calorie rule, that adding or cutting that many calories alters weight by one pound.

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See also:

New rules aim to get rid of junk foods in schools
Feb 2,`13: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Most candy, high-calorie drinks and greasy meals could soon be on a food blacklist in the nation's schools.

For the first time, the government is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful. Under the new rules the Agriculture Department proposed Friday, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would be taken out of lunch lines and vending machines. In their place would be foods like baked chips, trail mix, diet sodas, lower-calorie sports drinks and low-fat hamburgers. The rules, required under a child nutrition law passed by Congress in 2010, are part of the government's effort to combat childhood obesity. While many schools already have improved their lunch menus and vending machine choices, others still are selling high-fat, high-calorie foods.

Under the proposal, the Agriculture Department would set fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods sold in schools. Current standards already regulate the nutritional content of school breakfasts and lunches that are subsidized by the federal government, but most lunchrooms also have "a la carte" lines that sell other foods. Food sold through vending machines and in other ways outside the lunchroom has never before been federally regulated. "Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

Most snacks sold in school would have to have less than 200 calories. Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, low-fat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. High schools could sell some sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas, but the calories would be limited. Drinks would be limited to 12-ounce portions in middle schools and to 8-ounce portions in elementary schools. The standards will cover vending machines, the "a la carte" lunch lines, snack bars and any other foods regularly sold around school. They would not apply to in-school fundraisers or bake sales, though states have the power to regulate them. The new guidelines also would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events, goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students bring for their own personal consumption.

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[waltky]

Uncle Ferd likes his womens 'pleasingly plump'...

Study dispels 'obesity paradox' idea for diabetics
15 Jan.`14 ~ The "obesity paradox" — the controversial notion that being overweight might actually be healthier for some people with diabetes — seems to be a myth, researchers report. A major study finds there's no survival advantage to being large, and a disadvantage to being very large.

More than 24 million Americans have diabetes, mostly Type 2, the kind that is on the rise because of obesity. About two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight, including one-third who are obese. Weighing too much increases the chances of heart disease, cancer and premature death. But some small studies have suggested this might not be true for everyone, and that Type 2 diabetics might even benefit from a few extra pounds — a "metabolic reserve" to help get them through sickness.

The new research — which looked at deaths according to how much people weighed when they were diagnosed with diabetes — dispels that idea. "We didn't see this protective effect at all," said one study leader, Diedre Tobias of the Harvard School of Public Health. "The lowest risk was seen in the normal-weight category." The National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association paid for the work. Results are in this week's New England Journal of Medicine. "It's a very convincing study" and large enough to give a clear answer, said one independent expert, Dr. Patrick Remington, associate dean for public health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

It involved 11,427 female nurses and male health professionals diagnosed with diabetes sometime after enrolling in two long-running health studies. They were grouped according to body mass index, a measure of height and weight. People with a BMI over 25 are considered overweight, and 30 or higher, obese. A 5-foot-8-inch person would be overweight at 164 pounds and obese at 197. During more than 15 years of follow-up, there were 3,083 deaths. The lowest risk was among those in the normal range — BMIs of 22.5 to 25. For the rest, researchers saw a J-shaped curve — deaths trended higher at both extremes. Being just a little overweight did not substantially raise the risk of death, but the trend was in that direction. The study was big enough that researchers could look at subgroups. For those under 65 when they were diagnosed with diabetes, the risk of death rose directly in relation to BMI. The same was true of people who had never smoked.

Trends for smokers and people over 65 were less uniform. Smokers had higher death rates in general. Smoking suppresses appetite and contributes to lower weight, but contributes so strongly to many diseases that it can overshadow and complicate efforts to measure the effect of weight alone, Tobias said. Older people have many other health conditions that also make it hard to see the effect of BMI. The results support guidelines urging people to keep a healthy weight, said Dr. Donna Ryan of Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Even though being modestly overweight did not raise the risk of dying very much in this study, many others show that it impairs quality of life by contributing to high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other problems, she said. Ryan said she doubted that overweight people would think it's OK to be a little pudgy. "Are you kidding?" she said. "Everybody is trying to lose weight."

Yahoo!

 

[Agit8r]

This isn't rocket science. If a person isn't feeding one sort of fleshly desires, they are feeding another sort.

 

[editec]

It's been alarming to watch my fellow American grow fatter and fatter and fatter over the last six decades.

Not a clue what's causing it, really but seriously...people are becoming fatter on average.

Its especially sad that so many kids are fat by the time they're in HS.

It was NOT like this 40 years ago.

If you were really fat it was not common.

Now not being fat is unusual.

 

[Vox]

it's amazing to which lengths idiots will go to avoid the simply truth - obesity is linked to eating TOO MUCH - that's ALL

btw. so-called "study" which has not adjusted for any other biases is laughable, to say the least.

if you follow a group of people for 18 years you might find that wearing sneakers and flat shoes is linked to obesity as well

I can even guarantee you that

 

[Vox]

It's been alarming to watch my fellow American grow fatter and fatter and fatter over the last six decades.

Not a clue what's causing it, really but seriously...people are becoming fatter on average.

Its especially sad that so many kids are fat by the time they're in HS.

It was NOT like this 40 years ago.

If you were really fat it was not common.

Now not being fat is unusual.

don't eat too much and you won't be fat.

Period.

Where is my Noble prize award?

 

[whitehall]

The "lead investigator" is a college kid barely old enough to drink a beer and it's big news to MSNBC because....well you know why.

 

[auditor0007]

It's been alarming to watch my fellow American grow fatter and fatter and fatter over the last six decades.

Not a clue what's causing it, really but seriously...people are becoming fatter on average.

Its especially sad that so many kids are fat by the time they're in HS.

It was NOT like this 40 years ago.

If you were really fat it was not common.

Now not being fat is unusual.

Determining the reasoning for this is not rocket science. What did you do all summer long when you were a kid? If you were like me, you were outside playing baseball, football, smear the queer, hide and seek late at night, basketball, riding bikes, cutting the grass of many neighbors, delivering newspapers, and on and on and on. As a kid, I was always on the go. In high school I ran cross country and track.

What do kids do today? Most of them sit at home playing video games and eating, and parents are somewhat complicit in this because so many are too afraid to let Johnny go outside and play with his friends if he isn't completely supervised by an adult. Helicopter parents are no help, and parents are this way based on a false belief that it is a much more dangerous world today than it was when we were kids. The statistics tell us that it is the exact opposite; kids are safer today than they were when we were kids, but parents are constantly bombarded with news of kids being abducting on the other side of the country. While it doesn't happen that often, parents are exposed to it because we get our news instantly today, and we get it form the entire country/world.

Honest to God if we want to do something about the obesity problem among our kids, the answer is simple. Make physical education a required part of our kids' education on a daily basis from grade 1 through 12. They can make the school day longer, and yes it would cost school districts some money, but the benefit would far outweigh the cost. Truthfully, we should be looking at obesity as a national epidemic, because it is one. As much as many people worry about what our kids are eating, the food really is not the biggest problem; it's the lack of exercise.

When I think back to what I ate when I was in high school, it was a lot. I would eat a couple of bowls of cereal for breakfast. For lunch, I ate three school lunches. My parents were not thrilled about paying for three lunches. If it wasn't cross country or track season, I would go to Wendy's or McDonald's right after school and have a burger, fries, and a shake. Then I would eat dinner around 6 PM, where I would have at least two helpings of everything, if not three. At 9 PM or 10 PM, I would eat three or four hot dogs or a couple of sandwiches before going to bed. Bottom line, I ate an awful lot. I weighed 120 lbs. Today, at 50 years of age, I still eat at least 3000 calories per day. That's about half of what I ate in high school, and I try to keep my weight just under 140.

Not everyone is going to be like me, obviously, but it really isn't the amount of food as much as it is the lack of exercise.

 

[auditor0007]

It's been alarming to watch my fellow American grow fatter and fatter and fatter over the last six decades.

Not a clue what's causing it, really but seriously...people are becoming fatter on average.

Its especially sad that so many kids are fat by the time they're in HS.

It was NOT like this 40 years ago.

If you were really fat it was not common.

Now not being fat is unusual.

don't eat too much and you won't be fat.

Period.

Where is my Noble prize award?

Starving the body is not a good thing. Lack of exercise is the bigger problem. People who get enough exercise can eat quite a bit and not gain weight. The body is meant to be used, not just to sit around and get fat. I eat over 3000 calories per day, and I only weigh 140 lbs.

 

[DGS49]

Good point above. Kids - especially suburban kids - are almost discouraged from "playing." Rather than going out to a park and playing pickup games of baseball or basketball, they are sitting at home fooling around with their various electronic gadgets. Parents want them to be home from the time they get home from school until the parents arrive home from work, and that's when the best "play" time is. Many parents (mainly Moms) don't even know what it means to "play" a sport, thinking that if it's not an organized practice or a game, there is no point to it.

Also, the food industry is profit driven. They are continually trying to make products that are tasty and filling - a combination that bears an inverse correlation with "nutritious." Would you rather eat a Snickers bar or an apple? A hamburger with fries or a vegetarian salad with sugar-free dressing?

Hell, Pizza is now considered a fairly nutritious food - compared to the alternatives.

I think science will eventually find a solution. A pill that prevents assimilation of bad stuff or something like that. In the meantime, the best solution is to control what you do at the grocery store. Simply DO NOT BUY food that is just junk - empty calories. Eventually you will develop a taste for what's good for you.

At least in theory.

 

[Politico]

No eating more than you burn makes you a fatass.

 

[Destroyer2]

it's amazing to which lengths idiots will go to avoid the simply truth - obesity is linked to eating TOO MUCH - that's ALL

btw. so-called "study" which has not adjusted for any other biases is laughable, to say the least.

if you follow a group of people for 18 years you might find that wearing sneakers and flat shoes is linked to obesity as well

I can even guarantee you that

yeah I have to agree with Vox on this one

A so-called "link" between religion and obesity is ridiculous

 

[Destroyer2]

Honest to God if we want to do something about the obesity problem among our kids, the answer is simple. Make physical education a required part of our kids' education on a daily basis from grade 1 through 12. They can make the school day longer, and yes it would cost school districts some money, but the benefit would far outweigh the cost. Truthfully, we should be looking at obesity as a national epidemic, because it is one. As much as many people worry about what our kids are eating, the food really is not the biggest problem; it's the lack of exercise.

Myths, Presumptions, and Facts about Obesity: NEJM

Importance of Physical Education
Myth number 5: Physical-education classes, in their current form, play an important role in reducing or preventing childhood obesity.
Physical education, as typically provided, has not been shown to reduce or prevent obesity. Findings in three studies that focused on expanded time in physical education indicated that even though there was an increase in the number of days children attended physical-education classes, the effects on body-mass index (BMI) were inconsistent across sexes and age groups. Two meta-analyses showed that even specialized school-based programs that promoted physical activity were ineffective in reducing BMI or the incidence or prevalence of obesity. There is almost certainly a level of physical activity (a specific combination of frequency, intensity, and duration) that would be effective in reducing or preventing obesity. Whether that level is plausibly achievable in conventional school settings is unknown, although the dose–response relationship between physical activity and weight warrants investigation in clinical trials.

 

[Destroyer2]

It's been alarming to watch my fellow American grow fatter and fatter and fatter over the last six decades.

Not a clue what's causing it, really but seriously...people are becoming fatter on average.

Its especially sad that so many kids are fat by the time they're in HS.

It was NOT like this 40 years ago.

If you were really fat it was not common.

Now not being fat is unusual.

don't eat too much and you won't be fat.

Period.

Where is my Noble prize award?

Starving the body is not a good thing. Lack of exercise is the bigger problem. People who get enough exercise can eat quite a bit and not gain weight. The body is meant to be used, not just to sit around and get fat. I eat over 3000 calories per day, and I only weigh 140 lbs.

You can eat less without starving the body or even going on a diet.

You just need to find a balance and eat foods that aren't loaded with crap.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Don't eat too much, eat the right food, and exercise daily.

It's only a matter of will, nothing more.

 

[whitehall]

What does the word "linked" mean in this context? Maybe it means we paid a lot of money to come up with a bigoted (mostly anti-Christian) survey and we can't prove it but we need to run with it anyway because the low information left expects stuff like this. I bet every obese person in the Country wears pants and you could therefore link the wearing of pants to obesity.

 

[emilynghiem]

Praise the lard? Study links church to obesity - Health - Diet and nutrition - msnbc.com

Interesting.

Ha ha I like Vox's comment, and can see a major news headline:
Researchers prove the link between obesity and eating too much

Ppbbfftt!!

As for this study, I guess they couldn't count the people who weighed 400 lbs or more
who couldn't move from their homes much less get to church.

How do you know the obese people in church just live longer than obese people outside who die off in larger numbers from related health problems and skew the statistics?

What if they studied eating disorders from anorexia to bulimia to binge overeating?
Wouldn't they find most people and families suffering from these conditions
don't believe in spiritual healing and deliverance to break through addictive disorders?
or else more such cases would be cured.

Going to church is not the issue, but whether you believe in and practice forgiveness therapy and spiritual healing to unblock and to facilitate the body's natural healing process.

I'd like to see more studies on that!
Instead of substituting studies on church attendance, or medicinal marijuana, etc.
that are not the same as the common factor in health and healing which is forgiveness.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Praise the lard? Study links church to obesity - Health - Diet and nutrition - msnbc.com

Interesting.

If fretting over your immortal soul, would think that stress would lead to seeking comfort as with overeating. A related study below linking economic prosperity to religiousity.


Why Is Mississippi More Religious Than New Hampshire?
Religion thrives on misery—and chokes on prosperity.
Published on October 30, 2013 by Nigel Barber, Ph.D.
Why Is Mississippi More Religious Than New Hampshire? | Psychology Today

 

[waltky]

Obesity 'explosion' in Chinese youth...

China: Obesity 'explosion' in rural youth, study warns
Wed, 27 Apr 2016 - Levels of obesity in China's rural youth have rapidly increased, a study warns, because of socioeconomic changes.

Researchers found 17% of boys and 9% of girls under the age of 19 were obese in 2014, up from 1% for each in 1985. The 29-year study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, involved nearly 28,000 students in Shandong province. The study used a stricter cut-off of the Body Mass Index (BMI) than the World Health Organization standard. "It is the worst explosion of childhood and adolescent obesity that I have ever seen," Joep Perk from the European Society of Cardiology told AFP news agency.

The study said China's rapid socioeconomic and nutritional transition had led to an increase in energy intake and a decrease in physical activity. The traditional Chinese diet had shifted towards a diet "with high fat, high energy density and low dietary fibre".

A nurse taking the blood pressure of an overweight youth during his acupuncture and exercise treatment at the Aimin (Love the People) Fat Reduction Hospital in the northern port city of Tianjin.​

'Preference for sons'

The data was taken from six government surveys of rural school children in Shandong aged between seven and 18. The percentage of overweight children has also grown from 0.7% to 16.4% for boys and from 1.5% to nearly 14% for girls, the study said. On the reason for the higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in boys, the study says: "The traditional, societal preference for sons, particularly in rural areas, may mean that boys are likely to enjoy more of the family's resources."

The WHO classifies a BMI - the ratio of weight-to-height squared - of 25-29.9 as overweight and from 30 upwards obese. This study used a lower cut-off of 24-27.9 for overweight and 28 and above for obese. The researchers recommend that "comprehensive strategies of intervention should include periodic monitoring, education on the pattern of nutrition, physical exercises and healthy dietary behaviour".

China: Obesity 'explosion' in rural youth, study warns - BBC News