Should we take thin privilege and health at any size more seriously?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Should we take thin privilege and health at any size more seriously?

meristem: Oct 2, 2010; I HAVE THE ETIQUETTE OF STIFF AND THE PERSONALITY OF A GIANT CUNT.

Canine Blues Arooo posted:

The kinds of people who impulsively eat and don't really care all the way up to bonafide obesity are not the kinds of people who are really willing to make a major lifestyle change.

This is to some extent correct, but you're leaving out why this happens. And it's quite important. The person who talked about stress hinted at it, but it bears repeating. The thing is, everyone has limited daily mental resources. And stress takes away from them. The stress of having to keep to the discipline of not eating also takes away from them. And same for exercise. At some point, exercise is great, but you first have to arrive at this point. Until then, it's a chore - added stress. You're basically requiring that people who are stressed out add to their daily stress. It's no wonder that they really, well, aren't prepared to do this.

Separately, obviously, stress fucks up your metabolism, altering gene expression patterns and encouraging you to, whenever possible, to gorge yourself on food. So, early in the day, you have plenty of iron will. You keep to your diet. Late in the day, after a whole day of dealing with everyone around - bosses, kids, husband... you're tired. Your mental resources are depleted. Your tissues are sending all the signals that you need food. Why wouldn't you eat? Just because in 10 years you might be healthier?

That's why it happens pretty often that if someone goes to a weight-focused retreat, with prepared food, and all that, relaxes, loses weight... but then they return to the daily work/life grind, and recover it all. Personally speaking, the times I lost weight in my life, I did it without really doing anything - not going on a diet, not exercising more than usual - but these were always the times when I had the opportunity to relax.

If one wants to solve the obesity epidemics, proper information about nutrition and access to good food are necessary. But equally necessary are work security, access to mental healthcare, strong and supportive social networks... The stuff.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2015 20:30

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 06:09

meristem: Oct 2, 2010; I HAVE THE ETIQUETTE OF STIFF AND THE PERSONALITY OF A GIANT CUNT.

Isn't running horrible on the joints, though? Swimming seems much superior. Why don't people talk about swimming?

# ¿ Nov 24, 2015 08:04

meristem: Oct 2, 2010; I HAVE THE ETIQUETTE OF STIFF AND THE PERSONALITY OF A GIANT CUNT.

Lyesh posted:

And again, by most standards people in the United States aren't "lazy." The labor force is highly productive and works more hours than those in many countries with less of an obesity problem. Both of those things are diametrically opposed to laziness.

Brannock posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGa6BPj3Mcw

Further I would suggest that an extra 2 hours a day sitting in front of a computer monitor (at vastly reduced pay) is not meaningfully working "harder", even if it is far more productive thanks in large part to enormous advances in technology, technological assistance, and education

It still is sitting that extra 2 hours instead of being able to spend it on oneself; taxing both physically and mentally.

Once again, we return to the question of willpower and stress. Significantly altering your diet is hard. Exercising, when you start out, is also hard. Exercising while being subject to social derision is even harder. 'Eating less is an easy thing to do' is a falsehood for a lot of people. If someone is first stressed out by overworking, then returns home to a second shift with the children, they may simply lack the mental fortitude to force themselves into the additional hardship. (On the other thing, culture being what it is, I somewhat doubt that the sane solution of subsidised healthy takeouts and communal kitchens would gain any acceptance.)

Also, I just want to laugh at all of you who talk about 2500 calories/day as the baseline. The daily intake on which I don't gain weight is around 1200, and this is after exercise.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2015 17:08

meristem: Oct 2, 2010; I HAVE THE ETIQUETTE OF STIFF AND THE PERSONALITY OF A GIANT CUNT.

PT6A posted:

You must have a really efficient metabolism or be much smaller than average.

Yeah, obviously. I'm female, 5'0" at 123 pounds and around 23-24% fat (and it obviously took me a lot of work to get even this far, otherwise I wouldn't be posting here).

Anyhow, one thing that I haven't really seen mentioned in the thread yet, and which I think really deserves to be mentioned, is early-life starvation leading to accelerated adiposity rebound. Basically, if someone experiences a lack of nutrients as a fetus/infant, they are programmed to have a tendency to stay overweight, if not obese, later in life. That would mean, first of all, poor people, wouldn't it? Doesn't this throw a bit of shade on the whole 'it's a choice' thing? It did, for me.

More to the point, it seems that it's one more factor to be considered in preventing future obesity, if not exactly managing the current epidemic.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2015 19:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Should we take thin privilege and health at any size more seriously?