Everyday Systems

On Discovery Health Channel last night (California) there was a one-hour program called "Big as Life: Obesity in America" or something very close to that. I had a problem with the program for several reasons.

1) For an hour they discussed the "obesity epidemic" and short of surgery or extreme calorie restriction offered no advice or remedy.

2) Stated that genetics plays an up to 40% role in obesity. This doesn't seem right. They did say people that have the genes can only get obese in the right environment (i.e. availability of fatty food 24 hours a day). But these people with the same obese genes will not become obese if they are in a thin environment (i.e. no access to mass amounts of fatty foods etc.). Which to me contradicts the obese gene theory.

3) They stated that obese people need to eat little calories to maintain their large size. If they gain they have to eat a lot of calories, but to maintain they don't have to eat that much. I think it was something like 2,500 calories for a 200 pound person to maintain. This seems wrong. And you have to take energy output into account.

4) The overall program gave little hope for fat people trying to change their situation.

If genetics is 40% of the cause of obesity, then why has it jumped to such epic proportions in the last ten years? Shouldn't this have been a problem all along? People aren't having more children than they were 40 years ago, they are having less, so the genes that produce chubby kids shouldn't be increasing at such a staggering pace.

I blame junk food advertising, the easy availability of inexpensive, super sized junk food, the increasing sedentary life styles of western culture, and the chemicals and addictive sugars being dumped into our food.

milczar wrote: 3) They stated that obese people need to eat little calories to maintain their large size. If they gain they have to eat a lot of calories, but to maintain they don't have to eat that much. I think it was something like 2,500 calories for a 200 pound person to maintain. This seems wrong. And you have to take energy output into account.

Since most obese people are sedentary 2,500 would seem about right.

For an average sedentary male the daily value is supposed to be around 2,500 and for a female 2,000 a day.

Well I too cant agree with the above poster here that genetics has a major role to play in obesity, as the modern day man has forgotten to lead an active life. Be it their work or be it in any other aspect sedentary ways are reigning supreme. There have been many who dont run a family history of obesity and yet they have become obese. So who is going to defy this?

You are right as genetics may have some role to play in the obesity causing factor but this cant certainly be attributed to be the most essential factor that sums up to the problem of obesity. There would be a fair percentage who are to be blamed themselves for the problem. It is strange to think at our times when there are so many facilities available to make the body fit and agile people are hardly bothered.