Everyday Systems

The point of this opinion piece seems to be if you are fat as a kid, you'll be a fat adult, so don't bother dieting because the only solution to the obesity epidemic is to make sure kids don't get fat.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/11/10/e ... tml?hpt=T2

Just because Oprah is a yo-yo dieter means no one should ever try to lose weight? I was a skinny teenager, so does that mean I should diet?

Whatever. I am so glad to have found the sanity of No S!

Hear, hear, about the sanity!

I am so tired of reading something in the paper or hearing it on the news, about foods, and what's 'good' and what's 'bad', and what things to do to lose weight and get healthy......and then to turn around the next day, and they are stating the exact opposite! Literally, I have seen this!

The sanity of the No S Diet is reassuring and free-ing.

There's a lot of evidence showing that overweight/obese kids tend to become overweight/obese adults--probably because they've developed unhealthy eating habits as children that have simply carried over into adulthood. If you've gone your whole life snacking on tons of junk and sugar and thinking a super-sized burger, fries, and milkshake is a reasonable meal, I'd imagine it would be pretty darn hard to put yourself on a restrictive diet in an effort to lose weight. So you fail. The great thing about NoS is that it forces you to develop healthier habits, making the chances for weight loss and maintenance much higher.

Aristotle's Ethics taught me that you are at least in part what you choose to do (the habits you choose to form) and not just who you are. You can escape obesity.
Kathleen

Oh, it makes it more likely you'll be fat later on if you were a chubby kid but it doesn't mean it's certain of course ... it just makes it easier ! So make sure not to let your kids eat too much bad food and be inactive.

Cheers !

Marc

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

I have to say that this is probably correct, but there are exceptions to the rule. I had a couple of friends from high school who were overweight, now in their 40's they have slimmed down very well. Of course there were some classmates who were very thin, who are now obese.

To be fair, I think the piece is directed at society rather than at individuals. The author even basically admits to looking at this from a public policy perspective and not a medical one. To me it is saying that to address the societal problem of obesity, it is more effective to address it with young children than with adults. Essentially it's advocating an emphasis on prevention over treatment.

And really, I think it raises a good point. Whether it's because of genetics or learned behavior or some combination, people who are heavier as kids are heavier as adults. And as a heavy adult, I know just how hard it can be to "diet" and to try to lose weight. I wish I had found a reasonable way of eating and perhaps more importantly managing my stress eating at a young age. I wish I had figured out NoS when I was 16. Or even 20. It would make *now* so much easier. And I think there is a combination of ingrained bad habits and inability to see that weight loss is possible working against heavy adults who were heavy as kids. I've *always* been on the heavy side. Even when I was very athletic in high school. So the fact that being heavy seems like a foregone conclusion for me, can be very counterproductive to my weightloss efforts. Plus I have a lot of bad eating habits.

So on the whole, when you look at a population that is becoming fatter, and becoming worse in health, there is a two arm strategy: "fix" the current population and/or prevent the next generation from having the same problem. So if you are doing a cost-benefit analysis on where to spend a limited amount of healthcare dollars, and you see that despite a lot of money going towards encouraging adults to lose weight - the opposite seems to occur, you have to start re-directing your efforts towards prevention. Sure, you'll have a spike in money spent to treat the obesity-associated conditions of the current adult generation, but it should pay off with decreased expenditures on the next generation.

For society on a whole, this can make sense. Applied to the individual, however, this argument falls apart. Even if *most* fatter kids become fatter adults, there are a some people that are exception. Proving that it's *not* inevitable to be fat forever, even if it's more likely. So for an individual doing a cost-benefit analysis for themselves, it probably still makes sense to find a slow and steady weight loss program that they can stick with forever (to avoid yo-yoing).

Bottom line, don't be discouraged. Be the exception.

Very fairly put, Sienna.