By 2030, half of US adults will be obese

[FireDragon76]

By 2030, half of US adults will be obese:

By 2030, nearly half of all U.S. adults will be obese, experts predict

By 2030, nearly half of U.S. adults will be obese, including the nearly 1 in 4 who will have severe obesity. The obesity rate will surpass 50% in 29 states.

www.latimes.com

I am surprised this isn't something I've ever heard any politicians talking about in the US. Anybody who has tried to lose weight knows it can be difficult, with the deck stacked against us, what most don't realize is that we as a society often treat obesity as an individual moral failing or a disease to be corrected by drugs that result in near-starvation conditions, but all the evidence points towards the fact it's largely due to powerful interests that shape our lived environment for the benefit of a few wealthy industries- from what foods are conveniently available, all the way to how many steps we will take in a day.

For instance, the average American only walks 3,000-4,000 steps a day, which means we are typically sedentary, a result of a car-centric lived environment. Even in Britain, where car ownership is relatively high, the average Briton takes 7,500 steps, and the average German takes 10,000 steps a day in Germany. Of these nation's figures, only the Americans can be classified as "sedentary", the Britons are getting adequate exercise on average just as a result of walking, and the Germans get enough walking they can be considered to have an active lifestyle. Those additional thousands of steps add up to hundreds of extra calories burned that would otherwise be stored as fat long term, and largely explains the disparities that exist between western nations in terms of rates of obesity.

 

[trophy33]

50% obesity rate would be terrible for the American society and American future in general.

However, obesity is not caused by sedentary lifestyle. Its caused by disrupted hormones, sugars, junk food, constant stress.

 

[FireDragon76]

50% obesity rate would be terrible for the American society and American future in general.

However, obesity is not caused by sedentary lifestyle. Its caused by disrupted hormones, sugars, junk food, constant stress.

All the evidence seems to be that the built environment, specifically car-dependent design, contributes to obesity.

Obesity relationships with community design, physical activity, and time spent in cars - PubMed

Measures of the built environment and travel patterns are important predictors of obesity across gender and ethnicity, yet relationships among the built environment, travel patterns, and weight may vary across gender and ethnicity. Strategies to increase land-use mix and distance walked while...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Kuwait already has nearly 42 percent of it's population obese. It's cities are heavily dependent on cars. Alot of these Persian Gulf states have similar figures. Saudi Arabia has an obesity rate comparable to the US, for instance.

Some US cities don't even have sidewalks in residential areas. When you have nowhere to walk, you can't be surprised if people aren't meeting the minimum physical fitness goals that most major health organizations agree are important.

News Bureau | ILLINOIS

news.illinois.edu

 

[timewerx]

However, obesity is not caused by sedentary lifestyle. Its caused by disrupted hormones, sugars, junk food, constant stress.

This statement can give the wrong impression that a sedentary lifestyle is ok as long as you don't have those problems you mentioned.

I have yet to see a study suggesting that the long term negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle such as muscle and bone atrophy and many other things like cancer can be negated by the perfect diet, low stress, or even full exploitation of modern medicine.

You may be live to the age of >100 that way, but I doubt the quality of life in the last decades would be as good than if you kept physically active and exercised quite a bit your whole life.

The adaptations brought by a physically active lifestyle can also help deal with stress better so you don't always have to run away from it or avoid it.

 

[FireDragon76]

This statement can give the wrong impression that a sedentary lifestyle is ok as long as you don't have those problems you mentioned.

I have yet to see a study suggesting that the long term negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle such as muscle and bone atrophy and many other things like cancer can be negated by the perfect diet, low stress, or even full exploitation of modern medicine.

You may be live to the age of >100 that way, but I doubt the quality of life in the last decades would be as good than if you kept physically active and exercised quite a bit your whole life.

The adaptations brought by a physically active lifestyle can also help deal with stress better so you don't always have to run away from it or avoid it.

Exercise can be beneficial even on the microscopic level, because it can turn on genes in cells in the body that encourages beneficial adaptations that have positive effects against aging. You don't have to run marathons or become a body builder to achieve this effect, but as our societies become even more sedentary, there's a real danger of losing out the benefits of physical activity.

There are also so-called "exercise mimetics", molecules found in plants or synthesized that can simulate some of the same cellular changes produced by actual exercise . This is one way that adaptogenic herbs such as ginseng are thought to work. Even foods like coffee or tea have an exercise mimetic effect (in fact people that regularly consume coffee or tea are less likely to develop Type II diabetes), believed to be due to the combination of caffeine and polyphenols found in both coffee and tea.

 

[timewerx]

Exercise can be beneficial even on the microscopic level, because it can turn on genes in cells in the body that encourages beneficial adaptations that have positive effects against aging. You don't have to run marathons or become a body builder to achieve this effect, but as our societies become even more sedentary, there's a real danger of losing out the benefits of physical activity.

There are also so-called "exercise mimetics", molecules found in plants or synthesized that can simulate some of the same cellular changes produced by actual exercise . This is one way that adaptogenic herbs such as ginseng are thought to work. Even foods like coffee or tea have an exercise mimetic effect (in fact people that regularly consume coffee or tea are less likely to develop Type II diabetes), believed to be due to the combination of caffeine and polyphenols found in both coffee and tea.

I drink coffee each meal but decaf.

Yup, even if exercise don't make you lose weight, it remains essential for good health and physical independence up to an old age.

Exercise can also prevent and even eliminate small cancer tumors through enhancing "autophagy" and improved delivery of oxygen throughout the body by increasing network of blood vessels and improved cardiovascular performance.

Ironically, cancer cells become more dangerous, tougher, and prone to metastasis under oxygen starvation. Sedentary people are at risk having less extensive blood vessels from insufficient physical activity.

Increased network of blood vessels from exercising also improves delivery of nutrients throughout the body. You'll get more from each gram of nutrients.

 

[trophy33]

All the evidence seems to be that the built environment, specifically car-dependent design, contributes to obesity.

If you will be at home and behind your computer all day, but will eat only real food, drink only water, sleep normally etc, you will not be obese.

Obesity is from junk food (sugars, seed oils), constant stress, hormonal imbalances. Its not from using a car.

Its also not caused by genetics, genetics only make it faster/easier to get obese with junk food or in stress.

There is a significant difference between something slightly contributing (like more cars) and being the cause (like food).

 

[FireDragon76]

I drink coffee each meal but decaf.

Yup, even if exercise don't make you lose weight, it remains essential for good health and physical independence up to an old age.

Exercise can also prevent and even eliminate small cancer tumors through enhancing "autophagy" and improved delivery of oxygen throughout the body by increasing network of blood vessels and improved cardiovascular performance.

Ironically, cancer cells become more dangerous, tougher, and prone to metastasis under oxygen starvation. Sedentary people are at risk having less extensive blood vessels from insufficient physical activity.

There is a theory that cancer is what happens when cellular communication breaks down. When communication between cells breaks down, cell revert to being yeast-like, they grow and multiply in the presence of nutrients, or they starve and go into a dormant mode. Blood flow seems to be one way the cells communicate with the rest of the body.

 

[timewerx]

If you will be at home and behind your computer all day, but will eat only real food, drink only water, sleep normally etc, you will not be obese.

Obesity is from junk food (sugars, seed oils), constant stress, hormonal imbalances. Its not from using a car.

Its also not caused by genetics, genetics only make it faster/easier to get obese with junk food or in stress.

There is a significant difference between something slightly contributing (like more cars) and being the cause (like food).

You'll still end up with weak bones and weak muscles if you think you can beat a sedentary lifestyle with "real foods" and even meeting all the needed daily nutrients.

And your body won't be as effective in preventing and even eliminating cancerous growth all throughout the body with sedentary lifestyle. Don't think that glorious health insurance you have and medical advancements in chemo and other cancer therapies can save you from cancer.

I've heard so many rich people in the church getting cancer getting treated at our most advanced, most expensive hospitals, getting surgery, getting chemo, getting radiation surgery, getting prayed over, and they still died.

I'm not saying you shouldn't go to the hospitals to avoid wasting money. What I'm trying to say, if you're missing out on exercise, even the best medical interventions may not be enough to save you from things like cancer. I did a lot of reading about cancer due to large risk of cancer in our family. Intervention methods work but efficacy may depend on your health and fitness. Like cardiovascular disease, cancer mortality is also affected by your metabolism and cardiovascular performance.

 

[timewerx]

There is a theory that cancer is what happens when cellular communication breaks down. When communication between cells breaks down, cell revert to being yeast-like, they grow and multiply in the presence of nutrients, or they starve and go into a dormant mode. Blood flow seems to be one way the cells communicate with the rest of the body.

Autophagy requires good blood flow/oxygenation of cells to work at peak effectiveness. It can get rid of cancerous growth at an early stage or prevent formation of cancerous cells.

But for this requires good network of blood vessels and other adaptations you can only get from exercising. Long cardio/aerobic exercises are the most effective concerning these adaptations.

 

[trophy33]

There is a significant difference between something slightly contributing (like more cars) and being the cause (like food).

Or, its better to say that there is a significant difference between causality (wrong food => obesity) and association (countries adopting the western life style are both more obese and using more cars).

 

[FireDragon76]

You'll still end up with weak bones and weak muscles if you think you can beat a sedentary lifestyle with "real foods" and even meeting all the needed daily nutrients.

And your body won't be as effective in preventing and even eliminating cancerous growth all throughout the body with sedentary lifestyle. Don't think that glorious health insurance you have and medical advancements in chemo and other cancer therapies can save you from cancer.

I've heard so many rich people in the church getting cancer getting treated at our most advanced, most expensive hospitals, getting surgery, getting chemo, getting radiation surgery, getting prayed over, and they still died.

I'm not saying you shouldn't go to the hospitals to avoid wasting money. What I'm trying to say, if you're missing out on exercise, even the best medical interventions may not be enough to save you from things like cancer. I did a lot of reading about cancer due to large risk of cancer in our family. Intervention methods work but efficacy may depend on your health and fitness. Like cardiovascular disease, cancer mortality is also affected by your metabolism and cardiovascular performance.

Exercise is just another tool in the toolbox. And if you lack that tool, sometimes it makes things alot harder than they need to be.