The body image thread and the problems that may result

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/17/usda-healthy-food-isnt-really-more-expensive/

It's fast food that's the problem. Not because it is bad for you, one of the more common myths that are now perpetuated is that, for example, McDonalds is very unhealthy. However, after the Supersize Me documentary there was worldwide outrage towards it, and it is actually now one of the healthier fast food options around.

It's the fact that it is so readily accessible. For example, I live in the UK. On the four blocks (Keep in mind this is the UK and the blocks are really small) around me there is over 10 fast food places.

I don't know anybody whose been anorexic. But I do know how addictive dieting can be (especially with the gym), just like overeating. But people do take these risky diets anyway because for some people, they do work. Like that enormous man (whose name escapes me) who went on a liquid diet and lost like 100 lbs in a couple weeks. But he was really lucky, because liquid diets have so many bad side effects.

That pill would be nigh on impossible, at least preventing any weight gain at all, the effect of the pill would need to fluctuate with your metabolism as you eat, exercise etc and be personalised for each person. The reason we eat is to gain energy. If the your food is digested, the energy has to go somewhere. If anything, it would be more likely that if this pill can be created, it is sewage that will become a thing of the past, because we won't be digesting our food, so it can be-- ahem-- "recycled".

 

And the same 3 "body types" when exposed to Cosmic-Rays.
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Sorry, I didn't read any of the posts above, but when I saw that picture.....

 

As far as I can see the mesomorph is a fairly standard looking body type to me. Am I missing something here?

On a personal note, I have gone from an Endomorph to a mesomorph over these last 6 months just by changing my diet and exercising a lot.

 

By 2030 more than 1/2 of Americans will be obese. I think we are past the stage where we blame the media for perpetuating images of beauty...because half of this country is either not paying attention to it or doesn't care anymore. Where it really is devastating imo is with kids. It's not the kid's fault that they are obese. It is the parent's fault and in some cases medical conditions. We need to get healthy eating establish in their schools and teaching these kids what their awful parents don't. With adults, it's a different story as they are in full control.

It all falls on diet and exercise. We now live in a technological age where everyone sits on their butt all day and eats fast food. The OP also brings into account lower economic status not having access to healthy foods. That may be true in some cases but a lot of these families get assistance and they can go buy pizza and candy with their EBT card. The real problem imo is lack of education. We are going to reach a point very soon where the next generation is going to live shorter lives than their parents. It also brings into question the cost of healthcare from being overweight.

 

Personally, while I'm sure the media contributes, I can't place the lion's share of blame there, and I think there has been a really misguided movement to blame the media. I place the blame in our societal interactions and our culture as a whole.

I place the blame on the student who calls another student "fat" or "ugly" so they can feel better about themselves, even though there's inherently nothing wrong with either of them to begin with, and the society that enables this type of behavior, and worse, even rewards it. I place it with a society that has become so competitive for attention, and so lacking in compassion, self esteem and common sense that these types of behaviors are rites of childhood and adulthood and considered normal, and have been for a long, long time.

It isn't just media that defines what is attractive and what is not, it is our society as a whole. There is a pattern of learned, repetitive and reinforced behavior that contributes to ideas about beauty, health, etc. The media, more often than not, is largely basically just a reflection of society's outlook, which itself is a reflection of ideas that have been developing for a long, long time

I agree that the real problem is irresponsibility and a lack of education, in several facets of society.

 

Very true. Anorexia is terrible, but being underweight is not an epidemic. Being overweight is. It's absolutely a cultural thing, how children grow up eating junk. When many of them try to go healthy, they're accused of having a superiority complex.

As for body image, there's also a component of how we associate food and emotional problems. When many people are upset or stressed, they eat. That stress COULD stem from body image issues, but it also very well may not.

That said, some bulimic are overweight because of unhealthy relationships with food. They destroy their metabolisms through binging. But that's not what MOST overweight people are going through.

I think it's a mix of a bunch of things, really. All in all, the problem is that many people think it's a one solution fits all. "If I'm skinny, I'll be healthy." Not the case, if you starve yourself. "If I follow this diet like my friend did, I'll lose weight." Not always the case. Everyone's different, but as long as we are active and eat unprocessed foods (no matter what that entails), we'll all be healthier as a whole.

 

I could give a damn about image problems. The healthcare issues alone are what truly disturb me. It's become perfectly acceptable for Americans to gorge themselves to the point of unhealthy weights, and now they are going to need to gorge themselves on whatever healthcare system they are paying for... in effect ultimately driving up the premiums. I know people are going to raise the flags of, "Some of them can't help it. Some of them have medical problems. Some of them are exceptions"... and that's fine and dandy... but what about the majority? America needs to undergo a dramatic change in mindset before being obese becomes the norm... rather than the exception.

 

Agreed. What about the health problems?

My problem with the OP's post is that he's just making a lot of exuses for overweight people. He talks about all the issues with being overweight and that society shouldn't judge their body image, but he fails to admit how unhealthy it is and fails to think of possible solutions. He mentions that health food is cheaper than junk food, but not al health food options are expensive. You still get fruit for cheap.

I can't see the OP's post as more than just being one big excuse for overweight people. I'm fat and I'm fine is overrated and dangerous thinking. Sure, anorexia is also dangerous, but like others said, it's much more small scale.

 

This is true.

There is also a growing obesity acceptance community.

This is unfortunate most of the problems are NOT cosmetic, but real world serious health problems.

Now, nobody here is advocating that people treat a person who is obese in a cruel manner.

At the same time I think it is just as harmful to perpetuate certain myths about it.

One of them being that its impossible to lose bodyfat, "because a reduction in calories slows down the metabolism". - that myth HAS to die. The only people who's metabolisms slow down are those in SEVERE starvation, or hormonal diseases (thyroid is also easily medicated).

Then there is the myth that calories don't matter.

The hell they don't.

There has NEVER once been a human OR animal study EVER showing anyone able to maintain bodyweight in a caloric defict. The matabolism, most of which is there to maintain body temperature can NOT some how get around the law of conservation of matter and energy.

I don't spend a lot of money on foods, but I DO count calories, and I am a genetic endomorph, yet I stay in good shape most of the year.

When I'm cutting down, if I've put on some weight over the winter, I limit caloric intake by a 1000 calorie deficit daily, and I lose about 2 pounds a week doing that, which is a safe rate of fat loss for most people.

I also believe it is far more simple to limit calories than to attempt to burn them off later. Far more work to spend 2 hours a day on a machine than it would be to skip a meal sometimes.

Yes, I said that, meal skipping as a means to cut down on calories. So long as you don't over compensate later, obviously.

Read up Intermittent Fasting, or Intermittent Feeding, and you quickly find out how our metabolism does just fine with a fast.

We do NOT need a contant influx of food the way some people seem to think, largely as a result of propoganda aimed at selling people useless supplements.

We don't need tons of protein either. In fact a typical western diet has more than enough calories and protein, and often not enough vitamins or minerals.

 

I think obesity is an awful problem, however I think the media are handling it all wrong. The government are now encouraging the media to post stuff on diets everywhere. I have experienced an eating disorder, and am being made to gain weight at the moment, for me, this constant talk of diet is incredibly damaging.
Personally, I think "health" should be promoted. Being healthy means eating a balanced diet, being an appropriate weight and leading a fairly active life style.

 

The only difference between extreme, or not, is where you draw the line.

One person doing the extreme of weeks on end fasting is an absurd comparisson to someone eating only two meals a day, or moving breakfast back until 2pm.

Most advocates of "IF" suggest a fast never go longer than 48 hours, and even then most of them simply advocate fasting for the first 8 waking hours of the day, and eating normally there after (meaning don't go pack in 3k of cals and over compensate).

There are other ways as well, such as the Eat Stop Eat method (Brad Pilon's) of fasting for 2 or 3 days out of a week intermittently, and eating normal on the other days. There by creating an average weekly deficit in calories. http://bradpilon.com/introduction-to-intermittent-fasting/

Then there is the Warrior diet, where someone will only eat one time per day, once they are done with the work day, in the evening.

Neither of which suggest a fast longer than 24 hours at a time.

Also, please read up on fasting and you will be surprised what you will find.

Don't let the fools who take it to an extreme make you think its some sort of an eating dissorder. Human's are well addapted to short term fasts, and there are even health benefits to doing them. - again like anything, within reason, not taking it to an extreme like the lady on the news.

 

Fasting should not be accepted in any form. I did it, and I almost died. Heck, I had what was considered a "mini-relapse" in the summer, and that was with eating 3 meals a day. I wasn't fasting, I was just not eating enough for my body to function. My weight dropped, and my body began to fail again. It was no where near as bad as it was the first time, but it still caused me trouble, and I was eating around 1,000 cal.
I now have to gain weight, and it is incredibly difficult. I'm eating over 2500 cal and still lose! This has been a frequent struggle with me. It took me 5 months to gain the weight back the first time, which I then unknowingly lost again, through eating which was thought to be a maintenance diet! For the past 2 and a half years, I've been gaining, losing, gaining, losing.
Teenagers do need allot to fuel them! The danger is what they eat. Kids who eat nothing but fast food are going to be overweight. However, what I find interesting is that many of the girls in my year who constantly diet are actually also overweight! It's not normal for their bodies, so they slow down. It's the ones who eat a balanced diet that are healthy and slim.

 

Safe would be making sure to eat at least one solid meal (meaning eat until you are full, not still hungry, or feeling so stuffed you're sick), with calories counted, every 24 hours. Don't fast longer than this.

This is for otherwise healthy adults, NOT children OR teenagers, unless severely obese, and even then you should not start ANY diet program without consulting a your doctor.

For the Endomorph or Ectomorph it’s the same, the thing to pay attention to is your bodyfat%, and adjust calories for this to fit in your eating window. Some people eat within a 5 hour flexible window each day, some an 8 hour window, there is no one way to go about it.

If your goal is to lose fat you need a calorie deficit. Never go under 50% of your maintenance level. There are lots of online recourses you can use to get an educated guess as to your BMR and TDEE (I will not type up the long names as to encourage people to research this stuff).


If the goal is to maintain, then you need to eat the same amount you are burning in a day. If you are continuing to lose weight and don’t want to then you may need to eat more often in order to increase the calories. This is how an Ectomorph would handle it, if they were already lean as they wanted to be. I mean if your bodyfat% is right where it should be, why change anything?

Overall it’s more useful to the person looking to shed weight, who already has excess bodyfat. Obviously I would not suggest any form of caloric deficit to a person who is already 8% bodyfat if male or 18% if female. That would be silly.

If someone is having trouble holding their bodyweight, meaning they are losing weight and don't want to, well then obviously they need to eat more, and that can mean more often. That whole law of conservation of matter and energy.

Also, if someone has a history of eating disorder, such as anorexia, then they also should avoid fasting.

Again, its primarily for an otherwise healthy person who needs to shed some weight/fat. That means if they have hypoglycemia, diabetes, etc...

Like ANY form of caloric deficit (aka "a diet") the person should also be involved in a resistance exercise program, lifting weights, in order to encourage the body to keep its muscle.

 

I completely disagree. I do not think fasting should be used under any circumstance. It's dangerous. You feel it in your body. Even waking up becomes painful. The idea that it's promoted makes me want to cry.
My Dad was overweight and was able to lose weight without any extreme diet. I do not see why extremes such as fasting should be used.
It's dangerous. It's not normal. It also means that once the person goes back to regular eating, their body just stores every calorie for fat in a "panic mode".

 

Every body is different. My metabolism is so fast, I'd fall over if I tried to purposely skip meals.

 

Everybody here is resorting to extremes... the extremely overweight and the extremely underweight. Stop thinking in extremes.

Just walk around Wal-Mart... your lower to middle class, how many people there are either? Not a majority. The majority of people I see are overweight... not extremely obese but just looking at them, you can tell they are not living a healthy lifestyle. THAT has become the norm and THAT is what should be combated. The extremes, the people who have real problems, that is a different situation altogether... I'm talking about the normal people who are just either ignorant to how to maintain a healthy lifestyle or just are too "busy" to bother. I use the word busy rather loosely.

 

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

try not to cry.

 

Those who disagree with other's methods... you have to realize that while we are all biologically the same, your body reacts differently to stimuli than his, than hers, than mine. Basically, if it works and you are not doing it in an unhealthy way, then do what works.