MetaFilter posts tagged with obesity

Weight x Distance = Flight Cost.

modernnomad — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:04:15 -0800

Samoa Air announces it will start charging passengers by weight.

Bunny Bounced

Artw — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 08:22:16 -0800

The true secret of Easter - but are toys replacing candy (or, more awfully, live animals) as the traditional Easter gift? And is that a bad thing?

Robert Lustig girds for war.

rhombus — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 03:11:33 -0800

Everyone's favourite shit-disturbing pediatric endocrinologist recently became a published author of popular science. He's not doing it for money, and given the upturned noses of some of his brethren, probably not for love, either. The parade of overweight kids passing through his clinic at UCSF's Benioff Children's keeps getting longer, and the man is angry. So angry, he's going to law school to help quarterback the fight against the processed food industry himself. Previously.

291 diseases and injuries + 67 risk factors + 1,160 non-fatal complications = 650 million estimates of how we age, sicken, and die

hat — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:08:08 -0800

As humans live longer, what ails us isn't necessarily what kills us: five data visualizations of how we age, sicken, and die. Causes of death by age, sex, region, and year. Heat map of leading causes and risks by region. Changes in leading causes and risks between 1990 and 2010. Healthy years lost to disability vs. life expectancy in 1990 and 2010. Uncertainties of causes and risks. From the team for the massive Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010. The data visualizations page also includes a large number of static figures from the GBD 2010 study. The GBD 2010 team at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent global health research center at the University of Washington, "spent almost 5 years building [the database of causes of death]; we have included almost 800 million deaths from 1950 to 2010, and the data come from different sources," resulting in "the biggest database for cause of death analysis in the world," according to Rafael Lozano at the University of Washington. The GBD 2010 includes:

291 diseases and injuries
67 risk factors
1,160 sequelae (nonfatal health consequences)
Estimates for 21 regions
Estimates for 20 age groups

Takeaway points from the press release (emphasis mine):

Child mortality has dropped by more than 60%, falling "so quickly that it has beaten every published prediction," though diarrhea and other infectious diseases still kill well over a million children under the age of 5 every year.
Deaths among adults aged 15 to 49 increased by 44% between 1970 and 2010, "in part because of increases in violence and the ongoing challenge of HIV/AIDS."
Undernutrition has "successfully been cut by two-thirds," and now physical inactivity and macronutrient overnutrition contribute to a 10%-and-rising fraction of the disease burden.

However,

The trends identified in GBD 2010 occur across regions with one notable exception: sub-Saharan Africa, where infectious diseases, childhood illnesses, and maternal causes of death account for as much as 70% of the burden of disease. By comparison, these conditions account for only one-third of the burden in south Asia and Oceania, and less than 20% in all other regions.

Research findings from the main publication summary (emphasis mine):

In 2010, the three leading risk factors for global disease burden were high blood pressure [...]; followed by tobacco smoking, including secondhand smoke [...]; and alcohol use [...] This reflects a substantial change from 1990 when the leading risk factors were childhood underweight [...]; followed by household air pollution from use of solid fuels [...]; and tobacco smoking, including secondhand smoke [...].
Regional differences are significant. While much of the world is burdened by obesity and high body mass index, underweight is still the leading risk factor in sub‐Saharan Africa. Other prevalent risk factors in the region include household air pollution and nonexclusive and discontinued breastfeeding.
Although child undernutrition has fallen significantly as a risk factor for all ages, it remained the leading risk factor worldwide in 2010 for children under 5, accounting for 12.4% of global DALYs [disability‐adjusted life years], followed by nonexclusive or discontinued breastfeeding at 7.6%.
A number of risks that primarily affect childhood communicable diseases, including unsafe water and sanitation and micronutrient deficiencies, declined in significance in the past 20 years, with unsafe water and sanitation accounting for only 0.9% of global DALYs in 2010.
At the same time, GBD 2010 findings show the importance of household air pollution from solid fuels and ambient particulate matter pollution as major risk factors. One or both rank in the top 10 as causes of disease burden in 13 of the 21 regions. In south Asia, they are the leading cause of burden.

From the Guardian's reporting (more: 1, 2, 3):

Since 1970 the largest gains in life expectancy have taken place in the Maldives (27.3 years for men and 29.4 years for women) and improvements in life expectancy at birth in excess of 20 years were recorded in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, and Peru. But life expectancy fell by one to seven years in Zimbabwe and Lesotho, where populations were severely affected by HIV/Aids, and for men in Ukraine and Belarus, where an alcohol crisis took hold.

If you'd like to read the papers themselves, the full text is currently available for free (but registration required) at The Lancet. In addition to the data visualizations, the IHME provides GBD 2010 publication summaries: Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Healthy life expectancy for 187 countries, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Age‐specific and sex‐specific mortality in 187 countries, 1970–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1,160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

Common values in assessing health outcomes from disease and injury: disability weights measurement study for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010
Each of the data visualizations again:

Causes of death by age, sex, region, and year
Heat map of leading causes and risks by region
Changes in leading causes and risks between 1990 and 2010
Healthy years lost to disability vs. life expectancy in 1990 and 2010
Uncertainties of causes and risks

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation adds,

The findings are being announced at the Royal Society in London on Dec. 14 and published in The Lancet, the first time the journal has dedicated an entire triple issue to one study.

The Lancet includes The story of GBD 2010: a “super-human” effort:

“Running the programs to map the data to our cause list of 291 causes and correcting the bias can take days, even using a powerful cluster of more than 100 computers. The data that we have to store after the modelling process can take 3 terabytes.” [Rafael] Lozano estimates that the storage needed for the causes of death data was 400 times bigger than that for GBD 1990 [...] Majid Ezzati, chair in global and environmental health at the School of Public Health, Imperial College London, UK, told The Lancet, As researchers, we tend to believe that more ‘data’ are better than less. I still believe so. But more data, but not all the perfect data we could wish for, means that we need to fundamentally think differently about when to stop searching for more and how to use it [...] The study brought out the well-known but far too frequently overlooked issue that people of different scientific traditions—clinicians, basic scientists, epidemiologists, and quantitative scientists—think and speak differently about the same problem. This can of course be a very powerful resource for bringing together different ways of looking at a problem and solving in the most comprehensive and interesting way—a true systems approach. It can also be a challenge, and at times a source of tension.

(Previously on the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation: Is there a market for years?)

"Look At Me Now"

zarq — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:47:16 -0800

American paratrooper Arthur Boorman suffered debilitating injuries during the first Gulf War. Doctors told him he'd never walk unassisted again. 15 years later.... There's an extended version of his video on YouTube. Both were posted by retired wrestler "Diamond Dallas" Page, (wikipedia) who founded and runs the referenced yoga center. Page had suffered similar injuries during his career. But these videos were actually created for a documentary movie that is now in post-production, which highlights similar journeys and transformational weight loss by others: Inspired: The Movie (autoplaying music). The production team has posted additional snippets and interviews from the movie to YouTube Mr. Boorman was interviewed by Good Morning America in May. (autoplaying video)

I would have come up with a better title if I could bother to lift my chubby fingers to the keyboard

twoleftfeet — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 22:58:38 -0800

Rapid Increase of Worldwide Laziness as Global Physical Activity Levels Decline. According to this study, most of the world just sits around getting fat now.

Why the British are on average 3 stone (42 lbs) heavier than in the 60s

peacheater — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 07:45:23 -0800

Why our food is making us fat (Guardian article by Jacques Peretti): Why are we so fat? We have not become greedier as a race. We are not, contrary to popular wisdom, less active – a 12-year study, which began in 2000 at Plymouth hospital, measured children's physical activity and found it the same as 50 years ago. But something has changed: and that something is very simple. It's the food we eat. More specifically, the sheer amount of sugar in that food, sugar we're often unaware of. Later: The food industry had its eyes on the creation of a new genre of food, something they knew the public would embrace with huge enthusiasm, believing it to be better for their health – "low fat". It promised an immense business opportunity forged from the potential disaster of heart disease. But, says Lustig, there was a problem. "When you take the fat out of a recipe, food tastes like cardboard, and you need to replace it with something – that something being sugar." Overnight, new products arrived on the shelves that seemed too good to be true. Low-fat yoghurts, spreads, even desserts and biscuits. All with the fat taken out, and replaced with sugar. Peretti is also responsible for making a 3-part BBC2 documentary entitled the The Men Who Made Us Fat -- unfortunately does not appear to be available outside the UK.

No soda for you

roomthreeseventeen — Thu, 31 May 2012 06:47:00 -0800

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts. Mr. Bloomberg’s proposal requires the approval of the Board of Health, a step that is considered likely because the members are all appointed by him, and the board’s chairman is the city’s health commissioner, who joined the mayor in supporting the measure on Wednesday.

The Weight of a Nation

stratastar — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:49:38 -0800

Consequences, Choices, Children in Crisis, Challenges. HBO’s multi-part research documentary The Weight of the Nation examines obesity in America in four parts, marshaling leading doctors, epidemiologists, economists, researchers, and community leaders to understand and explain the individual costs and public solutions to a multi-faceted social and individual problem. The documentary both explores large picture statistics, while giving voice “to those that often too seek to be invisible: members of the nearly 70 percent of Americans currently diagnosed as overweight or obese. (AV Club Review)” Also included online: Twelve bonus short films. A policy report on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention. HBO will also air “The Great Cafeteria Takeover” about students involved with Rethinkers “Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools” who “convinced Aramark to deliver locally grown produce” (AVclub ibid) to their school. Trailer / HuffPo Article Bonus : 60 Minutes interview with Dr. Nora Volkow on Hooked Why bad habits are hard to break, and not character defects.

One Big Mac plus another Big Mac....

Ruthless Bunny — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:31:10 -0800

That the conventional wisdom of 3,500 calories less is what it takes to lose a pound of weight is wrong. The body changes as you lose. Interestingly, we also found that the fatter you get, the easier it is to gain weight. An extra 10 calories a day puts more weight onto an obese person than on a thinner one. Carson C. Chow deploys mathematics to solve the everyday problems of real life. As an investigator at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, he tries to figure out why 1 in 3 Americans are obese. Here is a link to the LBM Body Weight Simulator.

This Week In 'What Is Wrong With Black Women'

hermitosis — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:40:03 -0800

Nichelle Gainer (whose Vintage Black Glamour blog was seen previously on MeFi) responds insightfully to a NY Times editorial by author Alice Randall called "Why Black Women Are Fat."

"Maybe we should call it a food swamp rather than a desert."

2N2222 — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:38:04 -0800

The food desert has been a regular topic here on MetaFilter, posts about which often highlight a particular narrative about the effects of meager food choices for poorer urban communities, negatively affecting health and choice among low income people. Though not always. Some new studies indicate the situation in the US might be more like the latter, not quite as dire as is usually asserted. "two new studies have found something unexpected. Such neighborhoods not only have more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than more affluent ones, but more grocery stores, supermarkets and full-service restaurants, too. And there is no relationship between the type of food being sold in a neighborhood and obesity among its children and adolescents." As usual, it 's complicated.

Baloney Mass Index

2bucksplus — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:04:44 -0800

A new study conducted by Dr. Eric Braverman, president of the nonprofit Path Foundation in New York City, and Dr. Nirav Shah, New York State’s Commissioner of Health suggests that the Body Mass Index significantly underestimates the rate of obesity in America, especially for women. Based on BMI, about one-third of Americans are considered obese, but when other methods of measuring obesity are used, that number may be closer to 60%. Dr. Braverman and Dr. Shah used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning equipment to evaluate body composition. While BMI is a simple ratio of a person’s height and weight, the DEXA scan, normally used to measure bone density, can distinguish between bone, fat and muscle mass. Among the study participants, about half of women who were not classified as obese according to their BMI actually were obese when their body fat percentage was taken into account. Among the men, in contrast, about a quarter of obese men had been missed by BMI. Further, a quarter who were categorized as obese by BMI were not considered obese based on their body fat percentage. Overall, about 39% of participants who were classified as overweight by their BMI were actually obese, according to their percent body fat. The full study, Measuring Adiposity in Patients: The Utility of Body Mass Index (BMI), Percent Body Fat, and Leptin, is available on PLoS ONE, an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science.

Why the Obesity Issue Might Be More Complex Than We Think

The ____ of Justice — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:13:02 -0800

The Link Between Adult Obesity and Childhood Trauma (Time magazine article) Felitti wondered if there was something similar barring weight loss in other patients — or causing obesity itself. In the late '80s, he began a systematic study of 286 obese people, and discovered that 50% had been sexually abused as children. That rate is more than 50% higher than the rate normally reported by women, and more than triple the average rate in men....

STOP BEING SKINNY AND TIRED!

nangar — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:37:01 -0800

Ask for Amazing WATE-ON. Retronaut's collection of dietary supplement ads offers some historical perspective on the obesity epidemic.

It's amazing how many calories, vitamins, minerals, sources of energy and other body-building nutrients can be condensed all in one delicious food tablet! For faster more sure weight gains, a complete WATE-ON body-building plan and high calorie diet suggestions are included ...

Short article, with the same tile, by Travis Saunders (via).

The Widening of the American Commuter

Renoroc — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:09:31 -0800

Transit Agencies Face the New Calculus of Broader Backsides

My Big Fat Environment

mobunited — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:15:37 -0800

As discussion rages over what to do about rising obesity rates, scientists study environmental toxins called obesogens. Last night, Canadian program The Nature of Things aired Programmed to Be Fat? The documentary admits the fatty pitfalls of Western living, but asks that if this is the only factor, why has infant obesity risen 73% in the past 20 years? Babies aren't terrific Big Mac consumers. Chemicals can make you fat for all sorts of reasons, but the documentary focuses on endocrine disruptors -- chemicals that are all around us. Some, such as BPA, are well-known, but what about the flame-retardant coating on your TV? And of course, even if you don't get fat, there's always the magic of epigenetics, putting the pounds on your kids. By all means, stick to your workouts and watch what you eat, but consider that there may be more to it than calories in, calories burnt, and that fat shaming might not be the one-stop solution to the problem. But let's not end on a down note. If you need inspiration for lifelong fitness regardless of the numerous obstacles before us, look no further than Nature of Things host David Suzuki himself, a senior citizen trim and resplendent in a maple leaf and nothing else.

"My doctor says I have something called hypertension," she says. "I'm really scared."

edguardo — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:01:56 -0800

Stark billboards and television commercials that feature overweight kids are part of a controversial anti-obesity campaign in Atlanta. The goal of the "Stop Sugarcoating It, Georgia" ads is to shock families into recognizing that obesity is a problem.

Fat: The Gift that Keeps On Giving

Keter — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:41:46 -0800

The Fat Trap (NYT pop review): Overweight individuals in Western nations (and, increasingly, beyond) face interpersonal and institutional stigma for their bodies*. Oftentimes, these stigmas are predicated on the belief that being overweight is a moral failure, that being overweight is usually a result of laziness, decadence, and/or characterlogical poor impulse control. However, an emerging consensus among obesity researchers points toward strong, common physiological and individual genetic factors as causative for heightened BMIs in the modern world and the general failure of dieting to produce BMI outcomes. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine (paywalled) adds to this body of evidence, suggesting that chemical messengers held to contribute to altered "efficient" metabolism and increased hunger in the wake of low-calorie dieting are (on average) significantly elevated up to a full year (if not longer) following a substantial drop in weight from dieting. Caloric restriction as in dieting has been consistently shown both to decrease basal and activity-induced energy expenditure, leptin, and cholecystokinin and to increase levels of ghrelin and hunger, all of which likely contribute to weight regain. Reductions in energy expenditure have been displayed to persist for up to a year. This paper is the first to suggest that not only reduced energy expenditure but also deleterious hormonal changes persist far after initial weight loss has taken place. Subjects were originally overweight to obese, had participated in a liquid diet weight-loss plan under medical supervision over a ten-week period and were provided with weight-maintenance advice and nutritional counseling during a 1-year follow-up. On average, subjects did manage to keep some (though not all) of the weight off (avg. -7.9kg, though less when including intention-to-treat group of individuals who did not successfully complete the first weight-loss phase of the study). These results may help to explain the common finding that most people who diet fail to maintain , regaining some, all, or more weight, (both paywalled) Some, however, keep their goals, frequently through sustained lifestyle changes including near-daily exercise, dietary changes (e.g. portion control, wholesale elimination of certain food-groups), and weekly-to-daily weight monitoring. (Though there is nothing approaching a consensus as to what extent the ability to effect these changes is independent of socioeconomic class, employment, daily time burden, personal history, and the biological factors in question.) Some additional points and related articles (summarized well in the main link): - Having lost at least 5kg through dieting in the past may be associated later in life with higher BMI above and beyond the influences of initial BMI and genetic interactions. - On a population level, BMI may be anywhere from around 40% to 80% inheritable for modern humans, the latter being the same inheritability as height. Genetic factors appear to influence not just energy intake and reward from eating, but also to what extent caloric content is retained as fat and the efficiency of general metabolism. At least individual 32 genetic loci have been associated with risk for being overweight or obese, with some possibly operating in a linearly additive manner to explain variance in BMI. One of the most well-studied genetic polymorphisms (FTO: the fat mass and obesity-associated protein) predisposing to higher BMIs is present with at least one gene copy in roughly 65% of the Caucasian and African-American population, with less prevalence (27-44%) in Asian-American populations. - Identical twins tend to either over-gain or under-gain weight relative to caloric intake at similar rates in response to controlled overfeeding. (They also tend toward similar body-weight distribution gain in response to said overfeeding.) Similarly, identical twins show large amounts of homogeneity within pairs in terms of weight loss and metabolic efficiency. * (Such stigma, in fact, may be rather counteproductive if encouraging weight-loss is the goal of the stigmatizers.)

"The Fat Just Walks Away"

2manyusernames — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:10:26 -0800

Obese monkeys lose weight by new drug that kills off fat cells. Adipotide is the newest weapon in the war on obesity. Unlike other weight-loss drugs that try to suppress appetite, boost one's metabolism, or block the absorption of fat, Adipotide blocks the blood supply that feeds fatty tissue. Studies show monkeys lost 11% of their body weight after 4 weeks of treatment.

Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit

Sassyfras — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 08:22:55 -0800

Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit "My goal is to inspire people to get fit, teach them how to do it and give them hope that it IS possible to get fit and stay fit. " Drew Manning, a personal trainer, has voluntarily and consciously decided to gain a bunch of weight in a 6-month period. He's eating, not exercising. So far he's gone from a 6'2", 193 body to a 6'2" 269 lb. body and has added quite a few inches. "People that are overweight have to overcome both physical and emotional barriers when it comes to losing weight. I hope to have a better understanding of this through my experience over the next year. Also, I hope to better gain an understanding of how hard it really is to be overweight. I know it’s only going to be for 6 months, but at least it’ll give me a small window of the physical and emotional issues that come with being overweight." He's not the only one to try this. Paul James a personal trainer from Australia also went to this extreme. "A lot of my clients have been skipping classes," he said of the motivation behind his burgeoning pudge. "I decided I really didn't understand what they were feeling and their emotions."

Have a Coke and a Smile (assuming you have any teeth left).

ga4ry — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:30:25 -0800

You know those Coke Freestyle machines? Where you can make your own combos? Like, 127 of them? The folks at Serious Eats visit a Brooklyn Five Guys, drink a ridiculous amount of soda and other HFCS-laden drinks, and find the best combination.

"Believe it or not, Twinkies have an expiration date. Some day very soon, Life's little Twinkie gauge is gonna go... empty."

Fizz — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:49:39 -0800

Taxpayers in the San Francisco area spend $2,762,295 each year in junk food subsidies, but only $41,950 each year on apple subsidies. [LATIMES] A new report released this week has found that, among the billions of dollars spent each year in federal subsidies for commodity crops, a steady flow of these taxpayer dollars are going to support high fructose corn syrup and three other common food additives used in junk food. The report, “Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food” by CALPIRG and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, studies the interesting question of whether the nation's problem with obesity is fueled by farm subsidies.

The cost of healthy food

Brandon Blatcher — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 04:27:47 -0800

Food Fight: Does Healthy Food Have to Be More Expensive? In which the blog Get Rich Slowly chronicles an argument about nutrition vs cost and then invites readers to chime in.

"We've built inactivity into our lifestyles. We've designed communities around cars,"

Fizz — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:50:20 -0800

Obesity Epidemic Grows: [CNN.com] "Two-thirds of all adults and about a third of all children and teenagers in the United States are overweight or obese according to a report release Thursday by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). According to "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011,"[PDF] adult obesity increased in 16 states during the past year and rates soared to 30% or more in these 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. Four years ago, only one state - Mississippi - had an adult obesity rate of more than 30%. No state showed a decrease in it obesity rate in Thursday's report."