tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3955304210599373230.post4889196424487844766..comments2024-03-28T17:50:40.478+00:00Comments on Fuse open science blog: Forgive me father for I have sinned…Fusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167289608282259405noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3955304210599373230.post-52317172933420493482014-01-09T15:01:21.020+00:002014-01-09T15:01:21.020+00:00Really enjoyable blog. Thanks very much.Really enjoyable blog. Thanks very much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3955304210599373230.post-78769461921141193512014-01-05T15:49:31.229+00:002014-01-05T15:49:31.229+00:00You raise another interesting point regarding why ...You raise another interesting point regarding why someone who is morbidly obese might choose not to go “for a long walk or lift some weights”. I would counter by asking you if since your loss of 70 lbs do you feel that you have more or less energy? Undoubtedly you now feel greatly more energetic and hence our presumed understanding of causation is wrong; people are not fat because they are lazy, they are lazy because they are fat! They are trapped in a cycle, which is incredibly difficult to break and there are powerful stakeholders that are incredibly happy with the status quo. <br /><br />Now at what point do you start to blame the individual? There is strong evidence that shows that if you’re overweight as a child there is a very high chance you will be overweight as an adult, therefore taking your standpoint should we “look down upon” obese children, tell them to “take responsibility” for their weight status? Clearly unethical and unfair as we know they are highly dependent on the support of their family and others, so if not them, should we focus on the parents? This assumes a position that parents are knowingly feeding food that is killing their children, which defies any understanding of human nature. For me, a more feasible argument would contend that we know obesity is strongly associated to lower socio-economic groups and for many there is a struggle to afford sufficient nutrition for the family and the cheapest and most accessible sources of food tend to be those that are most weight gain inducing. In addition if you had read the number of studies that I have you would be surprised and amazed and hopefully disappointed and upset at many people’s lack of knowledge regarding good nutrition, which must be rectified by educational bodies.<br /><br />I understand that we have a fundament differing of opinion; self Vs society, but I suggest that you look a little deeper as to how the discussion has been framed and arguments formed. But back to the final point of the post, surely you must want to see an end to this epidemic? If not out of compassion for your fellow man, but to curtail the billions in taxes that are spent in both preventative measures and treatment of the sick.Louis Goffehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16071392673995703102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3955304210599373230.post-64141799820784828492014-01-05T15:48:25.937+00:002014-01-05T15:48:25.937+00:00Custador, thank you for reading the post and moreo...Custador, thank you for reading the post and moreover for taking the time to comment. I believe your strong views echo many, if not the majority, on the issues raised regarding obesity. I am not so pompous that I wish to “educate” but I would like to offer further thoughts and an alternative view to why I no longer agree with your beliefs.<br /><br />First I would like to congratulate you on the incredible achievement of losing so much weight and I wish you well in the bigger battle you face in keeping the weight off as the overwhelming evidence suggests that this will be the tougher challenge.<br /><br />You’re right to point out that genetics cannot be blamed, but equally they cannot be ignored. Twin studies clearly demonstrate the huge variability in one’s capacity to put on weight and therefore generic, universal guidance as to what one can eat is dated and dangerous especially if it’s advocating that the effects of a can of soda can be balanced out by doing some ironing.<br /><br />Your personal strategy of “taking responsibility for your own decisions” has worked and I by no means wish to detract from this but I am advocating that there are others that should also accept their role in the epidemic. Your motivation for weight loss will have come from one of two sources; health concerns over the potentially fatal comorbidities or a high degree of self-hatred regarding body image and I suspect it is the latter due to your lack of compassion for those suffering from morbid obesity and who most likely face an early death.<br /><br />No one actively chooses to be overweight and no animal in their natural habitat, bar those entering hibernation, carries excess weight, therefore logic dictates that our environment is imparting a great influence.<br /><br />As I did, I suggest you ask yourself some tough questions. When you were eating, what you term as “shit”, you evidently knew it was doing you harm, therefore why did you continue to do so? What were the properties of the food that made it difficult for you to stop? If it was so blinding obvious to you, why did you have to gain 70 lbs to realise this self-evident fact? <br /><br />I would contend that sugar is highly addictive and highly conducive to weight gain. Food companies know this and they are manipulative both in the manufacture of their products to optimise such properties and also how they are marketed. If you were willing I would love for you to do a one day experiment in which you count how many times you encounter an advert for “shit” food, be it on the internet, TV or while you are out taking exercise and compare it to how often you see a promotion of healthy food. Think how a drug addict might respond to the equivalent level of marketing of illicit narcotics.Louis Goffehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16071392673995703102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3955304210599373230.post-44386254832804744452013-12-20T10:49:55.693+00:002013-12-20T10:49:55.693+00:00How strange that when I stopped eating shit and st...How strange that when I stopped eating shit and started exercising regularly I lost 70 lbs. Turns out I needn't have bothered, because my deeply unhealthy weight wasn't my fault, it was "MUH GENETICS!" and the fact that I chose to eat chocolate rather than fruit was the fault of Big Gastro.<br /><br />Here I went to all the hassle of taking responsibility for my own decisions, realising that my life is my own, and internalising my locus of control.<br /><br />Instead I should have just accepted that my weight and health were totally out of my control.<br /><br />And heaven forbid that I should look down upon super-morbidly obese people who refuse to even attempt to acknowledge that nobody's force feeding them or preventing them at gunpoint from occasionaly going for a long walk or lifting some weights.<br /><br />And how silly of me for thinking that mass can't just magically appear on the hunan body in the form of fat without said human body a) consuming it and b) failing to burn it.<br /><br />You really educated me with this. Thanks. I'll go have a KFC now, because my weight, health and body-composition isn't within my own control anyway, so I may as well binge on grease and sodium.Custadorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14362423590308507956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3955304210599373230.post-9975013584303571852013-12-19T14:12:15.131+00:002013-12-19T14:12:15.131+00:00Thanks Rich, glad you enjoyed itThanks Rich, glad you enjoyed itLouis Goffehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16071392673995703102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3955304210599373230.post-71673134248092864362013-12-18T20:58:13.375+00:002013-12-18T20:58:13.375+00:00Excellent article Mr Goffe and one I will be consi...Excellent article Mr Goffe and one I will be considering very seriously as I'm on a mission to clean up my diet with refined sugar reduction number one priority.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03459660768822682255noreply@blogger.com