Obesity and the NHS

[TheAnimus]

I don't see any 'false assumptions'. We all more or less agree that how much calories we put into our body is a major factor in weight gain. I've mentioned that I believe (though do not advocate*) that one can lose weight with hardly any exercise, I reckon that TheAnimus is more active than the average person in this country, so he blames his size on portion size.

And the drinking!

The problem is I really like food, I'm a bit of a foodie, at home, at work, and in the evenings. I'll go out three or four times a week (I love been single at times!) for a good meal. I've ticked off most of the restraunts in central London I feel I should eat at (I don't generally go for celeb places, thou I must admit some of the more trendy places do deserve their acolaides!), and also done silly things such as tried every vietnamese within Zone 2 (I was thinking of making a google map with pictures and raitings of the Pho).

But it is that simple in vs out. Its not hard to find time to keep fit, my time is probably more scarse than the average 25yo, you just have to be smart as to how you do it.

As I don't have any body issues, and am not in any real danger from my man flab belly, Its not really a concern. I just can't stand this helpless bullcrap about exercise only burning a few calories. 30 min of cardo is hardly worth the effort of going to the gym for, once you've got your pulse up you might as well keep it going even if your just doing upright rows, curls or a swim or something. My mum who has fibromialgre can manage some of these things!

[piggeh]

Can you link to some of the stuff which shows low carb high fat diets being bad for you? Mostly from what I've read it's a case of having around 100g of carbs a day and rest as fat/protein. Atkins takes it to a more extreme level (less than 50g of carbs a day).

As I understand it, carb rich food is more readily turned into blood sugar and your body reacts by pumping out more insulin. Insulin is the trigger that then tells this to be stored in fat cells. Whereas fats/protein do not have this effect.

Logically thinking the fact humans have been eating high fat low carb diets for hundreds of thousands of years suggests that's what they've been adapted to cope with the best. Modern diet in stone age belly = bad news.

[roachcoach]

Personally I think they need to straighten their definitions out.

"Overweight"/"Obese" to most folks I know is considerably heavier than the bag of epic fail which is BMI. I wont quote my own personal stats to eliminate the possibility of being considered bragging however any system to indicate "healthy weight" which puts almost every professional (and probably non pro too) athlete in the overweight/obese category is so ridiculous that the general public wont give it credence. They screw up binge drinking too - 3 pints of strong lager is officially "binge" drinking..Errrm, no. No it isn't, not to any sensible human being.

If they sort their definitions, people might pay more heed.

With regards to folks so big ambulances etc cant carry them - it's a minefield - especially if they decide to implement some system based on BMI. If I bust myself up mountain biking I can live without some policy either charging me, or refusing me service because I fall into a box based on a shocking system.