Hold onto your exploding heads... a new definition of fat... and you're not going to like it

Yay I’m not fat anymore!

This thread will near 600 posts by lunch and then go silent.

But I don’t WANNA “Create a FREE account to read this article“.

Since excess body fat generally does have an effect, fatties are still fatties. Sorry, HAESers.

[quote] one that cannot simply be resolved by eating less and exercising more.

Well of course not. Everyone knows that formula will only put on weight. Pfft.

And that's exactly why it's called Canaduhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ouch!

Ian Patton, one of the authors and the director of advocacy and public engagement at Obesity Canada, has encountered his fair share of weight discrimination.

Despite excelling in sports, he was bullied for his size while growing up. Obesity did not become a health issue for him until he approached his 30s and struggled with hypertension and severe sleep apnea. He lacked energy, had constant pain and was always out of breath.

Dr. Patton, who is a registered kinesiologist and exercise physiologist, tried countless diets and supplements and turned to various dietitians and doctors, but found no real help until he was referred to a bariatric program.

Part of the problem, he explained, is that health professionals often instantly judge people with obesity as “stupid and lazy and not worthy of equal care.”

I can't read the article due to the paywall but many people with significant or long term obesity are unable to just eat less and move more. There are too many psychological components to obesity and the other health difficulties that arise from obesity further impair their ability to eat less and move more. Obesity needs medical intervention and treatment. A nutritionist can be very helpful. Sometimes surgery is needed. For some it is a true eating disorder. People become obese for complex reasons. Almost everyone with obesity has at some point or many points tried to eat less and move more - and yet they are still obese.

[quote]People become obese for complex reasons. Almost everyone with obesity has at some point or many points tried to eat less and move more - and yet they are still obese.

Utter rubbish! The vast majority of people are obese because of way too much fatty, sugary food being shoveled in to their mouths and way too little movement of their bodies. The rest is a poor attempt to rationalize a bad habit.

The text... are paywalls now invoked automatically everywhere? In my day it was just asshole publications like the WSJ and The Times wouldn't even cop you a free first five.

Obesity is not defined by one’s weight or size, but by whether a person’s body fat impairs their health, according to new clinical guidelines for managing the condition.

The guidelines, developed by the Obesity Canada and the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons, describe obesity as a complex chronic disease, one that cannot simply be resolved by eating less and exercising more. And while obesity is traditionally defined as having a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or more, the authors offer a new definition.

“It’s not about the amount of body fat, it’s not about where the body fat is. It’s not about the type of body fat,” said Arya Sharma, scientific director of Obesity Canada and one of the more than 60 authors. “It’s just a very, very simple question. And that is: Does this person’s body fat or excess body fat affect their health? If it does, we’ve got obesity. If it doesn’t, we just have a large person with a lot of body fat.”

The guidelines, summarized in a paper published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Tuesday, reflect a paradigm shift in approaching obesity, with a focus on improving patients’ health rather than merely on weight loss.

Traditionally, doctors and other health experts have regarded obesity as a risk factor for other health conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and sleep apnea. While this still holds true, in recent years, a growing number experts have also come to recognize that obesity itself is a chronic disease, one that is caused by myriad genetic, metabolic, behavioural and environmental factors, Dr. Sharma explained.

“It’s not as simple as to say that people are getting fat because they’re eating junk food. No, it’s a lot more complex than that,” he said, explaining people’s bodies resist losing weight and regain it as soon as they quit adhering to any kind of diet or weight-loss strategy. “That’s what makes this a chronic condition. … You’re always going to be fighting this pretty much for the rest of your life.”

All of this has implications for how doctors should assess, treat and manage obesity, the authors said, drawing on more than 500,000 published peer-reviewed scientific articles.

Doctors should still measure patients’ weight, height, waist circumference and BMI as part of routine physical exams, they said, but noted physicians should dig deeper to identify the root causes of weight gain. They recommended taking additional measurements, such as blood pressure, fasting glucose and a lipid panel, as well as other exams and tests, depending on the doctors’ clinical judgment.

Adults with obesity should receive individualized care that makes sense for them over the long term, said Dr. Sharma, whose organization connects members of the public affected by obesity, researchers, health professionals and others with an interest in the health concern.

In addition to managing nutrition and physical activity, this can involve a combination of psychological and behavioural interventions, such as cognitive therapy, as well as medications and bariatric surgery.

The guidelines also emphasize the need to address bias and discrimination against individuals based on their weight. Misconceptions that people with obesity lack willpower or motivation persist among health care professionals, and even among patients themselves, which can be a barrier to effective treatment, Dr. Sharma said.

“There’s this idea that if you’re using medication or using surgery, then you’re somehow cheating,” he said.

Yet he noted no one would think someone is cheating or “taking the easy way out” if they took insulin for diabetes or received a kidney transplant if they had chronic kidney disease.

Ian Patton, one of the authors and the director of advocacy and public engagement at Obesity Canada, has encountered his fair share of weight discrimination.

Despite excelling in sports, he was bullied for his size while growing up. Obesity did not become a health issue for him until he approached his 30s and struggled with hypertension and severe sleep apnea. He lacked energy, had constant pain and was always out of breath.

Dr. Patton, who is a registered kinesiologist and exercise physiologist, tried countless diets and supplements and turned to various dietitians and doctors, but found no real help until he was referred to a bariatric program.

Part of the problem, he explained, is that health professionals often instantly judge people with obesity as “stupid and lazy and not worthy of equal care.” In addition, most doctors in Canada receive very little training in obesity management, and those who specialize in obesity medicine are few, he said.

As a result, “the advice that we get, in general, tends to be the same crap that you hear from everyone else” – that is, to eat less and move more, he said.

Mehran Anvari, a professor of surgery at McMaster University in Hamilton and chair of the Ontario Bariatric Network, who was not one of the authors, said guidelines such as this are needed, since obesity remains poorly understood and poorly treated in Canada. Access to bariatric programs varies across the country, he said, noting he hoped to see more medical, surgical and dietary services for obesity in areas where patients are inadequately served.

Sasha High, an internal medicine specialist and medical director of the High Metabolic Clinic in Mississauga, who also was not involved in the guidelines, added that provincial health plans do not cover medications for treating obesity, which can be cost prohibitive.

Many insurance companies also do not cover them because they do not consider a obesity to be a chronic disease, she said. Yet medications can play an important role in treating the underlying biology, including brain and hormonal changes, behind disrupted weight regulation.

Dr. High also said it is important to focus on preventing obesity in the first place. “Once we’ve gained the weight, it’s actually harder to lose it,” she said.

We're not going to like it? You apparently haven't met many Americans, have you? This news will be met with great joy.

Unless you're referring to the skinny bitchy eldercunts on this site who relish feeling superior to overweight people, in which case yeah, I doubt they're going to like this.

But do you [bold]identify[/bold] as fat?

Transfat takes on all new meaning.

"I consider myself healthy...despite facts."

What's your speciality, Dr. R9? Do you ignore the science in all things or just to reinforce your prejudices?

R15 Invokes "science" as yet another rationale for a bad habit.

Well, sixty experts were part of the report. I don't reckon they signed on just for the fun of ruining their professional reputations, but, yes, as like. Making a fool of yourself seems something you're comfortable with. Indeed!

Yeah yeah fatties.

R9 let me give you an example of an obese teen I know. He experienced something quite traumatic as a child. His mother felt very guilty and her way of appeasing that guilt was to give him treats and candy because as a little kid - those made him happy. She bought him unlimited amounts of junk and as a young child not knowing better he ate it. She herself has a very unhealthy relationship with food and is very thin due to her disordered eating. The teen is now 14 and weighs 500 pounds. He has PTSD and depression and the only coping strategy he ever developed was to eat his feelings away or fill the emptiness with food. Eating makes him then feel even more depressed and depression takes away motivation and gives you fatigue. He has all kinds of joint pain and any activity leaves him short of breath and in pain.

There is no way saying eat less and move more would be effective in any way for this kid. He needs intensive therapy and medical intervention and a team of health professionals who can work with him and his mother to figure out a plan that will make him mentally and physically healthier. They do have people involved now and hopefully over time, he can develop a healthier relationship with food that will allow him to lose and maintain a healthy weight.

BMI is crap. Some guys who are pure muscle are labeled obese.

R17 "Experts" is subjective. Just more rationalizing a bad habit.

Well, whatever it is, it's gross.

R21 = MAGAt

Expertise is not subjective if you're a professional with conventionally accepted credentials. Dr. Fauci, an expert with conventionally accepted credentials. Dr. Hydroxy from Jamaica, not so much. R21, no expert, but definite proof how prejudice can outweigh truth.

Eh? This only applies to Canadians.

au revoir avoirdupois

'impairs health' is awfully broad. A simple panel of blood tests should meet the criteria in most cases.

But what a relief to have this judgment removed from the claws of the screaming and hissing queens in WeHo and Chelsea who live on Cristal and crystal.

But should fat whores rejoice?

Fat when young may not be a problem

However, the older you get the same fat starts causing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, joint destruction and other health issues.

I call BULL SHIT on the report.

So when a doctor tells a chubby bitch to lose weight or die of a heart attack, the heffer can now disagree with him?

I worked with a woman who had bariatric surgery at 23 years old. She went from 300 pounds to 200. She would say things like “when I WAS overweight...”. It was ridiculous. And she gained most of the weight back due to mental issues that were never addressed.

DL has the best definition, which is how a person looks. If a person has a bulge around the waistline or girthy thighs, they are fat and need to diet and exercise. An honest assessment from strangers willing to be critical is worth far more than any weight or BMI measurement.

I’m not fat... I have a different life choice!

Oh, chill. You're all doing to die anyway.

Yes, but we’re not trying to accelerate it.

And you think someone with an eating disorder is "trying to accelerate" his or her own death.

You are as impaired as they are, just in different ways.

DLers are okay with smoking and drinking too much but hate overweight people (even though I'd wager a bunch of people here are overweight). They like "cool" vices but not the uncool ones

I’ve been telling y’all for years!

Calm down, Dr. Freud at r36!

Fat is a richly nuanced, densely metaphorical word. You are fat, you have fat, you eat fat, you are fat-free, fat is you. Le fat, c’est moi.

You are obese, corpulent, fleshy, overblown, plump, ripe, chubby, portly, stout, stocky, beefy, ample, more-than-ample, burly, pudgy, tubby, heavy, thickset, round, blobby, big, big-boned, hefty, chunky, dumpy, rotund. Your clothes don’t fit.

You are fat.

Rejoice!

I don't really see how this is useful. Doesn't excess body fat invariably affect your health? Even if someone doesn't have obvious symptoms the damage is still being done.

[quote]DL has the best definition, which is how a person looks.

DL has the best definition of nothing on earth and if you are taking advice from here, God help you but you can at least stop wondering why the hell everything's going wrong.

Also, plenty of drugs and cumdumpery, R37. But that's okay when one looks 29.

Not me though.

I don't agree with all of the article but it does have a point. There is a difference between being fat, like Benna Flick and obese like Nell Carter.

You don't get to be that fat without having some mental health issues. It is like that funny line from the Roseanne show where Roseanne is critical of Jackie's problems with men. And she comes back with a line like "Yeah, unlike you and Dan who are happy and well adjusted and EACH WEIGH 300 POUNDS!"

[quote] DL has the best definition of nothing on earth and if you are taking advice from here, God help you but you can at least stop wondering why the hell everything's going wrong.

CLANG! We have a winner! Data Lounge Gold!

The video is incomplete, but one suspects one knows the reason for this.

Lots of people don't suffer the adverse affects of obesity until their 40s or what have you, but by then they're entrenched in their habits and losing weight is going to be that much more difficult. I think it's true that "exercise more and eat less" is an oversimplification because of the psychological processes involved, but unlike these doctors, apparently, I don't think it's a good idea to become obese in the first place and I think it's best to try to lose the weight even if it's not affecting you.

Eh, I'm not judging... I'm desperately trying to lose my last 10lbs (my ideal body weight is 140lb) and keeping under my caloric limit (1300 calories) is pretty tough and I can't do it without tracking. I bought a tub of haagen dazs thinking I'd just nibble at it and finished it in 2 days, thinking all the while how little self control I have!

Add on a life long habit of overeating, a dash of trauma and eating to cope... it's no wonder people can't stop themselves.

^^Frau.

R48: Also, many fat people don’t WANT to make the changes to lose weight. I have a friend who is always moaning about how she is fat, no dates, n man, clothes don’t fit, jealous that I lost all the weight and look good etc. When I tell her to cut out all the sugary foods as a first step to curb hunger, she refuses because she “can’t live” without her daily cookies, ice cream, venti caramel macchiato etc. and she stays fat. 🤦‍♂️ She just wants a pill or something quick and easy instead.

[quote] People become obese for complex reasons.

No, the majority of obese people just can't stop eating.

R52 is as big a simpleton as her answers.

Gluttony and sloth are complex?

R53 types obese.

Tell yourselves whatever you need to hear fat asses. When it comes to sexual attraction, the only thing that really matters, FAT IS FAT and ain't nobody want to fuck a fatty.

So I guess they will be getting rid of the body type filter on grindr, we all got to fuck a fatty and make them feel good for their lack of self control.

[quote] There is a difference between being fat, like Benna Flick and obese like Nell Carter.

Nell Carter?!

She was positively svelte.

R56, wrong. But I'm sure your personality makes up for your lack of intelligence.

MAÎTRE D’: Today we have, for appetizers moules marinières, pâté de foie gras, beluga caviar, eggs Benedictine, tart de poireaux, that's leek tart, frogs' legs amandine, or oeufs de caille Richard Shepherd, c’est à dire, little quails' eggs on a bed of puréed mushroom. It's very delicate, very subtle.

MR. CREOSOTE: I'll have the lot.

People need to be taught healthy eating.

Corporations aren't vested in this teaching.

Libertarians complain about government being a nanny state when it comes to sugar taxes, etc.

You can point at the fattie stuffing a cake in his face, but the system needs to be changed. Bottom line.

As does the content of so much of the food we eat. They are packing it with bad stuff, primarily sugar, and I predict in ten or twenty years it will be as big a scandal as tobacco back in the it's no problem days,

One thing the pandemic has taught me is how eating really well takes a fair amount of time, which when you're not under house arrest, with a job and traffic and all the time chews of normal life, is not easy. You finally get home and you're late, you're hungry and you've got a choice between really quick or not. One of the solutions, as a realist, is prepared food that doesn't fatten you.

[quote] but the system needs to be changed.

It’s systemic obeseism!!!!1!

[quote] They are packing it with bad stuff, primarily sugar,

Haven’t our parents, and their parents before them, been saying the same thing for decades?

[quote]People need to be taught healthy eating.

Absolutely! Just like smoking and drinking, the public needs to be harangued into being responsible for what they shovel into their mouths. That just like smoking leads to lung cancer, shoveling 1000 mg of salt and fat in your face and non-stop eating will lead to horrendous problems with your heart, knees, back, etc.

It seems to be the current attitude towards matters of health that if you can’t see it, it doesn’t count. I have a nurse acquaintance in her early 30s, morbidly obese, every time she goes to a doctor they tell her to lose weight. You’d think she’d know better, but insists that because she’s not diabetic, doesn’t have high bp, cholesterol, etc. the weight isn’t a problem. She’s acknowledges major trauma issues that show in every other aspect of her life, but insists it has nothing to do with the weight.

So we should hate her, right?

Uh oh.

Obesity actually causes your immune system to change, and the inflammatory effects of obesity on the body's internal organs is WELL documented. There's a reason why morbid obesity is the number TWO risk factor for likelihood of death from COVID, and is actually usually the root cause of the number three risk factor, diabetes.

But sure, you're healthy.

I have seen too many obese/fat activists try an argue you can be overweight and healthy. No. No you cannot. You tried it though....you really did.

*try and argue

Great, we can go back to hating them! Though some of you never left.