# Doctors and nutritionists. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 20, 2005, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204 "2005-04-20T08:13:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/41 "2005-04-22T14:10:06Z")
Part of the problem stems from the very narrow way in which “correct weight” is defined. Nobody can tell me that my ideal weight is the same as my cousin’s. We’re both female, definitely related (our mothers are sisters, so even with someone cheating…), born 6 months apart, same height. But I’m all hips and a B-cup; she’s got less curves than a flatscreen TV and from the back would look like a guy if a guy had ever had hair like hers. The little boxes are too little. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/42 "2005-04-22T15:18:58Z")
BTW **MEB** , the other part is the confusion engendered by all the media fired food fads, that have little to do with real expert advice. The experts have been pretty consistent. Moderation in eating and plenty of excercise. Lots of fruits and veggies and nuts and legumes and whole grain foods, fresh is better than processed, limit your fats, especially animal fats, use lean protein sources. Sure things have been messed with at the edges as in all things. More recognition that certain fats are good in reasonable amounts, like fats from fish, nuts, and certain plant fats. More recognition that particular fats are very evil (trans fats). But carbophobia and riceophilia have never been expert positions. ---
**Author:** ![herownself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8baadc/32.png) [@herownself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herownself)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/43 "2005-04-27T13:59:06Z")
I work at CDC. Let me just say, **totally unofficially** , that we are so pissed about all of this that it it goes beyond what mere words can express. Even words spoken in the pit. You don’t believe a thing we say about obesity any more? No shit. I wouldn’t believe any of this stuff either, except that I spent ten years in grad school to be able to understand these kinds of studies, I’m on a listserve that went into detail about how any why the first study was so wrong (365,000 - 400,000 deaths from obesity just ain’t true and it was bad science), and I get the internal emails. The truth, such as it is: [ul]Obesity (defined as BMI greater than 30) compared to having normal weight (defined as BMI 20 (I think) to 25) appears to confer an excess risk of death, \*\*based on current data \*\* [/ul] [ul]Overweight (defined as BMI 25 to 30) compared to having normal weight (defined as BMI 20 to 25) appears to confer slightly lower risk of death, \*\*based on current data \*\* [/ul] [ul]Underweight (defined as BMI less than 20) compared to having normal weight (defined as BMI 20 to 25) appears to confer a slightly increased risk of death, \*\*based on current data \*\*[/ul] Why? Who the fuck knows. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/44 "2005-04-27T16:55:16Z")
So what you’re saying is being alive confers a slightly increased risk of death. Fair enough - I will continue to ignore fad health advice and junk science, and continue to eat healthy and exercise and die when my time comes. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/45 "2005-04-27T17:33:29Z")
A few years ago, I read a study ( I wish I’d kept it.) that concluded if one eats right, keeps one’s chloresterol in check, as well as one’s weight, doesn’t smoke or drink, that individual will increase his life spam by approximately 3 months; her’s by 6 months… Is that it!?! Maybe all the regulation isn’t meant to make us live longer. It just makes us feel like there’s no end in sight. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/46 "2005-04-29T14:48:12Z")
It became quite clear that not only are they just fucking with us, they are also mysogynistic bastards when I looked up my very own pyramid. I am allowed 1800 calories a day. That might be reasonable, except I am nursing. There is no drop down box to tell it that you are pregnant or nursing! IF you can customize it so that a sedantary 36 year old gets 200 calories less than a sedantary 24 year old, then you can damn well customize it so that pregnant women and nursing mothers can eat enough. During my last trimester, I was on bed rest and prescribed a 2300 calorie diet. I know I stuck cloesly to that diet because I wrote down everything I ate and how much. I gained exactly what I was supposed to. I shudder to think what 1800 calories a day would have left of me and my baby. This pyramid is especially troublesome because some asswipes think that women with gestational diabetes should eat about 1800 calories to avoid having big babies, even though that will mean that they will be passing ketones like crazy and passing ketones has been correlated with nasty birth defects. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/47 "2005-06-15T18:28:13Z")
[From WebMD](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/107/108476.htm) "\*\*Drink More Diet Soda, Gain More Weight Overweight Risk Soars 41% With Each Daily Can of Diet Soft Drink\*\*" > [@](#): > > June 13, 2005 – People who drink diet soft drinks don’t lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows…“There was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day,” Fowler says. > … > > For regular soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was: > > 26% for up to 1/2 can each day > 30.4% for 1/2 to one can each day > 32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day > 47.2% for more than 2 cans each day. > For diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was: > > 36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day > 37.5% for 1/2 to one can each day > 54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day > 57.1% for more than 2 cans each day. > For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person’s risk of obesity went up 41%. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/48 "2005-06-15T18:48:27Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > What if I spend the day in bed with someone else? Well, if you spend the day in bed with Mickey Rooney, it’s a good bet that not much will happen. I would just like to add that those people who preach “Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse” generally wind up aged 50, looking a bloated and wrinkled 75, carting around an oxygen tank and spending most of their degenerative years in hospitals and clinics. And I just _knew_ that **Mangetout** would be posting in this thread. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/49 "2005-06-15T18:56:13Z")
Hopefully you read the entire linked article. It’s not the drinking of a diet soda that leads to weight gain/obesity. It’s rolling up to a drive-through pizza hut for an XL pizza(meat lover’s), and ordering a gallon-size jug of diet soda thinking that you’re doing yourself a favor by not having the regular Pepsi after consuming 3000 calories at a single sitting… ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/50 "2005-06-15T18:57:40Z")
Fortunately, I average around one can of cola a month. 🙂 > [@](#): > > STDs. Cardiac arrest. Potentially fatal humiliation due to poor performance. No, no, the risk is too great. Better you spend the day alone with a good, spiritually uplifting book. Ah yes: _ **Playboy** _. Well, something of mine is being uplifted, anyway. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/51 "2005-06-15T19:21:56Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > [From WebMD](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/107/108476.htm) > > "\*\*Drink More Diet Soda, Gain More Weight > > Overweight Risk Soars 41% With Each Daily Can of Diet Soft Drink\*\*" > > :eek: Overweight people are more likely to drink diet soda? Shocking! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/52 "2005-06-15T19:34:50Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > Hopefully you read the entire linked article. It’s not the drinking of a diet soda that leads to weight gain/obesity. It’s rolling up to a drive-through pizza hut for an XL pizza(meat lover’s), and ordering a gallon-size jug of diet soda thinking that you’re doing yourself a favor by not having the regular Pepsi after consuming 3000 calories at a single sitting… And thus we see why skimming media headlines and first paragraphs and using that as nutritional dogma is a bad idea. As **GaWd** points out, the next two pages of the article go on to explain that there’s no evidence that the diet soda per se caused the weight gain, just that people drinking diet soda tended to be more likely to gain weight. The analysis notes both that people may consider drinking diet soda as **dieting** and allow themselves to indulge in other areas, and also that the body might not be “fooled” by diet sodas - I’ve read this theory before, specifically in the body not getting the expected “sugar rush” from drinking something sweet - and either increase demands for more sweets or change its processing of food somehow. That’s a far cry from “diet soda makes you fat.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/53 "2005-06-15T20:23:08Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > And thus we see why skimming media headlines and first paragraphs and using that as nutritional dogma is a bad idea. As **GaWd** points out, the next two pages of the article go on to explain that there’s no evidence that the diet soda per se caused the weight gain, just that people drinking diet soda tended to be more likely to gain weight… And thus we see researchers have far too much time on their hands. Whoever wasted their money on a study that concludes: “If you don’t do anything else but switch to a diet soft drink, you are not going to lose weight.” Hey, fruit flavored water is low-calorie too! Let’s do an 8 year study on 1,550 people and see if they gain weight consuming 24 ozs per day along with McDonalds take-out orders! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/54 "2005-06-15T20:27:43Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > And thus we see researchers have far too much time on their hands. Whoever wasted their money on a study that concludes: “If you don’t do anything else but switch to a diet soft drink, you are not going to lose weight.” The study didn’t conclude that. All that the study concluded is that diet soda drinkers are more likely to be overweight than regular soda drinkers. That’s just correlation, and implies no causative mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/55 "2005-06-15T20:51:38Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > So where can I buy the “The New Masai Tribseman’s Diet” book? Amazon doesn’t seem to have it, and it sounds promising. If no-one has yet written a book, perhaps I can get in the game! Hey, don’t forget, them dudes can **RUN**. So get to work on the “New Masai sub-2:00 Marathon Training Guide.” ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/56 "2005-06-15T22:20:16Z")
The study didn’t conclude anything. It made an example of a correlation between people drinking diet drinks and gaining weight. Ideas in the article suggested: -artificial sweeteners make you gain weight -artificial sweeteners trick your mind into thinking it’s intaking calories and so your mind exacts revenge upon you by making you hungry -young rats in scientific studies get fat when administered sweeteners -and people are fooled into thinking that they are “doing enough” by cutting out sugared soft drinks from their diet No real conclusion. Just a bunch of off-the-wall ideas as to why it could possible “lead” to weight gain. My money is on the last idea, and my example above is why(the XL Pizza example). I always order a diet drink, no matter what. Fast food, slow food, healthy food, fried food-I dislike sugared drinks taste-wise, and years ago when I began dieting I figured it was an easy way to cut several hundred calories out of my daily caloric intake. Now, I work out and try not to be too much of a hog, but I know many people who aren’t careful with what they eat, and always order diet drinks thinking it serves some purpose. Sam P.S.- I believe the Masai mix dairy milk into their cow’s blood so that it clots and does other weird shit. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/57 "2005-06-15T23:24:56Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > P.S.- I believe the Masai mix dairy milk into their cow’s blood so that it clots and does other weird shit. This right here is the next blockbuster diet. Gross Me The Fuck Out and Watch Me Never Eat Dinner Again Diet. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/58 "2005-06-16T00:45:00Z")
> [@lee](#): > > Plenty of those over 80 I have known have been heavyset, most even. Two of my great grandmothers were heavy set. They lived to 89. My grandmother is another example of a great big fat slob in her 80’s. But she certainly isn’t helathy. She has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, asthma, and emphysema. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/59 "2005-06-16T00:51:13Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > … All that the study concluded is that diet soda drinkers are more likely to be overweight than regular soda drinkers… And that makes sense. Most people who realise they have a weight problem look for ways to reduce their calorie consumption, one of the easiest and msot obvious being to switch to diet drinks. Those who are not overweight have little reason to switch to diet drinks and so continue to drink the high sugar variety. Bleedin’ obvious I would have thought. I am always amused when at McDonald’s I see an obviously overweight person trying to compensate for their Big Mac and super-sized fries with a Diet Coke. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204/60 "2005-06-16T16:15:50Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > And that makes sense. > > Most people who realise they have a weight problem look for ways to reduce their calorie consumption, one of the easiest and msot obvious being to switch to diet drinks. Those who are not overweight have little reason to switch to diet drinks and so continue to drink the high sugar variety. Bleedin’ obvious I would have thought. > > I am always amused when at McDonald’s I see an obviously overweight person trying to compensate for their Big Mac and super-sized fries with a Diet Coke. Glad you’re amused. I’m overweight(but working on it), and on the rare occasion I treat myself to a Big Mac, I’ll always order a Diet Coke. Why? I’m used to the taste(haven’t had a regular coke in forever), and although I’ve got a ton of calories already, why add that many more? But I’m glad to hear I’m amusing you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-nutritionists/300204.md?page=4)