# How do people get so fat?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [October 14, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763 "2009-10-14T08:22:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 27
### Author:  [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/521 "2009-10-31T18:04:49Z")
> [@meara](#):
>
> I’m just looking at this from the public health perspective. The person who starts running 30min a day with no goals or excitement about it is less likely to stick with it. They’re also less likely to improve and develop an enjoyable hobby vs. the person who joins a running club and starts dabbling in group runs, speed workouts, trail runs, impromptu 5Ks, etc.
Hmmm, I guess I don’t agree. Unless it is race day, 99.5% of the time I’ll just take off and go run by myself. I suppose the yoga classes are sort of club-like, but I don’t really treat it like a social event. I don’t even talk about it very much- it just happens to seem relevant in this thread. Who knows, maybe I’ll be more social about it later. This element might be very helpful for some I suppose.
No goals or excitement? Well that would be something of a drag. But if they _did_ stick with it, it would still work.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [October 31, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/522 "2009-10-31T18:17:55Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> [Physical Exercise](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise)
>
> (BTW, I went walking with Dad and the dog again today – and I managed not to step in any horse poop!) 😛
>
> As for exercise “not being an effective method”, last summer, I started walking to work from downtown, instead of taking the second bus. (One day I missed the bus, and just figured I’d walk). So, as long as the weather permitted, I’d walk along from downtown, across the Clemente Bridge, along the North Shore, all the way to the Science Center. While I had been eating better, it wasn’t until I started exercising that I REALLY started noticing results. I went down about two sizes. I had this pair of capris that I hadn’t been able to fit into for awhile – but after a month or so of walking – THEY FIT!!! The only downside is when it started to get too cold to walk.
>
> Now that I’m laid off, like I said, I’m trying to go out to the park with Dad twice a week or so.
>
> So don’t sit there and tell me “exercise is a lousy method for losing weight.” Because it’s not.
Exercise can help a little. But it’s very difficult for the average person to lose lots of weight through exercise alone. Even the NIH has said that permanent weight loss is primarily achieved by a permanent alteration of the diet.
I run two or three times a week. But it’s not for weight control; I run because it’s good for my cardiovascular health. I control my weight by controlling how much food I eat.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [November 1, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/523 "2009-11-01T02:55:35Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> Exercise can help a little. But it’s very difficult for the average person to lose lots of weight through exercise alone. Even the NIH has said that permanent weight loss is primarily achieved by a permanent alteration of the diet.
>
> I run two or three times a week. But it’s not for weight control; I run because it’s good for my cardiovascular health. I control my weight by controlling how much food I eat.
I know that. I’m just saying that even though I WAS eating better, it was only when I started getting more active that I really noticed a difference. And again, people do have different metabolisms. Some burn calories faster than others.
And while you’ll lose weight from eating right, you’ll still be pretty flabby. It’s exercise that gets rid of those jiggly thighs, round tummy, etc.
So, diet gets you to lose weight, and exercise keeps you fit and tones you up.
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### Author:  [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/524 "2009-11-02T01:03:57Z")
> [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](#):
>
> Exercise _must_ help with weight loss. It’s bloody thermodynamics, people.
For some people it does. For others it does not. You are a man, correct? Given this it’s much, much easier for you to change your weight and muscle mass through exercise than it is for a woman. ‘Therodynamics’ does not explain that, or much else about the human body and the huge variety between individuals.
In my case, vigorous exercise makes me gain a bit of weight.
And I find that what I eat makes about 80% of the difference in my appearance. Right now I am cut (for a girl), and I am hardly exercising at all. But I live on animal products, don’t eat sugar or grains. I assume this is the reason for my unusual muscle definition.
I just wish people in this thread could realize that the way it (diet, exercise, weight, body shape) happens for them is not the way it works for everyone, or even the majority. The changes a sedentary person with a high body fat % suddenly starting an exercise program will see are very different than those an already fit, but still fat, person (say, one of the fat contractors I know in my area, who work an extremely physical job and are immensely strong, but still fat) will. To give just one example.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/525 "2009-11-02T15:05:48Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#):
>
> For some people it does. For others it does not. You are a man, correct? Given this it’s much, much easier for you to change your weight and muscle mass through exercise than it is for a woman. ‘Therodynamics’ does not explain that, or much else about the human body and the huge variety between individuals.
>
> In my case, vigorous exercise makes me gain a bit of weight.
Exercise _always_ causes weight loss. Exercise burns calories and burning calories causes weight loss. There may be things you do post exercise that cause you to gain weight, perhaps even more weight than you burned, but that’s an issue with eating. Otherwise it would be like a car with a gas tank which got fuller the more it was driven.
Also keep in mind that your exercise may not be burning off all the excess calories you’re eating. If you’re eating an extra 1000 calories but only burning off 300, you’re still going to gain weight, although a bit slower than before.
If you’re gaining weight from exercise, it’s likely because you are overeating your exercise. A common thing I see is people drinking gatoraide and eating power bars during exercise. That can easily negate any loss from exercise. It is also very easy to eat a little extra after the workout. You’ll need to make sure you are in control of your eating to not overeat your exercise benefit.
Another common issue seems to be not acurately quantifying the calories burned during excercise. People will say they “exercise”, but that may mean they walked for 10 minutes (perhaps 50-100 calories).
If you really are gaining weight from excercise, you should carefully track how many calories you burn and how much you’re eating. I suspect you’ll find that you’re subconsciously eating a little bit more than normal and that’s causing the weight gain.
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### Author:  [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/526 "2009-11-02T16:03:19Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> Exercise _always_ causes weight loss. Exercise burns calories and burning calories causes weight loss. There may be things you do post exercise that cause you to gain weight, perhaps even more weight than you burned, but that’s an issue with eating. Otherwise it would be like a car with a gas tank which got fuller the more it was driven.
>
> Also keep in mind that your exercise may not be burning off all the excess calories you’re eating. If you’re eating an extra 1000 calories but only burning off 300, you’re still going to gain weight, although a bit slower than before.
>
> If you’re gaining weight from exercise, it’s likely because you are overeating your exercise. A common thing I see is people drinking gatoraide and eating power bars during exercise. That can easily negate any loss from exercise. It is also very easy to eat a little extra after the workout. You’ll need to make sure you are in control of your eating to not overeat your exercise benefit.
>
> Another common issue seems to be not acurately quantifying the calories burned during excercise. People will say they “exercise”, but that may mean they walked for 10 minutes (perhaps 50-100 calories).
>
> If you really are gaining weight from excercise, you should carefully track how many calories you burn and how much you’re eating. I suspect you’ll find that you’re subconsciously eating a little bit more than normal and that’s causing the weight gain.
Exercise is a broad broad term here. Weight training will cause you to gain weight as converting fat weight into muscle weight causes an increase in body weight. Simple really.
The real key here people is a mirror not a scale.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/527 "2009-11-02T17:08:48Z")
> [@Kearsen](#):
>
> Exercise is a broad broad term here. Weight training will cause you to gain weight as converting fat weight into muscle weight causes an increase in body weight. Simple really.
>
> The real key here people is a mirror not a scale.
Yes, you can gain muscle weight from some exercises. But you really have to be training for that purpose. Most aerobic exercises will not produce a significant muscle gain.
And to be clear, fat does not get converted into muscle. Fat produces energy which allows you to work out. Your body will later convert the proteins in food into muscle if needed. But it is very important not to overstate the muscle gain from exercise. You really do need to be doing weight training type of excercises in order to gain a significant amount of muscle mass.
Most overweight people are over “fat”. They have too high a percentage of body fat. The real key is finding out your body fat percentage.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/528 "2009-11-03T00:33:48Z")
> [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](#):
>
> Exercise _must_ help with weight loss. It’s bloody thermodynamics, people.
Putting aside the muscle mass issue. And amount you eat. And the amount you drink, and the amount you piss, and the amount you poop. And the amount you sweat. Oh, and if you expectorate a lot, or perhaps drool to excess, that too.
The _average_ overweight person has not been carefully measuring out their twinkies and potato chips. (If they were, they would not be eating twinkies and potato chips.) And it takes aproximately one mouthful of your modern calorie-packed food to replace the calories you have expended in your half-hour walk.
If you are talking about a person who is already thin, or maybe a _little_ flabby, and who has been maintining this with a habitually regular diet, and they manage not to alter their diet (or to eat less) when they go on the exercise, then they will presumably lose weight, maybe. (Depending on the other factors.)
Butyour average fat person eats more than that, and if they are _not_ regulating their diet, will eat to restore their accostomed level of satisfaction. Oh look, they took that extra mouthful…
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### Author:  [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/529 "2009-11-03T05:35:49Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> Probably the simplest thing I can do here is to be dubious that sufficient flexibility can be achieved with sufficient speed not to throw the dvd in the trash in disgust. Because in some things, I am somewhat of a perfectionist - specifically, if I _try_ something, I need to _succeed_ at it, or at least do sufficiently good enough at it quickly enough that I don’t decide that I’m being a moron wasting my time on something I can’t do.
I’m positive you can do yoga then. You could actually test my theory right here on the SDMB… only if you want to though. Here’s the test: inhale? exhale? If you can do that, you’re ready for yoga.
> [@](#):
>
> Some people are fine spending six months working themselves up to a point where they can show themselves in public - and if they’re fine with it, more power to them. Myself, I’m not fine with it. Call it a personal problem if you like, but I don’t see it that way. Life’s to short to waste like that.
> [@](#):
>
> ‘But it works!’ you insist. ‘I’ve experienced it myself!’ Well, I’m not going to say it is all in your head… but it is all in your head. 🙂
Well, of course it is in my head- why do you think I’m so confident that it is all in your head 🙂
The results aren’t in my head though. I can do things I could not do 3 months ago. I know because there is built-in progress-meter. It isn’t my imagination.
Don’t like to be seen in public? This is in your head, and this is getting in your way. You’d (likely) be happier without this burden. I believe yoga would lead you to overcoming it, though it isn’t the only way. And it is kind of a catch-22 anyway, no? It prevents you from getting involved with the people who can lead you to the solution, so how does it help?
> [@](#):
>
> So. There are presumably various things, like flexibility and abs and wind and marathoner muscles, that it’s (for most people) at least _physically_ possible to achieve given six or twelve or twenty months of struggle. In cases like this, the end result is _not_ an incentive to me, and does _not_ seem achievable. Does that mean they aren’t? I guess not. But can’t internalize such beliefs. It just doesn’t happen.
I can dig it. So much for the theory that overweight people are in denial. You believe you theoretically could achieve these things, but the beliefs aren’t powerful enough to motivate you to action. Because the action in question triggers aversion. I _think_ I’m following.
> [@](#):
>
> So, how am I managing to use portion control to lose weight, you might ask? Simple - because it’s easy, and because there are immidiate results. It’s _not_ because I believe it will work in the long run; I seriously do not believe that I will ever reach 200 pounds. While simultaneously arguing that portion control works! The cognitive dissonance is palpable, but I can’t change my beliefs. And regardless, I still have very little motivation to do it. Fortunately it’s still easy to do…
Belief is a funny thing sometimes. It sounds like you aren’t going to do anything that requires you to believe something first, or upset the balance of your debate or something. I can dig it. And anyway, whatever middle ground you’re staking out in your cognitive dissonance to arrive at your position of portion control is in fact working- it sounds like you have lost a rather appreciable amount of weight following your own methods. So you’re doing what works, but you don’t believe it will work. But it is easy for you, so you keep doing it. I _think_ I’m following.
> [@](#):
>
> Meh, I’m dubious about this too. My brain isn’t connected to my ligaments, so why should contorting myself effect it in some magical way?
Who said anything about magic?
> [@](#):
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> If I’m not calm it’s for reasons that will still be there regardless.
I’m not going to say it’s all in your head…
> [@](#):
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> I guess I could get distracted, or just completely physically wipe myself out into a state of mindless misery I guess, but I just can’t see myself getting all zen over this stuff.
It ain’t zen. And the intention of it is the opposite of distraction. And it isn’t ‘mindlessness’. That leaves seeing yourself and being physically wiped out I guess.
> [@](#):
>
> You were right the first time - it’s an aversion. I am averse to appearing in public looking like either a fat guy in shorts, or like an incompetent yogaist.
> **Regardless** of who sees me. Or what they’re doing. Or wether they’re also fat short-wearing incompetent yogaists. That doesn’t _matter_. Not in the slightest.
>
> The thing you’re not getting is that this aversion is from _my_ perspective. It’s not the viewer’s opinion that matters; it’s _my_ opinion about _myself_. Heck, I don’t care if they’re all ignoring me completely; _I_ still know what I look like. And I will never be just another guy doing yoga to myself.
>
> People wo don’t care how they present themselves probably will never understand.
If you have never been to a yoga class, how can you claim to have the know-how to draw the line between a competent and an incompetent yogi? You’re bringing a lot of your own ideas in and pasting them onto something you don’t understand, then calling it done.
Yes, of course it is about your opinion of yourself. I can’t quite determine what your standard is. It sounds like you are ‘out of bounds’ and therefore have to avoid this kind of activity. Others are not out of bounds, or else don’t care how they present themselves. Surely these ideas are the product of a series of personal experiences from your life. Where else could they come from? People are generally prone to aversions. Figure out what other people’s aversions are and what experiences led to them, and after awhile you will likely get some perspective on the broader concept of aversion. Dang, that sounded preachy. You may very well understand all this via some other method. I seriously don’t mean any disrespect here.
The point is that these aversions/attractions can sometimes jerk you around and cause you to do unhealthy or unhelpful things. I’m a total amateur myself, but I think part what you can take away from yoga is power over your own aversions/attractions. Because much of the point is to put your mind in front of your body.
> [@](#):
>
> I don’t believe in these ‘evoked insights’ of yours - the only insight I’m going to get by causing myself extreme physical pain and sweating buckets is “I’d be a heck of a lot happier doing something else”. Especially since that would be an insight I would _act on_ in short order.
>
> Unless you want to argue that if I tried it, I wouldn’t experience this? Insights would come flowing in in the first few days, at the latest?
I know. It probably sounds like I’m some kind of nut. But…
Extreme physical pain? No way. You definitely need to back off if that is your experience. Hmmm… I ran into one of my old yoga instructors in an elevator today and asked her about your case. Her reply was that yoga is probably the best exercise for an overweight person- it doesn’t stress out your joints or cause a lot of pain. She thought 300lbs wasn’t particularly big. Recommended beginners’ Bikram Yoga if weight loss is the goal (5 weeks as she described it, but it could be different near you). So you can build up some degree of muscle mass, which will speed up your metabolism. And it will be balanced over your whole body rather that just this or that part. That was about it- she was busy.
The insights thing is tough to talk about because I expect it will be largely personal. I could go on and on about what I got out of it, but what you’ll notice will be colored by your own personal experiences.
If you wanted a guarantee, I’d say that 3 times going along with the video and 3 beginner classes will do it. It will probably happen faster than that, but 3 live classes- after which you’ll get some sense of what changes and what stays the same in yoga classes- ought to spark something. It’d be pretty interesting if it didn’t!
Maybe it’ll help if I am more specific. The first thing I learned from yoga that really grabbed my attention was an understanding of what my lower back is composed of. If I’d thought of it at all before then it was as if I had a piece of broomstick down there, and that was that. Very soon after visiting the classes (and though some really basic moves) I had a vivid experience of the differentiation of the various parts of my lower back. It wasn’t a pain, and it wasn’t a pleasure exactly either- it was pretty unusual. It was my sense of touch. It was as if the moves ‘woke up’ my lower back, and for once I could feel all the individual parts of it, in a way that was like some kind of x-ray perception of it. Look, not so mysterious, you do a few simple moves and this part moves past that part in just the slightest way- how clever that they can do that!- a few times in various parts of the spine, and it just seems as if it comes into view. Once I realized how my lower back could move, my flexibility increased without any real physical change taking place. I simply understood how it could move, and that by itself made really my whole body more flexible.
> [@](#):
>
> It matters to ME how good I am at it, and my progress-meter doesn’t wait six months before kicking in. I’ll notice how bad I’m doing first thing. (Though curiously enough, I very likely _wouldn’t_ notice incemental improvements. I’ve lost eighty pounds, but haven’t noticed the slightest change in my appearence. I seriously look the same to me. If not for the evidence of my pants being looser, my sleeves being longer, and that scale (which is a liar anyway), I wouldn’t believe I’d lost an ounce.)
80 lbs is more than I ever lost. Way to go! Hmm, I doubt I ever made it to 250, it was 225-235, maybe 240, probably not even that. I don’t own a scale and therefore don’t weigh myself much, but I think I topped out around 225. By the time I finished a marathon I was at 175. But again, I wasn’t focused on weight loss.
But. You have the evidence of your pants, and the scale. These physical things help you gauge if your progress is all in your head or not. Because, surely your pants are not lying! It the same way you would surely notice your yoga progress, as it would be your body and not your pants that was the yardstick. IMHO of course.
More on the theme of ‘insights’ to answer your claims about doing ‘bad yoga’. It seems like you are stuck on the poses, and on jumping right into this and behaving as if you’re some kind of gymnast. Nobody does that. And it isn’t about that.
:smack: Why haven’t I said what it is about then? (Because it sounds ridiculous to people who haven’t tried it, that’s why). It isn’t about the poses, _because_ all you are really doing in a yoga class is breathing. Inhale. Ok. Exhale. It sounds completely retarded, I know.
The idea is to just focus on your breathing. That’s really it, the rest will follow. They ask you to breathe in a certain rhythm. In. Out. Ok. Now do this. In. Out. Sweating? That’s good. Still with us? It really ought to be perfectly simple (and it is perfectly simple), but at some point the moves will stress your breath. The advice is: ignore that, just keep your breath at this pace, follow along, focus only on your breathing.
That’s it.
You will experience an aversion to keeping your breath at the pace they suggest. So in that sense, it is like pain. _But_- it is not 100% accurate. Your body sends you a signal to breathe a certain way once you start moving around a little, and if you’re already focused on breathing some other way, the tension between the two (mind v body) will build. You can go two ways- start breathing the way your body says, or command the body to follow as you breathe in your formal way. There is an element of illusion in this response- your body, my body, everybody’s body is a big baby when it comes to disciplining your air intake even just a little bit. It’ll flip out a little- so go ahead and break the rules and breathe extra breaths. It isn’t like they are going to flog you or give you any shit. For breathing? That’d be silly!
Well. Start to gain some mastery over this response (and it just totally doesn’t matter what your poses look like) and (I believe) you’ll start to get some insight into this whole concept of aversion. You may or may not attain total mastery over your body(depending on how many classes you attend), but if you do, how much you weigh will become irrelevant, as it will effectively be your choice.
I read an article that reminded me of this side of yoga. A woman was attempting to break the deep-sea diving record. 100 meters? 200? I don’t remember the number, it was apparently the most ever. The rules are: you climb down a rope into the depths; at the chosen depth is a ring or card or something which you grab; you come up with it. You must be conscious when you surface or you’re disqualified. Obviously the catch is that you cannot breathe underwater.
It was a horrifying article for me to read. There are no actual competitions in this sport, since the risk of death is too great. No, all you do is say ‘On such and such a date at 9:30AM I will attempt to dive to such and such a depth’. Apparently this draws a crowd, if only to drag out your swollen corpse. Someone dives, the spectators hang out on the platform, and either you make it or you don’t. The depths this woman was diving required 7 or 8 minutes of submersion. Well. She gained her self-mastery for this sport through yoga. The men’s champion is some kind of military guy, but yah right, like the US Armed Forces knows anything about physical training :rolleyes:
I’d really only taken a couple of steps down the road of breath control when I read this article. It gave me a truly horrifying sense of the scale of possible mastery of the breath- these people go down so far that their lungs shrink to the size of a fist, squeezing out all the O2 and allowing them to go still deeper. Um, I’m not ready. Not even close. See- if you try some yoga, you too can magnify your horror. What’s not to love? 😉
> [@](#):
>
> It’s all about portion control. People who are more active can eat a _little_ more quite safely. (People who engage in extreme physical activity for six hours straight every day can safely eat a horse - but not a horse made of twinkies.)
lol
> [@](#):
>
> The issue for your average overweight person is that they’re a habital eater. And like a alcoholic that’s on the wagon, it’s better to avoid the temptation than to flirt with the line. Persons who don’t have this problem may imbible moderate quantities without worry.
Yah, I can dig it. I am more likely to get drunk or/and chase girls than I am to overeat. I like to stuff my face, sure, but it doesn’t sound like what some people are doing. People have different attractions for their various reasons. I have been rather well-behaved lately though. But- getting to the ‘moral failure’ element of weight gain. Hmm, I honestly believe it is worse to get drunk and involve yourself in relationships which you later regret than it is to eat too much. It is worse yet to invade Iraq, or empty the US treasury, but let’s stay on track.
> [@](#):
>
> And I have to wonder if you really didn’t eat less - or eat less of the “bad” stuff.
This comment reminded me that at one point I did in fact have a “runner’s diet”! I looked around for advice when I was training and made a sort of approximation that I thought I could live with. I still have the list on my refrigerator. The only time I lived exclusively on these foods was perhaps the 2 months before the marathon. The list has been up for several years now as a reminder to eat some of this stuff at least now and then- and I do! Still, I love some junk too, but it would probably be a pizza, and never ding-dongs. Just me. Ahem! The list is: Yams. Kashi cereal. Oranges. Black Beans. Salmon (or fish). 100% whole grain bread. Frozen stir-fry. Whole-grain pasta. Chicken. Frozen mixed berries. Dark chocolate. Live culture yogurt. Almonds.
The point of living off that is to improve your long-distance running performance, YMMV.
> [@](#):
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> I don’t want to, for a number of excellent reasons, not the least of which being that I have no reason _to_. So okay!
Well there’s the diabetes. But you are already losing weight. Lots and lots actually. I defer.
> [@](#):
>
> The one difference between us in this regard is, that I have no excuse _to_ exercise. You do, and this excuse is sufficiently compelling to override the various reasons not to engage in the activity. If you didn’t have such an excuse, you wouldn’t exercise either - for _excellent_ reasons.
I’m not a yogavangelist or anything. Again, you seem to overcome the objection that you’re in denial.
The bottom line is I just wanted to help, considering the thread and your mention of diabetes. I hope I’m not being a nuisance.
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### Author:  [@moonstarssun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moonstarssun)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/530 "2009-11-03T05:54:08Z")
In my FIL’s case, it was the vicious cycle that I’m sure many obese people endure. He was active as a kid (grew up on a farm) and was used to eating big meals. Got a job, settled down and was less active, but still enjoyed his big meals. He developed diabetes, which led to neuropathy in his feet, which cut back on his activity even more. He still enjoyed his big meals. He got so heavy that he developed arthritis in his knees. And somewhere along the line, whether at that point or before then, those big meals became a source of comfort as he dealt with the stress and pain he was experiencing. So the meals became bigger, the life became less active, and so it goes.
He finally had bariatric surgery, and is doing much better. He still has pain, and he still wants to eat those big meals, but he knows he can’t without making himself miserable. He no longer has to use a wheelchair or scooter to get around.
I think that kind of morbid obesity, whether in him or in other people, is reflective of mental illness. It’s a desire for comfort. Food is safety, security, mom taking care of you. Food is love. When your belly is full you feel content and secure. That’s hardwired into us. But sometimes it becomes the only time you feel secure and content, and that’s when things go wrong. I understand it, and I have nothing but sympathy for the people who experience it.
(Spoken as someone who hasn’t experienced obesity. My weight fluctuates from normal to overweight, but never into the yikes zone.)
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### Author:  [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/531 "2009-11-03T12:25:13Z")
It is a bad move to start lecturing other Dopers about how to read and write well, especially if your own writing is anything but flawless. So, **Stoid** , since _you_ raised the matter, let’s take a look.
> [@Stoid](#):
>
> You know… hanging around the dope would be vastly improved if folks would learn to read.
This poor sentence construction either leaves the subject of the sentence unclear or has an inconsistent subject.
> [@](#):
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> Writing things very clearly and unambiguously
This is a tautology.
> [@](#):
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> then watching the tortured re-interpretation, assumption, and repeated tortured warping
I understand that you want to convey the idea of repetitive and unhelpful distortion, but this concatenation of words obscures your meaning rather than either conveying or amplifying it. It is far from clear what a phrase such as ‘repeated tortured warping’ actually means.
> [@](#):
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> re-stated multiple times
Another tautology.
> [@](#):
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> much time and energy and pixels
The generally accepted practice is to list adjectives using a comma and to reserve the conjunction ‘and’ for the final item in the list. Hence, ‘time, energy and pixels’ would have been better.
> [@](#):
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> So much time and energy and pixels would be saved by people reading carefully before they reply. For the sake of everyone, just double check and make absolutely sure you have things right before you waste people’s time.
You would have conveyed your meaning more clearly if you has written these two sentences using a consistent subject and voice. The arbitrary switch from passive to active voice is unnecessarily confusing.
> [@](#):
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> This completely undermines the primary reason I’ve always preferred message board debate to live debate: supposedly, with the words on the screen for everyone to read and refer to, no time should be wasted with people arguing over who said what, seeing as how what everyone said is right there for everyone to read, re-read, double-check and refer back to.
This is an unwieldy and poorly constructed sentence. It goes on so long, and involves so many clauses and sub-clauses, that it is difficult for the reader to absorb the point or points that you are trying to convey. It would have been better to break it down into smaller sentences.
Needless nit-picking, irrelevant to the discussion? Sure it is. And I wouldn’t normally indulge. But if **Stoid** is going to start lecturing the rest of us on how to read and write, I’m going to start referring to pots and kettles.
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### Author:  [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/532 "2009-11-03T15:38:05Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> Yes, you can gain muscle weight from some exercises. But you really have to be training for that purpose. Most aerobic exercises will not produce a significant muscle gain.
>
> And to be clear, fat does not get converted into muscle. Fat produces energy which allows you to work out. Your body will later convert the proteins in food into muscle if needed. But it is very important not to overstate the muscle gain from exercise. You really do need to be doing weight training type of excercises in order to gain a significant amount of muscle mass.
>
> Most overweight people are over “fat”. They have too high a percentage of body fat. The real key is finding out your body fat percentage.
Which is why I stated that “fat weight” would convert into “muscle weight”. I didn’t want to infer that you’d be turning fat into muscle. That is a common misconception.
As an aside, weight loss in general happens rapidly for the first couple of weeks and then slows way down (as the fat weight to muscle weight starts to happen)
Keep in mind also that muscles burn calories even when they aren’t in motion so always, always, always muscle \> fat. No, you don’t have to be a big Arnold Swarzenegger type in order to be fit but you do need the muscle to perform even routine feats.
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### Author:  [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/533 "2009-11-03T17:27:46Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> Exercise _always_ causes weight loss. Exercise burns calories and burning calories causes weight loss. There may be things you do post exercise that cause you to gain weight, perhaps even more weight than you burned, but that’s an issue with eating. Otherwise it would be like a car with a gas tank which got fuller the more it was driven.
>
> Also keep in mind that your exercise may not be burning off all the excess calories you’re eating. If you’re eating an extra 1000 calories but only burning off 300, you’re still going to gain weight, although a bit slower than before.
>
> If you’re gaining weight from exercise, it’s likely because you are overeating your exercise. A common thing I see is people drinking gatoraide and eating power bars during exercise. That can easily negate any loss from exercise. It is also very easy to eat a little extra after the workout. You’ll need to make sure you are in control of your eating to not overeat your exercise benefit.
>
> Another common issue seems to be not acurately quantifying the calories burned during excercise. People will say they “exercise”, but that may mean they walked for 10 minutes (perhaps 50-100 calories).
>
> If you really are gaining weight from excercise, you should carefully track how many calories you burn and how much you’re eating. I suspect you’ll find that you’re subconsciously eating a little bit more than normal and that’s causing the weight gain.
Obviously you have little understanding of how much exercise is ‘worth’ in terms of calories burned. I weigh 100 lbs and run 8-10 minute miles. So when I run 5k, I burn less than 200 calories. There are a number of calculators on the internet that will give you an estimate of calories burned depending on your weight.
But I will state again - EXERCISE MAKES ME GAIN WEIGHT. Sure, I probably automatically compensate for what few calories I might burn, but that has nothing to do with the facts. When I am more active, I put on muscle quickly, which ups my weight in a couple weeks. The last time I put on 5 lbs and an inch around each thigh in short order, I was walking daily, and doing about 5 hours of intense yoga per week. A good work-out, but nothing extreme.
You have to work out for hours every day to be burning more than 500 calories just from exercise. This is why I say it’s far more effective to simply eat less, and eat the right kinds of foods.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/534 "2009-11-03T17:43:40Z")
> [@ianzin](#):
>
> **Needless nit-picking, irrelevant to the discussion**? Sure it is. And I wouldn’t normally indulge. But if **Stoid** is going to start lecturing the rest of us on how to read and write, I’m going to start referring to pots and kettles.
I vote yes.
There wasnt one damn thing you quoted that wasnt clear to anyone with decent reading and reasoning ability.
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/535 "2009-11-03T21:29:22Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> Yes, you can gain muscle weight from some exercises. But you really have to be training for that purpose. Most aerobic exercises will not produce a significant muscle gain.
I saw a study that monitored overweight middle-aged women who started a light exercise program (essentially walking 20 minutes 3 times a week). They put on an average of 5 lbs of muscle each in 6 weeks. That’s probably a 7 or 8% increase in muscle mass, which I would call significant
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/536 "2009-11-03T21:45:52Z")
Okay… now _that_ is a big reply. Apologies to all others who are not interested in this exchange…
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> I’m positive you can do yoga then. You could actually test my theory right here on the SDMB… only if you want to though. Here’s the test: inhale? exhale? If you can do that, you’re ready for yoga.
Uh huh. Now pull the other one.
Suffice to say, I don’t believe for an instant that there is not an element of physical positioning involved in yoga - though I am willing to concede when you provide the link to the “doing yoga sitting on your ass in complete motionlessness” video.
(If you do though, and it’s cheap, I might buy it. That would me my kind of “exercise”, after all!)
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> Well, of course it is in my head- why do you think I’m so confident that it is all in your head 🙂
> The results aren’t in my head though. I can do things I could not do 3 months ago. I know because there is built-in progress-meter. It isn’t my imagination.
> Don’t like to be seen in public? This is in your head, and this is getting in your way. You’d (likely) be happier without this burden. I believe yoga would lead you to overcoming it, though it isn’t the only way. And it is kind of a catch-22 anyway, no? It prevents you from getting involved with the people who can lead you to the solution, so how does it help?
Woah there - the part that I maintain is all in your head is the mental clarity-undistracted-magic-zen-whatever you call it mind stuff. Whatever physical fitness you’ve accomplished by this yoga business is (presumably) real in the non-in-your-head world, and I’m not trying to tell you otherwise.
I don’t mind being seen in public - I just do it with pants and a shirt on. My aversion here is not a burden, and I wouldn’t be happer without it, and it’s not a catch-22. That it stops me from doing yoga…meh. I don’t think yoga is the solution to any of my problems.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> I can dig it. So much for the theory that overweight people are in denial. You believe you theoretically could achieve these things, but the beliefs aren’t powerful enough to motivate you to action. Because the action in question triggers aversion. I _think_ I’m following.
You forgot the part about me being impatient and shallow - I want results now, dammit! Exercise in general is a slow slog towards _any_ goal (unless your goal is to be tired and sore, I suppose), so I know I’m not going to bother. And because I’m not going to bother throwing in for the long haul, it’s _not_ possible for me to achieve whatever results people think I can get after six+ months of hard labor.
Beyond that you’ve got it - given that I know it will be ineffective for me, I have no reason to do it, so any little reason (or excuse, if you prefer) is sufficient to deter me. Aversions, distractions, having a better idea instead - anything will do.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> Belief is a funny thing sometimes. It sounds like you aren’t going to do anything that requires you to believe something first, or upset the balance of your debate or something. I can dig it. And anyway, whatever middle ground you’re staking out in your cognitive dissonance to arrive at your position of portion control is in fact working- it sounds like you have lost a rather appreciable amount of weight following your own methods. So you’re doing what works, but you don’t believe it will work. But it is easy for you, so you keep doing it. I _think_ I’m following.
Belief is even funnier than that - I _ **can’t** _ change my beliefs by force of will. (And neither can you.) Balance of debate has squat to do with it; I simply believe what I believe, and don’t believe what I don’t believe. Simple as that.
If you wanna get into a prolonged discussion about what causes beliefs to change or not, that’s probably another thread. For this one I think it’s enough to say that certain of my beleifs are highly resistant to being changed by anecdotal evidence -even _first hand_ anecdotal evidence. Crazy? Sure. Never said it wasn’t.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> Who said anything about magic?
>
> I’m not going to say it’s all in your head…
>
> It ain’t zen. And the intention of it is the opposite of distraction. And it isn’t ‘mindlessness’. That leaves seeing yourself and being physically wiped out I guess.
_You_ said it’s magic. Doing yoga is supposedly going to do…something…to my cognitive state. I’m not seeing a proposed mechanism for how that’s supposed to be happening, though - aligning chakras, maybe?
Regardless I maintain skepticism.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> If you have never been to a yoga class, how can you claim to have the know-how to draw the line between a competent and an incompetent yogi? You’re bringing a lot of your own ideas in and pasting them onto something you don’t understand, then calling it done.
> Yes, of course it is about your opinion of yourself. I can’t quite determine what your standard is. It sounds like you are ‘out of bounds’ and therefore have to avoid this kind of activity. Others are not out of bounds, or else don’t care how they present themselves. Surely these ideas are the product of a series of personal experiences from your life. Where else could they come from? People are generally prone to aversions. Figure out what other people’s aversions are and what experiences led to them, and after awhile you will likely get some perspective on the broader concept of aversion. Dang, that sounded preachy. You may very well understand all this via some other method. I seriously don’t mean any disrespect here.
> The point is that these aversions/attractions can sometimes jerk you around and cause you to do unhealthy or unhelpful things. I’m a total amateur myself, but I think part what you can take away from yoga is power over your own aversions/attractions. Because much of the point is to put your mind in front of your body.
Oh come now; I don’t have to be a yoga master to have at least a _vague_ idea of what it involves. For example, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t involve everybody sitting on their butts doing nothing but breathing. Am I wrong?
As for my aversions, they’re not that complicated. I don’t want to go outside in less than jeans and a t-shirt. It’s simply not something I want to do. Other people have different opinions on the matter, and good for them. Free country, and all that.
Thing to note, though, is that my “aversions/attractions” aren’t something separate from the rest of me. So, they’re not something that’s jerking me around. They’re just me doing my thing. Do I sometimes do things that are unhealthy or unhelpful? Sure. I like to watch movies. That’s not helpful. So what? I still enjoy it. Just like I enjoy not doing yoga.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> Extreme physical pain? No way. You definitely need to back off if that is your experience. Hmmm… I ran into one of my old yoga instructors in an elevator today and asked her about your case. Her reply was that yoga is probably the best exercise for an overweight person- it doesn’t stress out your joints or cause a lot of pain. She thought 300lbs wasn’t particularly big. Recommended beginners’ Bikram Yoga if weight loss is the goal (5 weeks as she described it, but it could be different near you). So you can build up some degree of muscle mass, which will speed up your metabolism. And it will be balanced over your whole body rather that just this or that part. That was about it- she was busy.
Objectively speaking, 300 pounds isn’t that heavy. I mean, I can still walk without difficulty and stuff, and in fact like I said earlier I feel no different or less healthy than I did when I was a skinny teenager. It’s not the weight that would cause the pain, though; it’s the inflexibility, the unaccostomed positions, and possibly those weak knee joints.
And there’s no doubt that yoga or any other general/full body exercise program is going to tone you up. It ain’t going to make you lose weight if you don’t also watch your eating, but it certainly would have _some_ effect - given enough time and sustained effort, anyway.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> The insights thing is tough to talk about because I expect it will be largely personal. I could go on and on about what I got out of it, but what you’ll notice will be colored by your own personal experiences.
> If you wanted a guarantee, I’d say that 3 times going along with the video and 3 beginner classes will do it. It will probably happen faster than that, but 3 live classes- after which you’ll get some sense of what changes and what stays the same in yoga classes- ought to spark something. It’d be pretty interesting if it didn’t!
> Maybe it’ll help if I am more specific. The first thing I learned from yoga that really grabbed my attention was an understanding of what my lower back is composed of. If I’d thought of it at all before then it was as if I had a piece of broomstick down there, and that was that. Very soon after visiting the classes (and though some really basic moves) I had a vivid experience of the differentiation of the various parts of my lower back. It wasn’t a pain, and it wasn’t a pleasure exactly either- it was pretty unusual. It was my sense of touch. It was as if the moves ‘woke up’ my lower back, and for once I could feel all the individual parts of it, in a way that was like some kind of x-ray perception of it. Look, not so mysterious, you do a few simple moves and this part moves past that part in just the slightest way- how clever that they can do that!- a few times in various parts of the spine, and it just seems as if it comes into view. Once I realized how my lower back could move, my flexibility increased without any real physical change taking place. I simply understood how it could move, and that by itself made really my whole body more flexible.
Well, you’ll **never** under any circumstances get me to go to a class, unless I’m already to the point where I don’t need to go, so forget that bit. (And yes, that’s even if you paid me.)
Regarding insights, I was referring more to the zen/mellow/mental clarity/whichever stuff. Learning how to move each vertebra or rib or whatever individually isn’t quite the same thing.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> 80 lbs is more than I ever lost. Way to go! Hmm, I doubt I ever made it to 250, it was 225-235, maybe 240, probably not even that. I don’t own a scale and therefore don’t weigh myself much, but I think I topped out around 225. By the time I finished a marathon I was at 175. But again, I wasn’t focused on weight loss.
> But. You have the evidence of your pants, and the scale. These physical things help you gauge if your progress is all in your head or not. Because, surely your pants are not lying! It the same way you would surely notice your yoga progress, as it would be your body and not your pants that was the yardstick. IMHO of course.
Meh, I stopped losing weight almost entirely a month or two ago - so what have I done for me _lately_? Not impressive, especially since my focus _is_ weight loss, and being generally fit or toned or haveing a prehensile spine can go hang themselves for all I care.
And I know I’m lighter - I just don’t _look_ lighter to me. (Or feel ligher, but then, I never felt heavy, either.) Given that we were discussing using my body’s feelings or whatever as a measuring stick for yoga progress, this is relevent: my body simply doesn’t report progress to me like that. Without the scale and the pants, I would still think I was exactly as heavy and would have quit dieting within a month.
Is there a scale or pair of pants that measures yoga skill?
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> More on the theme of ‘insights’ to answer your claims about doing ‘bad yoga’. It seems like you are stuck on the poses, and on jumping right into this and behaving as if you’re some kind of gymnast. Nobody does that. And it isn’t about that.
> :smack: Why haven’t I said what it is about then? (Because it sounds ridiculous to people who haven’t tried it, that’s why). It isn’t about the poses, _because_ all you are really doing in a yoga class is breathing. Inhale. Ok. Exhale. It sounds completely retarded, I know.
> The idea is to just focus on your breathing. That’s really it, the rest will follow. They ask you to breathe in a certain rhythm. In. Out. Ok. Now do this. In. Out. Sweating? That’s good. Still with us? It really ought to be perfectly simple (and it is perfectly simple), but at some point the moves will stress your breath. The advice is: ignore that, just keep your breath at this pace, follow along, focus only on your breathing.
> That’s it.
I don’t care about the breathing, that’s nothing. I care about the “Now do this.” _That_ is where things hit the fan, regardless of your attempt to gloss over it.
Yes, I get that that stuff is easy for you. Guess what: they’re not easy for me. And it’s not the stressing of the breath that’s the problem, it’s the OH MY GOD THE PAIN MY LIGAMENTS AREN’T THAT LONG MY BACK DOESN’T BEND THAT WAY STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT NOW that I’m worried about.
If I ever got to the point where yoga _was_ just about breathing and the issues with the positions were trivial enough to ignore, I wouldn’t have to do yoga; I’d already be in great shape anyway.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> You will experience an aversion to keeping your breath at the pace they suggest. So in that sense, it is like pain. _But_- it is not 100% accurate. Your body sends you a signal to breathe a certain way once you start moving around a little, and if you’re already focused on breathing some other way, the tension between the two (mind v body) will build. You can go two ways- start breathing the way your body says, or command the body to follow as you breathe in your formal way. There is an element of illusion in this response- your body, my body, everybody’s body is a big baby when it comes to disciplining your air intake even just a little bit. It’ll flip out a little- so go ahead and break the rules and breathe extra breaths. It isn’t like they are going to flog you or give you any shit. For breathing? That’d be silly!
> Well. Start to gain some mastery over this response (and it just totally doesn’t matter what your poses look like) and (I believe) you’ll start to get some insight into this whole concept of aversion. You may or may not attain total mastery over your body(depending on how many classes you attend), but if you do, how much you weigh will become irrelevant, as it will effectively be your choice.
I’m not worried about my breath. Not in the slightest. It’s the rest of it that concerns me.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> I read an article that reminded me of this side of yoga. A woman was attempting to break the deep-sea diving record. 100 meters? 200? I don’t remember the number, it was apparently the most ever. The rules are: you climb down a rope into the depths; at the chosen depth is a ring or card or something which you grab; you come up with it. You must be conscious when you surface or you’re disqualified. Obviously the catch is that you cannot breathe underwater.
> It was a horrifying article for me to read. There are no actual competitions in this sport, since the risk of death is too great. No, all you do is say ‘On such and such a date at 9:30AM I will attempt to dive to such and such a depth’. Apparently this draws a crowd, if only to drag out your swollen corpse. Someone dives, the spectators hang out on the platform, and either you make it or you don’t. The depths this woman was diving required 7 or 8 minutes of submersion. Well. She gained her self-mastery for this sport through yoga. The men’s champion is some kind of military guy, but yah right, like the US Armed Forces knows anything about physical training :rolleyes:
> I’d really only taken a couple of steps down the road of breath control when I read this article. It gave me a truly horrifying sense of the scale of possible mastery of the breath- these people go down so far that their lungs shrink to the size of a fist, squeezing out all the O2 and allowing them to go still deeper. Um, I’m not ready. Not even close. See- if you try some yoga, you too can magnify your horror. What’s not to love? 😉
Meh, there are people who do crazy things all the time. Running four minute miles. Climbing mount Everest. Sticking their hands in molten lead. All arguably awesome, and I will never do any of them, and don’t want to. Doesn’t stop me from walking across the room or climbing the stairs now and then though. (The lead still scares me though.)
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> This comment reminded me that at one point I did in fact have a “runner’s diet”! I looked around for advice when I was training and made a sort of approximation that I thought I could live with. I still have the list on my refrigerator. The only time I lived exclusively on these foods was perhaps the 2 months before the marathon. The list has been up for several years now as a reminder to eat some of this stuff at least now and then- and I do! Still, I love some junk too, but it would probably be a pizza, and never ding-dongs. Just me. Ahem! The list is: Yams. Kashi cereal. Oranges. Black Beans. Salmon (or fish). 100% whole grain bread. Frozen stir-fry. Whole-grain pasta. Chicken. Frozen mixed berries. Dark chocolate. Live culture yogurt. Almonds.
> The point of living off that is to improve your long-distance running performance, YMMV.
Obviously how much you eat matters too, of course, but that looks like a way to start losing weight, assuming you were eating the pizza otherwise.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> Well there’s the diabetes. But you are already losing weight. Lots and lots actually. I defer.
There’s getting fit, and there’s getting thin. I have a fairly compelling reason to get thin. I have no reason to get fit.
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> I’m not a yogavangelist or anything. Again, you seem to overcome the objection that you’re in denial.
>
> The bottom line is I just wanted to help, considering the thread and your mention of diabetes. I hope I’m not being a nuisance.
Are you _sure_ you’re not a yogavangelist? You’ve got the enthusiasm, if nothing else. 🙂
And if I get annoyed, I’ll just stop responding. So no prob.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/537 "2009-11-03T21:51:37Z")
Exercise is [highly beneficial in controlling type 2 diabetes](http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/exercise-guidelines). As well as lowering diabetics’ risk of heart disease, which is the number-one killer of diabetics.
So your statement that as a diabetic, you have a reason to become thin but not to become fit, is false, assuming that you don’t want to die of a heart attack at an early age. If you do want to die of a heart attack at an early age, disregard the preceding statement.
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/538 "2009-11-03T22:02:36Z")
> [@begbert2](#):
>
> _You_ said it’s magic. Doing yoga is supposedly going to do…something…to my cognitive state. I’m not seeing a proposed mechanism for how that’s supposed to be happening, though - aligning chakras, maybe?
>
> Regardless I maintain skepticism.
Lots of evidence that fitness improves cognition. I didn’t take the time to do an in-depth search, but here’s a relevant [link](http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD005381/frame.html): “Eight out of 11 studies reported that aerobic exercise interventions resulted in increased cardiorespiratory fitness of the intervention group (an improvement on the maximum oxygen uptake test which is considered to be the single best indicator of the cardiorespiratory system) of approximately 14% and this improvement coincided with improvements in cognitive capacity.” To the extent that yoga improves your fitness it’ll also presumably improve your cognitive ability.
Also lots of evidence on the impact of physical fitness on mental well-being, e.g., this [link](http://www.fitness.gov/mentalhealth.htm): “We now have evidence to support the claim that exercise is related to positive mental health as indicated by relief in sympotoms of depression and anxiety”
Lots more evidence on the impact of physical fitness on quality-of-life measures and other stuff.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/539 "2009-11-03T22:08:10Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#):
>
> Lots of evidence that fitness improves cognition. I didn’t take the time to do an in-depth search, but here’s a relevant [link](http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD005381/frame.html): “Eight out of 11 studies reported that aerobic exercise interventions resulted in increased cardiorespiratory fitness of the intervention group (an improvement on the maximum oxygen uptake test which is considered to be the single best indicator of the cardiorespiratory system) of approximately 14% and this improvement coincided with improvements in cognitive capacity.” To the extent that yoga improves your fitness it’ll also presumably improve your cognitive ability.
>
> Also lots of evidence on the impact of physical fitness on mental well-being, e.g., this [link](http://www.fitness.gov/mentalhealth.htm): “We now have evidence to support the claim that exercise is related to positive mental health as indicated by relief in sympotoms of depression and anxiety”
>
> Lots more evidence on the impact of physical fitness on quality-of-life measures and other stuff.
Not cognitive ability, “clarity of mind”. Puts you in touch with your inner spinal cord, and the like. Assuming I’m interpreting him properly (which is _far_ from a given).
And I’m not depressed or anxious.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-get-so-fat/513763/540 "2009-11-03T22:18:50Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Exercise is [highly beneficial in controlling type 2 diabetes](http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/exercise-guidelines). As well as lowering diabetics’ risk of heart disease, which is the number-one killer of diabetics.
>
> So your statement that as a diabetic, you have a reason to become thin but not to become fit, is false, assuming that you don’t want to die of a heart attack at an early age. If you do want to die of a heart attack at an early age, disregard the preceding statement.
I don’t think your cite says what you think it does. The first page says “Combining diet, exercise, and medicine (when prescribed) will help control your weight and blood sugar level.”, and then lists some things exercise does, among which is reducing blood suger (which I suppose might be an issue if you’re having problems keeping your blood sugar low, which I’m not), and “Burning excess body fat”, which of course in reality is at least 95% a food issue, and other things of lesser significance. The second page, on the other hand, says “If you’re gonna exercise, watch your butt or it’ll kill you”. And the third page informs you that exercise is a lifetime commitment…without supporting argument.
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