# Obesity **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 13, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090 "2003-07-13T02:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/1 "2003-07-13T02:30:11Z")
I just wanted to know whether people agree that obesity is a direct result of a western diet and overeating or whether there is a glandular or genetic reason for it. it seems to me that countries with a high rate of obesity have more of a ‘fast food’ culture than those without. So basically my question is ‘obesity: greed or glands’? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/2 "2003-07-13T03:32:11Z")
You may find this thread, [Why are People Overweight](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=112700&highlight=obesity), of interest. In it I said: > [@](#): > > 1. Identical twins reared apart have similar body weights. > > 2. If you take pairs of identical twins and feed them identical amounts of excess calories, the weight gain within a twin pair is tightly linked, but the weight gain among different pairs varies widely (i.e. for the same number of calories ingested, the amount of weight gained depends on the person’s genetic makeup. And the weight gain can be small, medium, or large depending on the genes) > > 3. For the same number of calories ingested, leptin deficient mice gain more weight than leptin-replete mice. > > 4. Certain diseases/lesions affecting the hypothalamus (the site in the brain controlling things like appetite, thirst, etc.) lead to acquired obesity in previously normal-weight individuals. > > 5. The prevalence of obesity in certain ethnic groups (eg. Pima Indians) approaches 100%. > > These type of data are only part of the huge amount of evidence indicating that obesity can have a substantial “non-pyschological” contribution to its genesis. > > I don’t think there is anyone dealing with obesity on a professional basis who seriously believes that it is a simple as “People get fat because they do lack self control and a knowledge of portions and nutrition.” ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/3 "2003-07-13T04:03:33Z")
To cut a long story short - humans have always had a ‘healthy’ apetite for food, it’s only comparatively recent that food is readily available. This opens up an other debat - is it being _thin_ that is abnormal and being fat is normal (as it is the result of our ‘normal’ apetite) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/4 "2003-07-13T05:24:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WILLASS \* > \*\*So basically my question is ‘obesity: greed or glands’? \*\* I think the word you’re looking for is gluttony. Even then I don’t think it all boils down to gluttony. With the type of foods available it is possible to consume a butt load of calories without even realizing it. [quote] _Originally posted by Lobsang_\*\* To cut a long story short - humans have always had a ‘healthy’ apetite for food, it’s only comparatively recent that food is readily available. quote]\*\* Food was plentiful in the United States through most of the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Yet when I look at photos from that era overweight people are nowhere near as common as they are today. Those overweight people I do see tend to be at least in their 40’s or 50’s and even then few are obese. For some odd reason most of the really fat ones tend to be women while the husbands remain little stick figures. Maybe this is all a regional thing. Something must have changed in the past 30 years to produce so many overweight people in the United States. Unless there’s some new disease or new gene introduced to the public I don’t think we can blame it on nature. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/5 "2003-07-13T06:10:31Z")
Maybe it’s a combination of more food and more ability to afford it. ---
**Author:** ![Inoshiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9adbd/32.png) [@Inoshiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inoshiro)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/6 "2003-07-13T06:24:44Z")
My take on this. Sedentary jobs and too many hours spent at work = obesity. I don’t have a cite but I’ve heard that Americans work as much now as they did in the 1920s in terms of hours per year. Yet today’s jobs are far less physically intensive than shoveling coal, farming or the other things people did in the 20s. This seems to be born out by the relatively thin Europeans who are genetically similar and yet work a lot less, thus having more time for the gym and other active pursuits. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/7 "2003-07-13T10:05:51Z")
Dr Atkins (of Atkins Diet fame) links rising obesity to increasing unrefined carb intake, especially sugar. His book has charts showing that while fat intake apparently hasn’t increased that much since 1900, white sugar and flour have, and their increase in our diets mirrors the increase in obesity. His argument is insulin based, rather than calorie based. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/8 "2003-07-13T10:35:25Z")
I think there are a number of factors at work here. Unquestionably, genetics _does_ influence weight gain. That doesn’t excuse tipping the scales at 600 lbs, but clearly some individuals have a much harder time controlling their weight than others, even when eating fewer calories and excercising more than average. Yes, there really _are_ glandular problems that can cause weight gain such as hypothyroidism and poly-cystic ovary disease. Thyroid problems are very treatable. PCOD is too, although I’m told it’s a more difficult problem to manage. I’m also beginning to think the “too much carbs is bad for you” argument has merit, although it’s not the whole story either. Some people do well on high-carb/low-fat and some don’t - and there may well be biological reasons for that. But the BIGGEST factor, if you ask me, is the exercise issue. Sure, we go to the gym, but the US society has done so much to take all the excercise and effort out of normal life that the gym can’t make up for it. For instance, I’ve lived in neighborhoods where you can’t ride your bicycle on the sidewalk - or on the street. So how can you ride your bike? You have to put it in a vehicle and drive to a designated area called a “bike trail”. There are even places where walking is discouraged to the point where you have to _drive_ to designated “walking trails”. This is … bizarre. Part of the appeal of bikes and feet is that they are cheap (or can be, if you don’t over-accessorize) and can be done anywhere. Well, _used_ to be done anywhere. The building I work in has _no_ provision for using stairs between floors - you _have_ to use the elevator, even for just one floor. Well, that’s the way it _used_ to be - enough of us complained that they are now allowing us access to a stairwell to walk up and down. But clearly that stairwell was never intended to be anything other than an evacuation device. At various jobs where I’ve worked people think I’m weird for getting and walking to someone else’s workspace instead of calling them on the phone. Well, guess what - I like to walk, and I’m slimmer and healthier than the folks who always use the phone. And I could go on and on… but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![yola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/48db29/32.png) [@yola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yola)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/9 "2003-07-13T12:06:04Z")
How many times have you drove around a parking lot at a shopping mall to find a parking spot? Funny. Drive to the farthest corner, park, and walk. Take a shopping cart out there and leave it. Give somebody a job. Obesity is genetic. We didn’t know what Madonna knows. (picking a good looking pair of jeans sperm donor). Quit picking on fat people, so what if their fat? Whats it to you? Look at what you want to and close your eyes to the rest. Your going to sleep now. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/10 "2003-07-13T14:53:28Z")
Well, I think its a combination of things. Genetics a big part of it. The carb heavy food pyramid is part of it. You can eat a lot of carbs if you are going to be working in a field all day, but if you work at a desk your screwed. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity/188090/11 "2003-07-13T15:40:54Z")
My take: Societal conditions that encourage low levels of exercise, and a culture of consumng lots of less-than-healthy food. Being the second generation (or so) exposed to suburban always-drive-everywhere life and frequent use of fast-food or boxed-ready-to-eat food, we’ve grown up not knowing there’s another way. Fewer people know how to cook, fewer people walk or bike because they just didn’t do it growing up, and because their suburb just isn’t built for it. Or because they have a long commute. So: Not enough excercise, too much food, and the wrong kinds of food. North Americans eat Big Macs, barbecued steak, potato chips, twinkies, and TV dinners like no-one else on Earth. We’ve gotten used to not having to exercise much, and always having enough to eat- even eating treats and desserts and tasty condiments regularly. We’re so wealthy, we can have three full meals a day, and a snack too (for many of us, a not-so-healthy one), and save it up in our bodies because fossil fuels and electricity do the work that we used to have to. Of course, this only explains why people are on average fatter. For individual cases, it may be that the situation is worsened by just plain having a stockier, or plumper build, or because of glands or such things.