exercise is NOT is not a weight loss strategy. "healthy" food won't stop one from gaining. BOTH ideas which hurt the economy have been published in this newspaper for several decades.
This article reports fairly accurately on a study that had many serious statistical problems (none reported here, as usual). One problem was that the study did not report change in weight of the individuals, although one might think it did. Indeed, the summary of this article for the NYT Well email was, "Military families that moved to areas with high obesity rates tended to gain weight themselves." Luckily, the article itself said no such thing. Without knowing about changes, one can certainly not know about contagion.
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Did they factor in the mission of the military bases involved? One would expect people on a base that’s home to troops like Airborne or Rangers would be more fit than, say, those on an Air Force base with more sedentary work.
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No, they did not.
Interesting article, because military families come from all areas of the country and all socio economic backgrounds--so they really are a good sample for the effect of location on weight. If we built communities with sidewalks, stores, parks, schools, restaurants and libraries that people could walk to, what an improvement it would be socially and for everyone's health. Oh well. 'Merica
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I wonder how much of this has not only to with how the people around you look and act, but with the availability of healthy food and activities in these neighborhoods. I live in a neighborhood that consists almost entirely of steep hills with sidewalks flanked with larger shady trees, has ample parks and outdoor recreation opportunities, only 1 fast food restaurant (also the only chain restaurant), but several sit down restaurants, and 3 grocery stores and 3 hospitals. And just as importantly is relatively safe.
If you live in a healthy food desert, there are is not safe places to play and recreate, and otherwise walk outside...you are bound to be a homebody and and overweight.
If you live in a healthy food desert, there are is not safe places to play and recreate, and otherwise walk outside...you are bound to be a homebody and and overweight.
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Nope, can't be. Fake news. Everyone knows evil carbs are to blame. They magically give people diabetes, which makes them fat. There is no such thing as a good carb, or free will either. But don't take my word for it. Read Gary Taubes, "science journalist" extraordinaire.
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Stay uncomfortable. Stay itchy. Stay defiant. Keep moving.
My co-workers and neighbors think I'm "eccentric" for walking any chance I get, anywhere I am. It's not really about my waistline. It's about keeping my wits. It's about staying sharp. It's about getting fresh air. It's about using my body. It's about connecting with whatever environment I'm in. It's an adventure, even if a paved, groomed walking path isn't beneath my feet.
My neighbors spend barely any time outside and are all 20-30lbs overweight.
My coworkers all bought FitBits, pay for gym memberships, then complain if they cannot park next to the door. Keep your curiosity and keep moving -- even if everyone around you does not.
My co-workers and neighbors think I'm "eccentric" for walking any chance I get, anywhere I am. It's not really about my waistline. It's about keeping my wits. It's about staying sharp. It's about getting fresh air. It's about using my body. It's about connecting with whatever environment I'm in. It's an adventure, even if a paved, groomed walking path isn't beneath my feet.
My neighbors spend barely any time outside and are all 20-30lbs overweight.
My coworkers all bought FitBits, pay for gym memberships, then complain if they cannot park next to the door. Keep your curiosity and keep moving -- even if everyone around you does not.
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Great attitude, but you can keep moving without being uncomfortable and itchy. I appreciate that you may be speaking metaphorically, but moving can actually make you feel good. More people need to realize that.
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So if I do the math, for a parent couple who settled in the most obese county compared to the least obese, their obesity rate increased by 5% of (38-21= 17) which is 85%. So even if they were as obese as doctors in the US are (13 % according to Gallop poll, the parents settling in the most obese county will have an obesity rate of 13x1.85=24%. Those in the least obese stayed like the doctors: 13% obese. I don't have the JAMA article to know the details, but their point seems that environment -- your neighbors' lifestyle -- makes a strong impact.
The other half is the self-actuated change -- with mindful eating and activity habits. For this , I think, the military discipline or even knowledge about healthier habits in food and activity has less to do with higher obesity rate than how well an overall sense of a rewarding life one feels where one uses one's both mental and physical capacities in ways that makes one feel fulfilled. That requires more self-reflection than self-discipline.
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Hmmm. Maybe. I noticed this in Mississippi where large bodies seemed the norm. But where there are no food stores to walk to, nothing much to do culturally in the common spaces but go to the mall where you can always afford a cheap, fatty and sugary meal if nothing else, maybe other factors are driving you and your neighbors. That nonsense about will power doesn't help. Children need to be helped not to become obese, especially girls. And what has will power have to do with growing up hungry, even though you are fat, in a food desert?
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Was weather looked at? The article doesn't seem to indicate that it was.
I think warmth and hours of daily sunlight probably play a significant role.
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I disagree. Indigninous people who live tropics are not fat. Indigenous people who live in the arctic tend to be fatter.
Well aren’t you saying then that warmth and hours of daily sunlight DO make a difference?
I hope to see more empirical research exploring the relationships between physical health and social environments. Social norms exert a powerful, though often invisible, influence on behavior. As a sociologist, I think culture is actually most effective in shaping conduct when we're wholly unaware of it.
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We are only as fit as who we hang around with. All my friends are in great shape :)
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God bless you!
While society and genetics can certainty have an effect re being overweight and obesity, will power is the final key.
If you really want to lose weight you will do it, if not you will not do it.
Period.
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Studies have repeatedly shown that "will power" has very little to do with it. "Will power" is something that people congratulate themselves for having when their personal circumstances allow them to make decisions that enable thinness or fitness. "Will power" can't overcome chronic fatigue or depression, which contribute to weight gain. "Will power" can't free up time when you work twelve-hour days at a crappy rate of pay while attempting to raise a child or two. If "will power" means neglecting other important aspects of life in order to concentrate all one's inner resources on achieving a svelte figure, some people will simply have other or more urgent priorities.
So count yourself fortunate, but don't assume your "will power" is superior because you're thin. You don't know how you would respond to someone else's circumstances. And it's well known that we don't have an unlimited supply of self-discipline (a better way to think of it than "will power" anyway). Everybody needs some form of release, and those with money and time are often unaware how they reward themselves and de-stress (stress being another factor in weight gain) in ways that are simply not available to the typical Wal-Mart worker.
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Agreed. Since approximately 70% of adults in this country are overweight or obese, one must dedicate oneself to not being one of them. In other words, such "neighbors" are the norm.
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@Paul:
Understanding what regulates fat tissue is the key, and it is not calories.
If you mean willpower to restrict calories and fight hunger, then in the end that is always a losing battle.
If you mean willpower to choose more nutritious foods, exercise choices, sleep habits, then we're in more productive territory.
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If we designed our neighborhoods to be more walkable and bikeable (by using "traffic calming," "road diets," eliminating parking minimums, and zoning for mixed-use) more people would bike and walk and we would all be healthier.
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I used to think this as well, until Seattle began an aggressive road diet. Now I spend MORE time in my car because traffic is even worse, because 2 lanes in each direction have become one lane in each direction. I have less time to be outside and exercise. Expecting bicycles to work for families, the elderly, etc. is unrealistic. Expecting bicycles to work in climates where it rains 8 months of the year and is extremely hilly, is also unrealistic.
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Road diets like the one in playa del Rey that made traffic even worse and has since been removed? No thanks.
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But the study evaluated the impact of "shared built environment," which included such things as the availability of parks and recreational areas, and did not see an effect. That is why the authors proposed that "social contagion" -- the tendency of people to adopt the habits of the other people around them -- might explain their results better than "shared built environment."
Granting that the study could only analyze these effects crudely, what it mainly suggests is that designing an environment with exercise opportunities is not enough to get people to use them!
Granting that the study could only analyze these effects crudely, what it mainly suggests is that designing an environment with exercise opportunities is not enough to get people to use them!