Poll about main causes of obesity

[Kyriakos]

This is just going to be a very general poll

Poll question is:

In your view, which of the following is the main cause of obesity?

The options are:

1) Genetic predisposition (the person is born genetically prone to obesity, in a significant degree to allow this as a dominant factor).

2) Lifestyle (here meaning mostly lack of care about how much you eat, while eating more than you need to keep healthy).

3) Psychology (depression is mostly alluded to here. If you choose this option you signify that you view any negative mentality about oneself as being the most crucial part of becoming obese).

4) Prevalence of unhealthy foods (junk food prices vs healthier food, other relations and so on)

5) Other/I don't eat all that -show me the poll result.

 

[Synobun]

I voted psychology because your mental state applies to your lifestyle and ultimately many of our bad habits are a direct result from something our parents did or did not do, which impacts us psychologically.

 

[Kyriakos]

^I voted Psychology as well.

 

[classical_hero]

I would look at the health of the digestive system. There does seem to be a case for us to look closer at this issue.

 

[warpus]

I voted "other"

The main cause of obesity is the easy and cheap availability of high sugar and high carb processed foods when compared to the cost of healthier alternatives. The implication of this is that poorer members of society tend to eat food that makes them fatter and eventually obese. Half of everything being deep fried doesn't help.

Those with money are not immune to this effect - but at least they have more healthier alternatives.

I believe in personal responsibility and all that, but when you take options away from people and/or limit them, there will be consequences. The path of least resistance often wins out, and when you're poor and there's 4 fast food joints on every street corner and vegetables are expensive - many people are going to .. you know, go for the cheap and convenient stuff.

A lot of us here in the west are essentially addicted to really bad food. .. food which is often designed to be addictive in the first place. And it's cheap! No wonder there are whales walking around everywhere.

edit: I am kinda tired right now and didn't see that my position is covered on the poll

 

[Akka]

Obesity rates are pretty much linearly correlated with anglo-saxon culture expansion, so yeah I'd say it's lifestyle.

 

[warpus]

Obesity rates are pretty much linearly correlated with anglo-saxon culture expansion, so yeah I'd say it's lifestyle.

Sort of. Mexico and Saudi Arabia win out though IIRC, so it can't be all blamed on the goddamn Anglo Saxons.

 

[dutchfire]

Obesity rates are pretty much linearly correlated with anglo-saxon culture expansion, so yeah I'd say it's lifestyle.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2228rank.html

Tonga, the Bahamas and Egypt are great examples of anglo-saxon culture. (Which isn't even a thing you can objectively put a number on, so the concept of linear correlation is ridiculous to start with.)

 

[Kyriakos]

i voted "other"

[...]

edit: I am kinda tired right now and didn't see that my position is covered on the poll

.

 

[Flying Pig]

It's actually cheaper to cook healthy meals than to eat ready-made ones, as logic would tell you, but people need the skills, which many people lack.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Even with the prevalence of extremely calorie-dense food, exercise is still a thing. Lifestyle it is then.

It's actually cheaper to cook healthy meals than to eat ready-made ones, as logic would tell you, but people need the skills, which many people lack.

And the time, though securing an hour or so every day doesn't seem like a Herculean effort.

 

[Silurian]

You can cook a lot of things in less than an hour.
Also not everything has to be continually watched whilst cooking so you can do other things at the same time.
You can also make your own ready meals.

 

[Kyriakos]

^True, but anything cooked with oil does require you to be watching most of the time (or a fire can start).

I only know how to cook basic stuff like potatos & meat, or make an omelette. Which is very simple but you can still eat for the day or two and it takes 20 min at most.

 

[Cutlass]

Even with the prevalence of extremely calorie-dense food, exercise is still a thing. Lifestyle it is then.



And the time, though securing an hour or so every day doesn't seem like a Herculean effort.

It can be a lot more time than that. Because where many of the poor live there is no ready access to cheap good quality basic foods.

 

[Goodfella]

Why can't it be all of them?

 

[nc-1701]

Any answer other than lifestyle is blatantly wrong and demonstrates that you have fallen under the propaganda of some portion of the diet/fitness/beauty/whining industry. The science is simple and well known, it's not a difficult problem. Obese people choose to be obese, or perhaps in a few cases rather choose ignorance about solutions to their obesity.

A tiny fraction of cases fall under other/genetics/etc. Certain drugs like Prednisone cause significant weight gain if taken for a long time. But this is a minuscule fraction of all obese people.

Prevalence of unhealthy foods obviously contributes to poor lifestyles, but isn't a cause in and of itself.

Depression may be cause in some cases, but depression is largely controlled by lifestyle as well so...

 

[Kyriakos]

Why can't it be all of them?

It is all of them, in regards to overall causes. The poll is about a probable main factor among them, though.

 

[Akka]

Sort of. Mexico and Saudi Arabia win out though IIRC, so it can't be all blamed on the goddamn Anglo Saxons.

Yeah, of course, the generally more sedentary and low-exercize lifestyle common to all technologically-advanced country has certainly a noticeable part of the blame.

But the feeding habits that are typical from (invented in even ?) the anglosphere tend to be a really large (I'd even say the main) factor.

 

[Quackers]

Any answer other than lifestyle is blatantly wrong and demonstrates that you have fallen under the propaganda of some portion of the diet/fitness/beauty/whining industry. The science is simple and well known, it's not a difficult problem. Obese people choose to be obese, or perhaps in a few cases rather choose ignorance about solutions to their obesity.

A tiny fraction of cases fall under other/genetics/etc. Certain drugs like Prednisone cause significant weight gain if taken for a long time. But this is a minuscule fraction of all obese people.

Prevalence of unhealthy foods obviously contributes to poor lifestyles, but isn't a cause in and of itself.

Depression may be cause in some cases, but depression is largely controlled by lifestyle as well so...

This expresses my thoughts very well. Although people who were obese as children due to their parents feeding them too much deserve some sympathy.

 

[Zack]

depression is largely controlled by lifestyle as well so...

Wait, what?