42% of Americans will be obese by 2030

[Guest EXPAT]

The ranks of obese Americans are expected to swell even further in the coming years, rising from 36% of the adult population today to 42% by 2030, experts said Monday.

Kicking off a government-led conference on the public health ramifications of all those expanding waistlines, the authors of a new report estimated that the cost of treating those additional obese people for diabetes, heart disease and other medical conditions would add up to nearly $550 billion over the next two decades.

The sobering projections also contained some good news, the researchers said: Obesity's growth has slowed from the record pace of most of the last 30 years. If those trends were to continue, 51% of American adults would qualify as obese in 2030.

Full article: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-obesity-20120508,0,4332050.story

[JKane]

And yet our tax dollars still subsidize corn being made into corn syrup...

Still, there's far more info out there on ways to become healthy now and more and more are turning to it. And while some medical efforts have gone down in flames (phen phen), it's a high-profit potential so a lot of money is going into lots of various research which may help.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out by 2030 that obesity is much like smoking is regarded today and is at similar lows.

[Guest FourAces]

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out by 2030 that obesity is much like smoking is regarded today and is at similar lows.

I disagree. As long as there are fast food places and pizza joints on every corner the problem will continue to grow out of control.

As for research .. well its kind of silly isn't it? There will be no magic pill as the money is not in the cure its in the ongoing sale of medicine. Also we know now that eating too much and eating too much of certain foods makes us fat.

When you don't control it you end up like I am when you do something about it you end up like you

[Guest EXPAT]

People always ask me how I lost 90 pounds over the last 18 months. I said that there is no magic pill. You have to eat less and move more. And what you eat must be good choices. It really is as simple as that. And as FourAces states above going to fast food for every meal or every other meal isn't going to help.

[OneFinger]

People always ask me how I lost 90 pounds over the last 18 months. I said that there is no magic pill. You have to eat less and move more. And what you eat must be good choices. It really is as simple as that.

I've got to totally agree with you and think your success is fantastic.

I also lost a considerable amount of weight in the past 18 months and it was by changing my diet and exercise. I started out by removing all carbs, caffine, alcohol, soda, and fast food from my life. The doc then had me follow a very strict diet of high protein, very small portions, lots of water, and more exercise.

In the beginning, the only exercise I could handle was walking. But, it was increasing my movement and I soon moved up to more rigorous stuff.

Portion control, wise choices, and movement were the key essentials in my success. And, I'm now able to maintain that weight loss with some great receipes that Oz shared with me. The weight loss has really changed my life.

[Guest EXPAT]

Congratulations on your success. Life is very different when you are lighter, isn't it?

[JKane]

Overall I agree, but at the same time, pills like Alli help some and are likely to get better (and are great for the drug manufacturers because they're more a continuous helping hand than a cure). There's also research into changing the intestinal flora. Just like quitting smoking it can be a combination of techniques that help somebody get healthy--as long as they have the core drive to do it. When they don't, it's not likely anything can help them, as all the people who've eaten around lap-band or bypass surgery show.

[Guest FourAces]

Congratulations on your success. Life is very different when you are lighter, isn't it?

Congratulations to you and OneFinger. As someone who is extremely overweight ad at one point had lost over 150 pounds I can relate to your success and continued success. I have much respect for people who can accomplish weight loss.

I also know JK has lost a large amount of weight and should include him in your group as well.

As for me I had a hard time handling some sad news back on those leaner times and went into a tail spin

As to your comments about the various surgeries and the lap-band I personally know many who have had both and while in the short term they succeed in the long term they are all back at where they began ... aside from two. Its not for me but I am sure others have been helped greatly by the procedures.

[Guest EXPAT]

I also have a friend whose boss paid for his Gastric Bypass surgery and he is also gaining his weight back. I told him he has to move more and he just simply won't do it. So as a result he is stretching his stomach out again and eating too much and not moving. As a result, he will have wasted a $15,000 + surgery that his boss paid for because his insurance didn't. It's very upsetting to me to see this happen even though I've said something to him he won't do anything. I wish I knew how to give him a jolt.

[JKane]

I also have a friend whose boss paid for his Gastric Bypass surgery and he is also gaining his weight back. I told him he has to move more and he just simply won't do it. So as a result he is stretching his stomach out again and eating too much and not moving. As a result, he will have wasted a $15,000 + surgery that his boss paid for because his insurance didn't. It's very upsetting to me to see this happen even though I've said something to him he won't do anything. I wish I knew how to give him a jolt.

That is the biggest problem. There's nothing that will make you lose weight if you haven't gotten to a point in your life where you are determined to do it, no excuses. Some people never hit that point. All you can do is push/shove them in the right direction.

Paying for somebody you care for to get bypass is a baaad idea. Something more like you'll reimburse them 33% a year for 3 years if they continue to improve their health is a much better idea. Or once they get healthy you'll pay for the excess skin removal--wish I had somebody to do that for me!

[TampaYankee]

I guess that makes me a trend setter.

[MsGuy]

I was dumpster diving around the net killing time when I saw this article on new weight loss research in the WSJ and thought readers of this topic might find it of interest.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304458604577490943279845790.html

[lookin]

Always surprises me how much analysis is done on food intake, and how little on energy output. When I was a young 'un, we rarely sat still, and the only heavy kid in our neighborhood had two overweight parents. Eating was a time waster and, when dinner was over, we were outside burning it off. We had one car and my father took it to work every day. If I needed to go somewhere, I walked or rode my bike. So did everybody else.

My stepdad worked on a farm in the Pennsylvania Dutch country. For breakfast, they had ham, bacon, eggs, scrapple, shoe fly pie, apie cake, and sticky buns. Every day. And lunch was just as big. But they worked it all off before supper, which was a much lighter meal.

I was visiting a hospital in that neck of the woods several years ago, and noticed the younger girls who were working as nurses' aides. Many of them were huge. I'd pass them waiting for the elevator and never once did I see them walk the two or three flights to the top floor. Yet the biggest displays in the local supermarkets were always potato chips, at least a half-dozen local brands, and one was made with lard. The food was just like the old days, but the exercise was almost nil.

I'm not suggesting we'll go back to the days of hard physical labor, and I'll count on evolution to winnow out those who can't adjust their metabolism to balance energy intake and output.

But evolution takes time. I'd bet on five generations at least until we start seeing lots of folks who can eat what they like, enjoy a sedentary lifestyle, and not be overweight. There are a few who can do that now, but I think they are a small minority. In time, I expect we'll see many more.

In the meantime, I believe we're in an evolutionary transition period where we are still eating like our grandparents who worked their butts off, and yet burning a fraction of the calories they did.

By the way, the potato chips back there were excellent! Especially the ones made with lard. I'll be thinking of them during my walk.

[Lucky]

I know that once I opted for healthy living, my life changed for the better!

[JKane]

There is a shiny new weight loss drug almost out. Hopefully it fares better than it predecessors!

[Guest EXPAT]

I hate all of these "so called drugs". It's all about eating less and smarter and moving more !! It's as simple as that.

[JKane]

I hate all of these "so called drugs". It's all about eating less and smarter and moving more !! It's as simple as that.

Not really, though that's a great start.

Yes, a lot of the currently available ones are basically speed pills with all the side affects. The infamous Fen Phen combo was one of these, but 1/2, Phentramine remains in common use. Phentramine and two other very similar drugs are just about all that's currently available as a "weight loss drug" from most doctors.

But there are actually new drugs doing different things:

There was one that boosted satiety but it was pulled when EU testing (after it sailed through FDA and was in use over here for maybe a year...) showed harmful side effects. This incident plus, of course, Fen Phen do tend to make me cautious, but on the other hand I appreciate any help I can get.

Another, Alli, is now available over the counter, it prevents abortion of 1/2 of the calories contained in fat one consumes, great for cheat days, restaurant meals, etc. Can have same side effects as olestra. It's a modest effect and hard to sustain without lifestyle change though.

I haven't read much about what exactly this latest drug does yet.

[Guest EXPAT]

These short cuts never work.

[JKane]

By themselves, without commitment and real lifestyle change, I agree.

But as a boost, or to help one get through a rough patch they have some value, in my experience anyway. Given the 'growth' of the market it seems inevitable that they'll get better with time too.

But even the most drastic surgery, a full Roux-en-Y gastric bypass can be eaten around by somebody who doesn't make the commitment to a new themselves.

For those that are ready and commit though, anything that helps them along by helping them stick to it or by boosting the results (helping the person see progress easier so they *stay* committed) can only be a good thing. Except when it isn't, like Fen Phen...

[TampaYankee]

There is a shiny new weight loss drug almost out. Hopefully it fares better than it predecessors!

I gave up any hope of a magic silver bullet drug that would be a safe, effective, and affordable weight loss and weight control solution. This new drug does nothing to change my attitude.

I believe that the only effective solution lay in future gene therapy discoveries to control metabolism. That is what really separates the truly chronic obese from the rest.

[TampaYankee]

I hate all of these "so called drugs". It's all about eating less and smarter and moving more !! It's as simple as that.

It is not as simple as that. There is something to what you say but it goes only so far. There are real differences in food quality and how it is metabolised and in individual biochemistry, i.e. metabolism. A calorie is not just a calorie and some people never gain weight whether they move or not. These are observed facts.