Shouldn't the focus of anti-obesity campaigns be active, vigorous exercise, and not healthy diets?

Question

I think the healthy fad diets are terribly harmful in both their message and their nutritional value. People should be encouraged to stay active and exercise vigorously to the maximum, and not to eat food which denies them the calories and fat necessary to operate properly.

I believe obesity is caused by laziness and an inability to use up the calories gained in a typical day's worth of meals. A healthy diet actually is a cop-out, quick fix as it does not address the real problem. I do not believe in eating healthy, I believe it is, to be frank, stupid. You might as well just starve yourself, it's just as good.

Actually, encouraging people to eat healthier is actually NOT WISE, as it promises weight loss by starving, and not by exercise. That may explain why a lot of people still get fat, even on diets.

Do you agree with me that this is all madness?

Answer 1

Yes I agree with you. There should be more talk about being active than just "losing weight", because you can lose the weight, but it will come right back, also you could be malnourished. Right on with your analysis.

Answer 2

I definitely agree with you except for one thing: obesity ISN'T the problem. The real problem is that people are not active or eating healthy foods in moderation. Think about it: a person can exercise an hour or more 5-7 days a week, eat relatively healthy and still weigh more than the BMI says they should weigh. I was talking to my sister who weighs 200lbs, has a couple very active kids she runs after, works on her feet and walks the floor a lot for eight hours and eats fairly well. Her blood pressure is fantastic and her doctor is actually happy with how healthy she is.
I think we should be encouraging everyone to be happy and proud of their individual shapes, show more of the wide variety of shapes on tv and the movies, and encourage and give permission to all body sizes to move and be active in ways that are comfortable for them.
I actually suspect that the war on obesity is a ploy to get people to buy into all the diet supplements, exercise equipment, etc. that are being pushed. It's a huge business that benefits big companies far more than the individual since all an individual really needs to do to be active is move more--in the house, at work, and outdoors. What's more, once people accept that they will never be the size of the waifs on tv or totally buff, and start loving themselves, they will start moving and being more active and eating better. They might not lose weight, but they will be more healthy.

Answer 3

Nope. I gained my weight because I was hypoglycemic (low blood sugar). Exercise would keep my weight stable, but I could not lose. Now I am on an anti-yeast, anti-sugar, and incidentally because of my husband's food allergies, anti gluten, and I am losing the weight without much exercise at all.

Obesity is not due solely to what people eat. If fat people's bodies processed food the way skinny people's bodies do, they would have never gotten fat in the first place. I am not talking about "metabolism". I am talking about hyperinsulinemia - the precursor condition for diabetes type 2, hypoglycemia, in many cases obesity and other "conditions".

Answer 4

I think that it is a balance of lifestyle. It is healthy eating habits and daily activity. We have become a lazy generation in that we want quick fix---eat horrible and then fix it. For instance, they are now doing research for children to carry a 3 lb teddy bear to help children "exercise" more. Why not throw the bear away and put them in swimming lessons? I don't get it.

Answer 5

lol sadly if you throw someone into a vigorous workout the injuries they can get can be more damaging..stress fractures etc. I do agree with you on the unhealthy fad diets.

Answer 6

yes 100% exercise is good there are no short cuts

Answer 7

I think it should be both.