• Don't want to see ads? Install an adblocker like uBlock Origin or use a Europe-based privacy-friendly browser like Vivaldi or Mullvad.

Obesity in 7 easy steps

Average woman is 5'3 169?!!

Even for a man at that semi dwarfy height, that sounds kinda hefty! I'm 5'9 and weigh less!
 
my understanding was that obesity in America is stabilising at a high level and Europe is catching up now
 
davef said:
Average woman is 5'3 169?!!

Even for a man at that semi dwarfy height, that sounds kinda hefty! I'm 5'9 and weigh less!
Click to expand...

It's actually closer to 5.4", but still...

I'm 5'6", and at my heaviest, pregnant, I weighed 140 pounds. I couldn't wait to get those 25 pounds off me.

I don't get it.

I have to say, though, I think there are big regional differences, based on ethnic differences, food habits etc. This is what you'd see in the south or the midwest, not in the Northeast or the west coast. There's also "class" differences.

@Bicicleur,

I don't know if the weight in the U.S. has stabilized, but I think Europeans are catching up, based on that chart I recently posted on another thread.

OECD-Health-Data-2011.png


It's especially true in places like the U.K. I don't know if that's genetic or because they import more American snack foods and also eat out rather than cook.
 
@Angela
Under 140 at 5'6 sounds healthy for your gender. I'm thin myself, but I have a bit of a "gut" but then again something tells me its normal for males to have a little extra around the abdomen!
 
My hypothesis is that people with more farmer genes are less overweight, and ones with more hunter-gatherer in them will be more overweight. Granting that all have more than plenty food to consume. The problem is starches and sugars.
Farmers produced them for such a long time in ample quantities that they must have encountered obesity problem already in a distant past. Obese farmers were sicker and slower than normal weight farmers therefore could support fewer offspring, and their genome was weeded out through thousands of years. On other hand hunter-gatherers always craved starches but never could get enough. They never had to deal with obese society, and never were able to develop genetic mutations to let them deal with over-consumption of starches. They yet to go through weeding out process, the diet balancing (new environment) process.
There is known parallel with alcohol consumption. Farmers can deal with alcohol consumption. They do it in moderate way and also can digest it faster. Hunter-gatherers were introduced to alcohol recently and can't deal with it at all. They get drunk much faster and they drink till they drop.
 
LeBrok said:
My hypothesis is that people with more farmer genes are less overweight, and ones with more hunter-gatherer in them will be more overweight. Granting that all have more than plenty food to consume. The problem is starches and sugars.
Farmers produced them for such a long time in ample quantities that they must have encountered obesity problem already in a distant past. Obese farmers were sicker and slower than normal weight farmers therefore could support fewer offspring, and their genome was weeded out through thousands of years. On other hand hunter-gatherers always craved starches but never could get enough. They never had to deal with obese society, and never were able to develop genetic mutations to let them deal with over-consumption of starches. They yet to go through weeding out process, the diet balancing (new environment) process.
There is known parallel with alcohol consumption. Farmers can deal with alcohol consumption. They do it in moderate way and also can digest it faster. Hunter-gatherers were introduced to alcohol recently and can't deal with it at all. They get drunk much faster and they drink till they drop.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure this is the case, although I used to think so. It's certainly true that hunter gatherer groups tend to get very obese on the modern, western diet. The Native Americans are a great example. I see Central Americans who come up here who get very heavy. On the other hand, the South Asians, who have had agriculture for a long time, also seem to have an issue with obesity, or at least they do when they start consuming the western diet, as is the case for East Asians.

However, even NW Europeans are about 35-40% Natufian according to Kurd's latest analysis. You'd think that would be enough "farmer" genes to take care of it.

Then, looking at the statistics for obesity over time in Europe, it almost seems as if the people in the area running from Italy north through Switzerland, Austria, the Low Countries, and Scandinavia hold the line pretty well, while the British and the North East Europeans to either side seem to have more issues with weight.

That means it can't be the cold weather factor, although I also considered that to be a possibility.

I think diet is definitely a factor, and I do agree that there is a big genetic component to this, but I'm just not sure it's just farmer vs non farmer genes. Unless it's a question of "certain" specific farmer genes.

@Davef,

No, it's not ok for a man to have a paunch, especially not a young one. Stop eating so much junk food! I'm sure your mother tells you the same. :) Oh, and I was at my top weight of 140 when I was nine months pregnant! I was carrying another human being and other assorted bits. The doctor seemed to feel that was indeed healthy given that fact, but I couldn't wait to take off those 20-25 pounds. Fortunately, nature invented nursing.
 
Angela said:
I'm not sure this is the case, although I used to think so. It's certainly true that hunter gatherer groups tend to get very obese on the modern, western diet. The Native Americans are a great example. I see Central Americans who come up here who get very heavy. On the other hand, the South Asians, who have had agriculture for a long time, also seem to have an issue with obesity, or at least they do when they start consuming the western diet, as is the case for East Asians.

However, even NW Europeans are about 35-40% Natufian according to Kurd's latest analysis. You'd think that would be enough "farmer" genes to take care of it.

Then, looking at the statistics for obesity over time in Europe, it almost seems as if the people in the area running from Italy north through Switzerland, Austria, the Low Countries, and Scandinavia hold the line pretty well, while the British and the North East Europeans to either side seem to have more issues with weight.

That means it can't be the cold weather factor, although I also considered that to be a possibility.

I think diet is definitely a factor, and I do agree that there is a big genetic component to this, but I'm just not sure it's just farmer vs non farmer genes. Unless it's a question of "certain" specific farmer genes.

@Davef,

No, it's not ok for a man to have a paunch, especially not a young one. Stop eating so much junk food! I'm sure your mother tells you the same. :) Oh, and I was at my top weight of 140 when I was nine months pregnant! I was carrying another human being and other assorted bits. The doctor seemed to feel that was indeed healthy given that fact, but I couldn't wait to take off those 20-25 pounds. Fortunately, nature invented nursing.
Click to expand...
Did she ever! Btw I could sure go for a Mexican pizza with guacamole, chipotle and a massive vat of nacho cheese to dip my slices with a side of re fried beans and rice and a dr pepper. Look up Mexican pizza. a simple google search will explain what it is in no time.

Oh and a side of nachos!
 
On Thursdays I would order a huge meal from a local italian or Chinese restaurant full of carbs, and eat until my stomach stretches a few inches!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top