Article on today’s BBC website

“This research shows for the first time that healthy thin people are generally thin because they have a lower burden of genes that increase a person’s chances of being overweight and not because they are morally superior, as some people like to suggest,” she said.

“It’s easy to rush to judgement and criticise people for their weight but science shows that things are far more complex.

“We have far less control over our weight than we might wish to think.”

So, it is more difficult for some people than others. Who’d have thought it? I, for one, won’t stop trying though.

Oh and in case anyone is flexing their fingers ready to bash this woman’s opinion, she is Dr Sadaf Farooqi of Cambridge University, fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and has been researching obesity for 15 years. If you’re going to disagree with her let’s see your credentials.

I’m not sure this is revelation though.

Gemma Collins?

Not a relevation to me, but the prevailing opinion on here is that anyone who claims that it’s more difficult for some people to stay thin is a whiney excuse maker and of poor moral fibre in denial about how many cakes they stuff.

In a shocking statement, he added:

“Most obesity is acquired in adult life and is linked to the obesogenic environment we live in – a sedentary lifestyle and abundant access to calorie-dense foods.”

Who would have thought it.

If you’re not burning off what you are putting in, you’re getting fatter. So eat less.

That was a different bloke.

The point is that your over-simplification Hob Nob is not the whole story. As I’ve been trying to say for years. And oh look, TWO leading researchers agree with me despite your selective quoting.

Anyway, Hob Nob, where are your credentials?

Not a relevation to me, but the prevailing opinion on here is that anyone who claims that it’s more difficult for some people to stay thin is a whiney excuse maker and of poor moral fibre in denial about how many cakes they stuff.

Yeah I ignore them as they’ve clearly never met anyone like me.

As I’ve been trying to say for years. And oh look, TWO leading researchers agree with me despite your selective quoting.

It’s been known for years this is just the first ‘accurate’ study.

Well no fattie bashing from me. I still love riding them and not just down on the beach either!

The point is that your over-simplification Hob Nob is not the whole story. As I’ve been trying to say for years. And oh look, TWO leading researchers agree with me despite your selective quoting.

Or we’re obsessed with over complicating everything in a justification for an unhealthy lifestyle.

I’m not sure I need to be a doctor to understand the simple fact that if I live in a calorie deficit, I will lose weight.

Of course I appreciate that the issue in the real world is made more complex by potential issues of social, health, wealth, education, etc. But the simple fact is if you eat less than you burn, you’re not going to put weight on.

Hobknob your wrong . This study proves that overweight people gain weight via osmosis.

But the simple fact is if you eat less than you burn, you’re not going to put weight on.

I eat shit loads and quite a bit of the wrong stuff. I really only put weight on in the last year or 2 and don’t do a lot of exercise. It frustrates friends and colleagues as they would balloon just thinking about what I can eat. While you’re right there or those at both ends of the scale, boom boom, that’s what this science stuff is referring to.

Most folk in my office that are fat are (and that’s most of them) are in the canteen at the moment walloping into morning rolls and square sausage. I never seen any of them having a roll in genes.

Who would’ve thought that appetite and metabolism could be governed partly by genetic factors?

I’m not sure this is revelation though.

Exactly! My son could’ve made this report… Only 2 days ago he said how his friend eats 4 chocolate bars a day, crisps and all sorts of crap and remains skinny, whereas he has to be careful not to overeat, despite being active. I tell ya, the boy is a medical genius.
But, Hobnob also isn’t wrong.

It’s really not a revelation though.

Just because it’s harder for some people to stay a healthy weight, it doesn’t mean that they then have an excuse to be an unhealthy weight.

Hobknob

hehe

Who would’ve thought that appetite and metabolism could be governed partly by genetic factors?

Well there’s at least 2 in this thread.

Hob Nob is not really correct. Many people eat way more than they ‘burn’ via exercise and don’t get fat. That woman who was fetishised on here for being a competitive eater recently would appear to be one.

It is correct *to an extent* but only focusing on part of the story is damaging. This is what I am complaining about.

I’ve lost 2kg this month but through a level of self denial that most of you skinny bastards have never even heard of.

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In my simple, naive mind, there’s –

1. lots of folk out there that are fat because they eat the wrong stuff, and don’t do much.

2. There are people who do this but aren’t fat, however they are a lot fewer in number.

3. And there are people who don’t do this, but are still big. These are the folk this paper talks about.

In general, I’d say the vast majority of obese folk are no.1 – I have no science on this, nor do I intend to go looking for it, but it makes sense to me. YMMV.

Loving that i’m getting Cadbury’s adverts on this thread

I have no science on this, nor do I intend to go looking for it, but it makes sense to me

Very 2019.

While you cannot dispute the science, I personally know a few obese people that will be quoting this research as the reason for their weight gain while shovelling mountains of cake into their mouths.

Pretty sure this study was based on people with a BMI of 18 and under, that seriously **** thin even when people told me I looked ill I wasnt that I’m 73ish kg and 5foot10 which is about 23-24 I think. To get to 18 I’d need to be under 60kg. These people are right at the extremes of the distribution and so are not that helpful when looking at populations.

While genetics will play a part, poverty is probably the biggest cause of obesity in some sections of society. Most of us on here are comfortably off and have the time to prepare and eat healthy food. There are some sections of society that are time poor, holding down 2 jobs, bringing up small children who don’t have this luxury.

New readers start here. The first section is a tad off-beat but he’s rather good on socio-economic factors in obesity.

It used to be the case here and elsewhere in the world that to be fat meant you were privileged and well-fed. Nowadays obesity is more associated with poverty. It’s more about social context and inequality than about genes.

lapdog

Member
Well no fattie bashing from me. I still love riding them and not just down on the beach either

Gemma Collins?

Pretty sure this study was based on people with a BMI of 18 and under, that seriously **** thin even when people told me I looked ill I wasnt that I’m 73ish kg and 5foot10 which is about 23-24 I think. To get to 18 I’d need to be under 60kg.

All that demonstrates is perception skew. Ie what people think is healthy these days.

the prevailing opinion on here is that anyone who claims that it’s more difficult for some people to stay thin is a whiney excuse maker and of poor moral fibre in denial about how many cakes they stuff.

I think in view of your “let’s see your credentials” stance, I’d like to see this claim substantiated with figures (no pun intended).

I’m not really talking about obesity, my point was (and Dr Farooqi’s) that it is not a simple linear relationship between the number of calories that go into your mouth and your weight.

Munro +1

Many of my cousins (23 girls and just 3 lads including me, and that’s just on my mum’s side) are overweight.

Of the lads none of us are overweight,other than Paul, but he is competing at strong man events and works as tv/film extra usually playing vikings or hardman heavies. Of the girls more than half are overweight. Not one of the fatties do any kind of sport, love the meal deals at Harvester or McDonald’s and are generally adverse to anything that involves walking.
Those that aren’t fat are active, either going to the gym or cycling because they don’t have money for a car (so it’s not a case of no money = fat…. It’s more a mentality).
And when it comes to genes…. My gran was fat. All my aunts and my mum were fat (all bar the one who runs around cleaning houses all day and going to the gym). Strangely all my uncles are normal. So all my cousins share at least 50% of their genes with each other. In some cases one sister is fat, the other a size 8/10.

As I’ve said before, most of it is to do with choice. It’s the lifestyle we chose to live that determines our waistlines. If you are genetically predispositioned to being fat it doesn’t automatically follow that you have to be fat.

I think that its quite unlikely……
that I am the only person who copied/pasted the name into a google image search and then just rolled their eyes

All that demonstrates is perception skew. Ie what people think is healthy these days.

Partly but in the context I was talking about it helps to demonstrate that the study looking at 18bmi and under has little application to the general population.

I’m fat, on a diet and i’m paying no attention to this.

Eat less/move more, it’s simple enough really and no matter how many of these studies they do, it’s hard to argue against the fact that more people are sitting about, watching telly and playing on the internet than previous generations. A lot more jobs are desk based than they ever used to be and we’re marketed food that tells us that we should be super happy that the ready meal that we’re about to scoff only has 10% pure fat running through it……..not to mention all the sugar and salt.

Fatty bashing is still the number one place people go to when it comes to trying to show their superiority over other people. Not the first time I’ve had “Fat Bastard” shouted at me by some twonk in a car park because they’ve decided to turn the place into their personal racetrack and i’m getting in the way of that. People are just dicks

I think that its quite unlikely……

guilty

Just because it’s harder for some people to stay a healthy weight, it doesn’t mean that they then have an excuse to be an unhealthy weight.

This x1000.

I’m overweight by 2-3 stone. I find it very hard to lose weight even with careful eating. Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.

I think this new trend of bashing anyone who “fat shames” people is very dangerous. No you shouldn’t abuse people because they are fat but it has spread to such extremes that I can see a time where they are telling doctors and other professionals that they can’t tell people that they are fat or they are living unhealthy lifestyles or they are at risk from heart disease etc.

I think that its quite unlikely……
that I am the only person who copied/pasted the name into a google image search and then just rolled their eyes

So, she does 15 years of acclaimed research, and you think you know better because, just look at her?

What an utterly shitty thing to say. Seriously, you need a word with yourself.

I’m fat, on a diet and i’m paying no attention to this.

I’m trying to lose weight too, and I DO pay attention to it, because it can explain why it’s difficult for me. It’s not that I’m useless or weak, it really is harder for some people than others.

i find it really hard to lose weight, but mostly because I’m currently sat at my laptop eating a packet of pom bears rather than a stick of celery.

if I ever do have the discipline to run a calorie deficit, (a proper one, not just a rough underestimate of what I eat and overestimate of exercise), the weight falls off…

if I could just stop eating, I might do a venn diagram of the people from your article and the ones from this article…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43112790

Just because it’s harder for some people to stay a healthy weight, it doesn’t mean that they then have an excuse to be an unhealthy weight.

+2

It should be looked at a different way; everyone should eat less, it’s not a divine right to be able to stuff yourself with yummy food, for many (most) people it will make you overweight or obese, a lucky few can eat what they want.
A tiny percentage of those who are overweight, are because of genuine medical reason, these genuine reasons are easy to adopt by people (including me) who have no self-control.
I am overweight (not massively) by the way.

if I could just stop eating

Genuine (leading) question – why can’t you?