Obesity: The 20th Century Problem

Lightdemon · 04-22-07, 05:42 PM

Only until recently Obesity is considered a disease, an illness of some sort. Prior to the agricultural revolution, which made food much more available to everyone, fat was viewed in a very different perspective.

Being fat meant you had power because you had money to purchase excess food. If you had that kind of money, you would most likely be a very well-to-do merchant, or a landed elite. You can see very old colonial cartoons that depict people of elite status as fat and wearing top hats (especially capitalists).

But today, it's something nobody wants. It is no longer a status symbol, well at least a symbol that doesn't actually mean high status. Now, it is associated with lazyness and lacking in willpower.

But do you ever wonder why people are so prone to obesity? And particularly African Americans?

Now I'm not trying to be racist here, hear me out.

Being Obese was actually good for people in situations where they cannot get enough food. Being obese meant that you can metabolize food faster and more efficient, so there is less waste. I hear stories about how people in the past can get by an entire day with only a peice of bread. I can't imagine myself going on one signel peice of bread for the day, that'd be impossible. Yet people have done it, and I think being obese may have saved people's lives because they were only able to get so little food.

In other words, Obesity helped these poor people survive. If obesity was based on genetics, then the trend we see today makes sense. It makes sense that African Americans are more prone to obesity because their metabolism is much more efficient. They could have developed obesity as a way of survival.

Or does this not make sense? I dunno, just something I was thinking about when reading about obesity today. Any thoughts?

bandaidwoman · 04-22-07, 11:04 PM

You are eluding to a phenomenom that is definately multifactorial, like so many things in medicine.

Actually, Asian Indians( like Indians from India) and certain Asians such as native Hawains, pacific islanders, New Zealand Mari indians etc have the blacks beat on metabolic efficiency and therefore propensity for obesity. The same with our own American Indians.
Natural selection of all these minorites including blacks selected out individuals who were efficient with caloric expenditure. Thus, when they go from an environment of low food access to higher food access ( not necessarily better food,) voila, you have a growing obesity epidemic.

Like you said, mankind survived many years ago by chasing animals all day or toiling in the fields and our bodies were adapted to undergoe huge energy expenditure with almost no or little food intake. and if we were lucky, our efforts paid off ( ie: we catch the deer or nature does not destroy our crops etc.)

Hispanic americans and blacks both equally are about 1.5 times more likely to develop type II diabetes which is related to obesity.

Thus, although blacks may have a genetic predispostion, don't forget that lower income levels are linked to obesity due to staple high caloric foods being more affordable than fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, if a minority group as a whole achieves less education due to socioeconomic status, that is also linked to obesity.

1069 · 04-22-07, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightdemon

Only until recently Obesity is considered a disease, an illness of some sort. Prior to the agricultural revolution, which made food much more available to everyone, fat was viewed in a very different perspective.

Being fat meant you had power because you had money to purchase excess food. If you had that kind of money, you would most likely be a very well-to-do merchant, or a landed elite. You can see very old colonial cartoons that depict people of elite status as fat and wearing top hats (especially capitalists).

But today, it's something nobody wants. It is no longer a status symbol, well at least a symbol that doesn't actually mean high status. Now, it is associated with lazyness and lacking in willpower.

But do you ever wonder why people are so prone to obesity? And particularly African Americans?

Now I'm not trying to be racist here, hear me out.

Being Obese was actually good for people in situations where they cannot get enough food. Being obese meant that you can metabolize food faster and more efficient, so there is less waste. I hear stories about how people in the past can get by an entire day with only a peice of bread. I can't imagine myself going on one signel peice of bread for the day, that'd be impossible. Yet people have done it, and I think being obese may have saved people's lives because they were only able to get so little food.

In other words, Obesity helped these poor people survive. If obesity was based on genetics, then the trend we see today makes sense. It makes sense that African Americans are more prone to obesity because their metabolism is much more efficient. They could have developed obesity as a way of survival.

Or does this not make sense? I dunno, just something I was thinking about when reading about obesity today. Any thoughts?

I guess if anyone could figure this out, they'd be rich.