The war against Obesity

WK did a post on food called "It's What You Eat, And How You Eat" before. Today, I will explore the reasons why people are obese.

Most Singaporeans are so caught up in the pursuit of the slim image of perfection that fat people are looked down upon without being understood. I would admit that I used to look down on fat people as slobs who sweat a lot and smell funny (I have a sensitive nose). But I've changed my perceptions of them a little as I grew older and researched a little more into obesity.

Not all fat people are slobs
I've met fat people who exercise more than me, eat less than me and work more than me. I feel so ashamed. For the record, not all fat people are obese because they eat unhealthily and do not exercise. Genes do play an important role, namely the FTO gene.

People carrying one copy of the "fat" FTO variant had a 30% increased risk of being obese compared to a person with no copies of that version.

Those carrying two copies of the variant had a 70% increased risk of being obese, and were on average 3kg (6.6lb) heavier than a similar person with no copies.

Now ladies, do you always wonder why you have so much trouble going on/keeping to a diet? [Evil Laughter] Just kidding, I don't believe in dieting because you only live once and you live in Singapore (food paradise). If you don't enjoy all the sinful kopitiam food now, you won't get to try it when you're dead.

The sinful nature of carbohydrates (Sugar)
A lot of people love candy, but that's not it! People love cheesecakes, cookies, crackers with sugar on them, roti prata sprinkled in sugar, pineapple tarts, etc. Many people are addicted to sugar without knowing it. The classic example would be drinking lots of coke and sprite when you could have drunk a glass of water instead. You can read up a little more about sugar addiction at this website.

The main role of carbohydrates is to supply us with energy for our daily needs. Unfortunately, evolution has made as crazy for carbohydrates because our ancestors were once hunter-gatherers who may have to go without food once in a while. That eat and starve cycle imprinted a need for high-carbo food into our psyche, so that we can store the extra carbo as fats, from which we can draw extra energy from when we are unable to obtain food.

Comfort Food
"Food is the most primitive form of comfort" - Shelia Graham
I'm sure you guys have watched Shrek 2, I liked the conversation between the King and the Fairy Godmother, especially this part:

"Harold, you force me to do something I REALLY don't want to do! My diet is RUINED, I hope you're HAPPY."

When people get upset, food is a great source of comfort. Especially food high in carbohydrates/sugar, like ice-cream!! Comfort food can also be food that are emotionally significant to us. So for an average Singaporean, it might mean feeling a need to eat good kway chap, a dish that your grandmother used to cook for you when you feel stressed out.

Dysfunctional Brain
Anything good or bad can be blamed on your brain. Be it bad temper, aggression, optimism or greed, it all comes from your brain. As no one is perfect, we all have a little dysfunction that makes us "unique"/"wierd" (depending on your perception). In the case of the 5 year old girl in India who is eating herself to death, literally, it is suspected that she has a dysfunctional pituitary gland. The pituitary gland releases hormones to restore homeostasis- i.e. physical and emotional needs. So in this case, her pituitary gland is not releasing the hormones that control eating. There are "hunger hormones" like ghrelin, orexin and PYY 3-36 and "satiety hormones" like leptin, obestatin, nesfatin-1. They control when and how much you eat and when to stop eating. The way this 5 year old girl eats is horrifying-

In just one week, she devours over 10 kilograms of rice, 24 eggs, six litres of milk and five kilos of potatoes.

Her hunger even leads her to sneak out and pester her neighbours for food in the village of Metiala in the Indian state of West Bengal.

"We give her four square meals a day and two small lunches, but this is never enough."

"She is our daughter and we have no choice but to feed her."

Aiyee... She's only 5 and she eats more food than an average family of 4 in a week!

While many people are fat because of factors beyond their control such as genes or hormones, there are even more people are fat because they are truly slobs. They love buffets, they binge, they don't exercise.

I don't have an issue with fast food because its just another meal to me as long as it not upsized. I think buffets are bad because of the consumer mentality "I must maximize my dollar"- so people eat more than they actually need. Many of the fat slobs that I know are binge eaters, when they want to eat something, they must eat it, even if they aren't hungry. Eating more than you need to is fine if you balance off the energy storage by expanding more energy through exercise. But many Singaporeans always give the excuse that they don't have time to exercise. I think it's a bad excuse because I know of people who drive to the shopping center nearby even though they could walk or take a bus (2-3stops away). I'll understand if they drive down because they are doing grocery shopping or furniture buying, but not if they are just going there to buy clothes or shoes.

Personally, I disapprove of slimming centers because it is the lazy method of losing weight fast. I prefer having a healthy diet, not eating beyond my daily needs and exercising. It gives people healthier body, mind and soul.