2016

The Scale is Broken: Forget Obesity, 'Skinny Fat' is just as bad

The Scale is Broken: Forget Obesity, 'Skinny Fat' is just as bad
Today, media is littered with ' weight loss ' messaging.

Don't believe me? Check out the magazine rack next time you're out shopping and you'll be flooded by article titles claiming " how to lose weight FAST " and guaranteed " dieting tips " promising to " drop a dress or pant size overnight ".

Are we surprised by media's portrayal of the 'Weight Loss' industry?


Not a bit if you consider that in 2014, the U.S. 'weight loss' industry revenues surpassed $60.5 Billion dollars. When we consider numbers like this, it's easy to understand why media perpetuates our obsession with body weight, leaving it to us to rely on body-weight scales as the sole metric for our success while on the journey to attain a healthier, fitter body.

[caption id="attachment_18397" align="aligncenter" width="585"] Shock and disbelief on the faces of trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels when Rachel Frederickson takes the stage. Shock and disbelief on the faces of trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels when Rachel Frederickson takes the stage.[/caption]

TV Shows such as NBC's ' The Biggest Loser ', an American competition reality show that debuted on October 19, 2004, takes weight-loss to an extreme. The show features obese people competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their first starting weight.

In the 15th season, we saw the negative effect of what happens when we make our focus 'losing pounds'. When Rachel Fredrickson was titled the season's 'Biggest Loser' and awarded the $250,000 grand prize by losing 60% of her body weight, controversy littered the media. (see ABC News story below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO08hOhI7IE

Rachel's weight loss was so extreme, it left the show's trainers, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels in utter shock and disbelief. Of the 155lbs weight loss, a good percentage was muscle mass - and no matter who you are, this is NOT a good thing.

[caption id="attachment_18398" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Rachel Frederickson's 155 pound weight loss takes 'extreme' weight loss to a whole new level on the Biggest Loser. Rachel Frederickson's 155 pound weight loss takes 'extreme' weight loss to a whole new level on the Biggest Loser.[/caption]

However, this obsession with weight is common in North Western cultures, and fuels the success of TV franchises like The Biggest Loser. Have you checked out the "diet" book section on Amazon lately?

The most popular diets include Atkins , the Zone , Vegetarian Diet, Vegan Diet, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Raw Food, Paleo and the Mediterranean Diet... oh ba di, oh ba da, the list goes on and on...

And it doesn't stop there! They keep on coming... and we keep on buying them.

From Biggest Loser to Biggest Gainer


Ping ponging from diet to diet can result in a fluctuation of weight loss and gain. Once you’ve shed those spare pounds, it’s pretty difficult to keep them off. It takes strict dietary measures and stern discipline to stay lean and in shape. If you’re not strict, then “I’ll just have a taste of that organic chocolate” turns into “a tub of condensed milk can’t be that bad?”

Thanks to new scientific studies… and reality TV, Dr. Kevin Hall of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has made breakthrough discoveries about the physiology of obesity and why people struggle to keep the weight off. And he did this all after following the season 8 contestants of the popular reality TV series the Biggest Loser.

[box type="note" align="" class="" width=""]Carbs vs Fat in the Diet with Dr. Kevin Hall

https://youtu.be/8TrjAGMhASw

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It was a long study, in fact, it was the longest in the field of immense weight loss, as it spanned 6 years. And as you might have guessed if you know about weight loss, the answer is all about metabolism. In this case, a specific type known as resting metabolism, or the calories that one burns while at rest.

How does extreme dieting affect metabolism?


When the contestants started the show, they were burning a normal amount of calories for their weight. But when the show ended, their metabolisms had actually slowed down quite drastically. This means that for their new size, they were not burning enough to support a skinnier frame. But this is nothing new. All dieters have slower metabolisms when they stop dieting.

[box type="info" align="" class="" width=""]Food, Energy and Obesity with Dr. Kevin Hall

https://youtu.be/t9UHLwQaf5c

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The biggest and scariest issue was that years after the show ended, the contestants could not recover their metabolisms. In fact, they became slower, which means it was more difficult to keep their weight down, where anything that went in their mouths turned to fat. But it’s not such a grim picture - most of the contestants have improved their health.

Co-researcher on the same study, Dr. Michael Schwartz, says that “you can’t get away from a basic biological reality… As long as you are below your initial weight, your body is going to try to get you back.” So physiological make up, mixed with difficult accessibility to a personal trainer, psychologist and dietitian after the show resulted in all contestants gaining weight 6 years on. So if you are finding it difficult to keep a slim frame, don’t be too hard on yourself if it isn’t working out exactly how you planned it.

Is Leptin the key between weight "release" and weight maintenance?


We all have different weights that we can maintain easily depending on our genetics. And scientists are trying to figure out why this is so. They are asking whether there is perhaps a difference between weight maintenance and weight loss. One of the greatest keys to this study is leptin, the hormone that controls hunger .

What is Leptin?

When it comes to weight loss, once you start shedding fat, the leptin falls and you become hungry. So once you have lost weight, you’ll need to trick your brain so that your hunger and leptin levels match. The study showed that the Biggest Loser contestants had one thing in common 6 years later - constantly battling with hunger, which means a plunge in leptin. Data showed that at the end of the competition, their leptin was almost non-existent, which meant the need to satisfy their palates more often. Once they started gaining weight, the leptin increased. The only thing is that it did not rise to its original levels. It seems that the only way for them to stay lean is to constantly be hungry.

Do Drugs like Canagliflozin work? Study says...


In another study, Dr. Hall divided a group of people in two. Half took a placebo, and half took a diabetes drug called canagliflozin (which places 360 calories into one’s urine). The results were quite informative. The group that took the drug would eventually lose weight, but their hunger would also increase, which means they would eat more.

If you do magically fight the urge to eat when you’re hungry and slow your metabolism, you will most probably gain weight in the long run (because that would be crazy willpower to keep up forever!).

https://youtu.be/da1vvigy5tQ

So while tests are still being conducted on obesity and metabolism, what we learned from the brave pioneers in the Biggest Loser is that we need to understand our physiology and biology and know that we have to calm ourselves when snacking and not blame ourselves for overindulging, as it is part of our genetic make up to eat when hungry. But remember, do not use genetics as an excuse either.

All this being said, as more and more research is being done on the subject, it's becoming more clear that our weight might not be the best or the only indicator of our health.

[box type="info" align="alignleft" class="" width=""]

Forget Obesity, 'Skinny Fat' is just as bad


A Time Magazine article entitled  The Hidden Dangers of ‘Skinny Fat’   looked at the findings of one Timothy Church, MD, MPH, PhD, director of the Laboratory of Preventive Medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

Forget obesity skinny fat is just as unhealthy

"The scale is not a proxy for your health," states Dr. Church, and this definitely holds a lot of credibility because research has shown that people considered to be a ‘normal’ weight may still suffer from many of the same medical issues as obese people if they are neglecting their diets and eating a lot of processed foods.

Skinny Fat MaleThe Limitations of BMI (the Body Mass Index)


It is also important to remember that the Body Mass Index or BMI does not take into consideration the difference between fat and muscle , so someone with a lot of muscle and a very low body fat level may still be labeled as overweight or obese according to this measurement standard.

The Time article goes on to mention that,
people with normal BMIs and high body fat are at a greater risk of metabolic issues and death than any other group.”

The Body Mass Index was concocted as far back as 1830; we can clearly see that the sciences of medicine and nutrition have advanced greatly since then, making the BMI a method that is outdated at best and borderline neglectful at worst.

So, Don’t Rely On the Scale


The human body is a complex machine with a multitude of different markers that can point to the condition of one’s health, and while it can be tempting to simplify matters by reducing them down to a single number; this may be a highly inaccurate method of determining your health.

The best thing that you can do to personally take responsibility of your well-being and make sure your long-term health is to visit your doctor every 6 – 12 months for a thorough medical examination. As well, if you can, ask your doctor for a full hormone profile as well, no matter who you are, hormones regulate everything in your body. If they're not working optimally, then no matter what you do may be a losing battle.

This periodic checkup will allow your doctor to easily find any negative indicators that may show up in blood, urine, and stool samples, while also giving you the peace of mind that you are free of disease and can look forward to a long and fulfilling life!

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